On 10/24/2015 2:21 AM, Brad wrote: > I was checking out the Altair 8800 kit online (really cool). But I am > hoping to one day find a kit or plans to build a Mark-8 replica, since I'm > so deep into Radio Electronics features. I know there was a kit out there > (Obtronix?). Was it any good? Do I need someone to make a new kit or is > the Mark 8 within the realm of the home hobbyist the way the TVT was? Ie. > were there ever foil patterns available for those boards or did the kit > maker reverse engineer from originals? Is there any likelihood of finding > one of the replica kits still out there (I remember seeing one offered for > $2000 on Fleabay once.. ) > > Brad >
Yes, the Mark 8 is within the realm of the hobbyist. I am not certain how the kits that were sold online were done. I did my own replica. I first did it by creating a schematic in KiCAD, and then built the thing with wire wrap and tested it, to make sure I had my schematic correct. Then, having verified the schematic with the wire wrap boards, I used KiCAD to lay them out as closely as I could manage to the originals (I had the original documents that I bought back in the day), and had Gold Phoenix make them for me. I think the boards cost me something like $500, done as two separate panel orders (along with some smaller boards to fill out the panel), but I ended up with two Mark 8 sets, because Gold Phoenix made a mistake on the first run, and so I got two of the first panel. So then when I got those back and verified them and was ready to order the second panel, I had two of them made. So, it presumably could be done for a bit less. There are a couple of Signetics parts that can be hard to find, but when I did mine I could get them from Little Diode in the UK. However, because of the scarcity of the Signetics parts, I also designed little GAL replacement boards for them that were physically compatible. I never did do a suitable case for either replica. You can see photos of what I did, wire wrap and PCB, here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/100660569@N02/albums/72157635194594542 https://www.flickr.com/photos/100660569@N02/albums/72157635953237715 However, I don't have any to sell. JRJ
