big bucks for a Tek computer on eBay

[Lee Courtney]

Was this the Tektronix graphics terminal based on the design Len Shustek (http://www.computerhistory.org/trustee/Leonard,Shustek/) and Forest Baskett did at Stanford (http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=563316&dl=GUIDE&dl=ACM) and then licensed to Tektronix? Microprocessors are wrong, but the dates seem to align.

Lee C.

--- On Sun, 6/15/08, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote:

> From: Richard <legalize at xmission.com>
> Subject: Re: big bucks for a Tek computer on eBay
> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> Date: Sunday, June 15, 2008, 8:16 AM
> In article
> <637329.13632.qm at web65501.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>,
>     Chris M <chrism3667 at yahoo.com>  writes:
> 
> > Man it would have been nice to own one of these:
> > 
> >
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220243243508&ssPageNa
> me=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012
> > 
> > or item # 220243243508
> > 
> > apparently 6800 based. O woe is me. 322$ + 90$
> > shipping. O woe is me.
> > 
> > why are these things so rare? sniff
> 
> They're rare for the usual reasons: not many of them
> sold in the first
> place and when RAM prices came down, raster graphics
> systems pushed
> them out of the marketplace and killed off all the storage
> scope
> stuff.  Frankly, I'm surprised that as much storage
> scope based
> Tektronix gear still exists, given that the transition to
> raster was
> 20+ years ago.  You can still find these systems, but
> usually only
> from other collectors.  Tektronix graphics gear is cool
> enough that
> people usually salvage it from the scrap path.  I got a
> 4051 recently,
> but it needs some repairs.  I got it from another collector
> via a 3rd
> collector :-).  Except for the Tektronix raster terminals I
> got from
> dovebid, getting things from other "savers" is
> the only way I've been
> able to get Tektronix storage scope stuff.
> 
> That's a good price for that unit, assuming it still
> works.  The BASIC
> interpreter is in ROM, so you don't need the tape to
> enter programs
> and make them work.  The tape is the local storage for it. 
> I haven't
> done much with mine yet, but I hope to restore it to full
> function at
> some point.  I do have the service manual for the 4051 and
> its also on
> bitsavers.  See
> <http://bitsavers.org/pdf/tektronix/405x/>
> -- 
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> 
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