Why DEC Equipment?, was Re: Value of a PDP/8?

[Marvin Johnston]

> I feel the need to ask - what is it that makes DEC stuff so popular  
> and collectible, versus other machines of the same time period?  
> Generally they're equally as interesting, and often more so (IMHO)  
> due to all the quirks and design differences versus the more  
> mainstream DEC stuff.

For me, DEC was the first "real" computer that I could actually work on.
Attending the Maynard training facility was a blast. The instructors used to
have us practice troubleshooting the 11/45 by putting tape on a finger
"somewhere", and then we had to find the fault. I still remember a friend and I
going in one night to practice, putting a piece of tape on a random finger, and
taking some two or three hours to find the "problem" :). Normally, the
instructor faults would take us maybe 30 minutes max.

Later, I programmed an 11/05 as necessary when looking for faults in the control
system for a large bakery. T'was just plain fun!!!!!