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Dave,
I remember some of those ancient computers. Back in '86 I used a pair of Hardy 8080 based CPM computers at the Hay River Radio Observatory to crunch the output of the SETI spectrometer in real time and record the data to wide carriage printer, a huge floor model. It took almost a half hour with the one 8" floppy drive and a whopping 64K of RAM to copy a floppy, swapping disks in the one drive many times to copy one disc, a chunk at a time.
I also had a DEC PDP11-04. The front was a long row of addressing toggle switches and inside a circuit board containing what seemed like a zillion tiny washers, a true core memory. I wish I still had that today as a conversation piece.
I gave the Hardy machines to a computer museum a few years ago and if I can find the fellow's name I'll let you know. I saw the curator as recently as a year ago at the Rochester Hamfest in NY State.
As for other's comments. I don't think collecting vintage computers will ever take off widely as a hobby obsession like sound equipment, vintage radios or television receivers. In these examples the devices are associated with pleasant memories and a true sense of nostalgia of a simpler time in our history. The bonus is that many (moreso the radios and TV's unless you havbe a JBL Paragon), are cool retro furniture and therefore have a practical use in the home.
These old computers continue to be a good source for hobbyist parts as the hardware was great, especially the old floor standing hard drives, but they IMO are still just things to strip for parts mostly. A chosen few are bitten with the urge to save these 'treasures' from the scrap man and as a result there are a few private museums now, but definitely not a passion for the masses.
Rob
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