My Vintage Dream PC

[Andrew Gabriel]

What world do you live on? I've never seen a '70s, let alone a '60s
car with a cranking handle. A few farm tractors and other farm
equipment, but that was because they might sit in a barn for a month at
a time in the winter but no cars or trucks. The only thing I remember
seeing with a hand crank starter were the Model T Fords a friend owned.

Citroens still had starting handles in the 1970's (it
was a dual purpose wheel-nut spanner). I started my
father's one a couple of times with it, but starting
handles and modern high compression engines (even in
the 1970s) are not a good combination, and I don't
think most drivers would have been able to turn the
starting handle at all. Wouldn't surprise me if they
were responsible for more heart attacks than started
engines;-)

 

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

What world do you live on? I've never seen a '70s, let alone a '60s

The one in which I learned to use a cranking handle to start a car
in the '60s and in the '70s was still using the cranking handle to turn the
engine round when setting the rocker gaps.

 

[jmfbahciv]

If you mean memory-indirect addressing, no such luck. It's a nice
little machine, but not perfect...

Can you index the indexes?

/BAH

 

[jmfbahciv]

What world do you live on?
Europe.

I've never seen a '70s, let alone a '60s
car with a cranking handle. A few farm tractors and other farm
equipment, but that was because they might sit in a barn for a month at
a time in the winter but no cars or trucks. The only thing I remember
seeing with a hand crank starter were the Model T Fords a friend owned.

/BAH

 

[jmfbahciv]

[piggypacking a post since I can't find the correct one]

For John Larkin:

If you want to find out how much code any EXE file has, do
the following commands:

GET FOO.EXE
CORE

It should report how many K there is. But this doesn't
give the real size when the EXE is running.

/BAH

 

[Peter Flass]

Can you index the indexes?

Indirect addressing seems to be politically incorrect these days, along
with the "execute" instruction.

 

[TheGlimmerMan]

but starting
handles and modern high compression engines (even in
the 1970s)

The seventies (the early seventies) were the peak of octane ratings and
compression numbers. Unleaded, low octane fuels means that you will not
see an engine with higher than 9.5 to 1 compression these days.

The early seventies was the peak with numbers like 10.5 to 1 and 11.5
to 1. Those days are long gone.

 

[krw]

Yup, and it still works. I bought that one for about $400 just after
it came out. I found a bunch more in a box at Los Alamos Sales, but
only a couple still work. I prefer it to any of the later HP calcs...
the stuff you really need, like pi and x^y and things, are in plain
sight.

My HP-45 still works - sorta. The power switch is flaky and I haven't
gotten around to try to "replace" it. I bought a new set of batteries
a couple of years ago and a couple of frame gizmos so I can make my
own packs. eBay is useful for something.

I also have a few desktop 9100's that I'd love to get working again.
That was an awesome machine.

I've been meaning to try the new 35, for carrying around. At least RPN
isn't totally dead.

I bought one a year and a half ago. I like it, but it's no '45. The
function placement just isn't "right".

 

[Joe Pfeiffer]

Can you index the indexes?

I'm not sure what that would even mean...

 

[Joe Pfeiffer]

The one in which I learned to use a cranking handle to start a car
in the '60s and in the '70s was still using the cranking handle to turn the
engine round when setting the rocker gaps.

The few cars I've had with adjustable lifters have used a wrench for
that...

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

crud up

Looks like a good nickname for you.

 

[Scott Newell]

Yeah. They should have done an exact clone. The newer stuff has too
many overloaded buttons, too many functions. On my 32sII's, it's hard
to find basic stuff like pi. And nobody needs a programmable
calculator any more.

You can put your own firmware in the new 20B, but the keys suck.
(For instance, someone did firmware to simulate an old 45 on
the new 20B.)

One thing on my to-do-probably-never list is to build a true HP35
clone.

The latest 12C calcs are using the same CPU as the 20B, so there's
a chance for custom firmware. I'd like to emulate a 16C or 15C on
it, but the key labels would still be wrong.

 

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

Europe.

Chuckle - good one.

 

[Peter Flass]

I've never seen a Citroen in the US.

I think the Auto Museum in Saratoga hosted a Citroen convention last year.

 

[Patrick Scheible]

I've never seen a Citroen in the US.

They're unusual, but not all that rare. (Maybe you live in a
rust-belt state where cars don't last as long as here?)

-- Patrick

 

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

You couldn't do that to the cars I owned back then. I had to use a
three foot breaker bar to turn the crankshaft on those old Pontiac V8
engines.

You take the plugs out to make it easy to turn when setting rocker
gaps.

 

[jmfbahciv]

Indirect addressing seems to be politically incorrect these days, along
with the "execute" instruction.

that's [no execute instruction] not a feature.

/BAH

 

[jmfbahciv]

[piggypacking a post since I can't find the correct one]

For John Larkin:

If you want to find out how much code any EXE file has, do
the following commands:

GET FOO.EXE
CORE

It should report how many K there is. But this doesn't
give the real size when the EXE is running.

/BAH

Or just PIP FOO.EXE/L ?

John

good grief, no.

/BAH

 

[jmfbahciv]

krw wrote:

'ey, krw!

/BAH

 

[jmfbahciv]

I'm not sure what that would even mean...

A double-index address calculation is real useful.

/BAH