On 3/18/2016 10:22 PM, 'Brad'
unclefalter@... [Homebrew_PCBs] wrote:
>
> True, but the device is still historically significant. At least, it
> was significant enough for a museum to want and display it. Seems odd
> they wouldn’t want to show the truly relevant bits of it to the
> public. Or that other vintage computer admirers over the years
> wouldn’t have caught a shot somewhere.
>
Hello--
Based on some years as an E.E. and technical editor for trade magazines,
I'm a little suspicious. Here's a case in point:
After a layoff in the mid-1980s, I attended a party at which I bumped
into another E.E. who had also been laid off
from another company which designed and built Little Black Boxes (LBBs)
for a military program. He related the
following which may be true:
"We were running really late on delivery date for ten LBBs-- nine had
passed our final test, but we couldn't get the tenth
ready for delivery. The program manager decided to ship an empty
housing, which wouldn't pass acceptance tests
and hence would be get returned for repairs. The turnaround time would
let us get the tenth LBB ready to go.
Unfortunately, the incoming-test tech noticed that the nonworking LBB
was considerably lighter than the others
and opened its case. The company lost the contract, and I lost my job...."
So there may be no innards inside the museum's TV Typewriter's case.
73--
Brad AA1IP