Object Details
- Description
- This early microcomputer is in a rectangular blue metal box with switches on the front. Included in the accession are the Altair 8800b computer (1985.0647.01), an ADM 3A terminal (1985.0647.02), an Intronix 210C disk drive (1985.0647.03), a Shugart Associates No. 801 disk drive (1985.0647.04), and numerous small parts and documents.
- According to Ivan Berger, the former owner, user, and donor of the machine, he was one of many excited by the appearance of the Altair on the cover of the January, 1975, issue of Popular Electronics. In late 1975 or early 1976, while still electronics editor of Popular Mechanics, he journeyed to Albuquerque to visit the MITS plant where the Altair was made and was impressed by possible applications of the device.
- In late 1976, Berger got this Altair 8800b, a revised version of the original machine. He quickly discovered that he needed such additional parts as an input/output board and a terminal, a ROM board with an operating system, and a cassette input/output board for loading programs. He also added more RAM (from an original 16 kilobytes), eventually having perhaps 2K of ROM and 56K of RAM. all from different manufacturers. Berger then replaced his Altair with a TRS-80 Model I, which he described as “a bit of a clunker, too; but it combined ROM. RAM, keyboard, input/output ports and screen, in a system which was cheap and ready to run as soon as you plugged it in.”
- For related transactions, see 1986.0130 and 1986.3023.
- Reference:
- Accession file 1985.0647.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- maker
- Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
- date made
- 1976
- Credit Line
- Ivan Berger
- Physical Description
- metal. silicon. rubber. plastic. (overall material)
- manufactured (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- overall: 18 cm x 43 cm x 47 cm; 7 3/32 in x 16 15/16 in x 18 1/2 in
- Object Name
- Microcomputer
