On 3/18/22 04:19, Joshua Rice wrote:
These are all valid concerns, especially since some collectors generally
have eyes bigger then their belly, wanting more machines than they have
the appropriate storage for. I fear i have been just as guilty (though i
generally keep anything of value outside of the rat infested shed)
Yes, that seems common. I myself have been guilty of that in the
past. It's a slippery slope.
However, there are a great many people who do try and keep their
collections indoors and on display. Obviously, this is much easier with
machines like the 80's micros than it is with 60's and 70's big iron and
minicomputers, which is likely the reason (plus larger production
volumes) that so many machines of the 80's and beyond survive and are
relatively plentiful.
Agreed 100%.
It's also rather unfair to defame private collectors. A lot of them
(especially the ones that come out of barns, leaky sheds, garages and
basements) were the ones who saved the equipment from the scrappers in
the first place. Much of this large system equipment survives (maybe in
poor condition) purely because of the private collector. I believe that
whilst climate controlled museums are ultimately the best place for
functional equipment (where knowledge and skills can easily be pooled),
the private collector has an important role in the preservation of
equipment as well.
My comments are borne of frustration. It is very hard to do what
we're doing at LSSM, a lot harder than most people realize. A lot
harder than I thought it'd be, for that matter. It's being made even
harder by a lot of collectors that aren't conscientious about how they
store things and how there usually aren't any estate disposition plans.
You suggest that sitting in a leaky rodent-infested barn is better
than the machine just being sent to a scrapper, and I agree. But as
someone who has cleaned up far more of those "barn find" machines than
just about anyone else here, it does get frustrating after awhile. Is
it really so hard to arrange for appropriate storage?
Surely you understand my position. I've been doing this at great
personal expense, financial and otherwise, not for myself, but for the
technology and for the public...including everyone here. But a lot of
things, like this situation, make it pretty hard to maintain that
motivation.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
