Hello all, I hope you are all staying safe and healthy in current times.
Forgive the cold email, I got your email addresses as collectors of DEC
computer history. The reason for email is that I am clearing out some of my
stuff as we are thinking of moving house, I live in Wakefield. In February 2019
I salvaged a PDP11 which was used in a simulator for a coal fired power station
steam turbine unit at DRAX Power Station, where I was working as a contractor
up until Dec 2019.In the same building I was also allowed to take a DecWriter
II, some manuals and a couple of VT320s with some other smaller hand held kit.
I have supporting documentation from the power station to state that these
items are now mine. They were all in working order as the simulator was last
powered up in Nov 2019. I am not in a position to power up the PDP 11 at home,
but have plugged in the VT320s and the DEC Writer and they all work. The dec
Writer has 1 sticky key, and has the original product/shipping notice stuck
inside the unit dated 1977 !! I even bought some new ink and ribbons, as my
intention was to get these and the PDP11 setup and working in my office. I
used the Dec Writer in school, many many years ago, my first introduction to
computers, paper tape and punched cards, a foam modem through to the college
from my secondary school ! (Fortran IV) I simply could not let these items go
to scrap, which is where they were heading, so I approached the manager of the
building at Drax and agreed to remove these items from site at zero cost to
Drax. The entire simulator, all it’s hand built boards and electronics were
simply heading for the skip as they were demolishing the entire training centre
in favour of new Gas turbine plant. I am wondering if you know any forums or
contacts that might be interested in purchasing these items, I am not asking
silly money as these need to go to a collector and preserved, the issue will be
shipping or I might even transport them myself, as they are extremely heavy
items. If not, I will google a little more and failing that, contact a UK
museum to see if they would be interested in these historic pieces. Thank you
for reading. PhilSent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
