[SIGCIS-Members] Microcomputer History Museum
Evan Koblentz
evan at snarc.net
Tue Jul 1 22:58:04 PDT 2014
> While wandering the back roads of Virginia last week, I stumbled upon this museum:
> http://bugbookcomputermuseum.com/
> The web site is actually misleading--the museum is there, and it is open to the public free of charge on a regular schedule.
> It is located in downtown Floyd, VA, which is somewhat off the beaten track, to put it mildly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd,_Virginia Floyd is not near Tysons Corner!
> But it was open, and I had a most enjoyable tour. The collection is focused on the pre-IBM PC microcomputer days. Its crown jewel is a "Mark-8," designed by Jonathan Titus of nearby Blacksburg--a legendary early microcomputer kit. There are other similar items on display as well.
> I guess this qualifies as a "busman's holiday."
That is David Larsen's museum. Jon Titus and David co-founded Blacksburg
Group (after Titus did the Mark-8). "Bugbooks" were their famous line of
microcomputer technical handbooks.
For anyone who might be interested, our MARCH ("Mid-Atlantic Retro
Computing Hobbyists") museum (co-located at the InfoAge Science Center,
in Wall, N.J.) is also open to the public. InfoAge itself is open
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 1pm-5pm; the MARCH exhibits are
generally open Sundays (and other times if you make an appointment with me.)
Some of the highlights of our collection include a Bendix G-15, UNIVAC
1219-B, IBM 1130, DEC PDP-8, numerous PDP-11 and VAXen, Cray YMP-EL ...
and that's just in the "big iron" exhibit. We also have just about every
significant model of early microcomputer (along with most of the
important homebrew-era systems).
The best thing about our museum is the hands-on imperative. We strive to
get as many systems as possible into working condition, so that we can
demonstrate them to you up and running.
DEC PDP-11/44, MITS Altair 8800, Apple Lisa, or even just a
run-of-the-mill Commodore 64: we "MARCHins" believe such things should
be restored and operated.
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