*Found something about the company:* "Michael Roberts had founded Sydney- based Time Office Computers, originally called *Electronic Control Systems* , in the 1970s, intending to develop and market small computer terminals."
Great video Hugh. I'm a computer scientist myself. This terminal really fascinated me because it tells something about the history of computing there in Australia. I love watching your vids. Keep it up
Yes, that's right. Michael Roberts came out of the computer faculty at UNSW and made quite a bit of money selling these data-entry terminals. He then went on to take over Dulmont, which made the Magnum / Kookaburra, the first Australian-made laptop and probably the world's first battery powered one. Pretty important figure in the history of Australian computing.
This is a so called "dumb terminal", meaning it absolutely needs to be hooked up to a mainframe in order to do anything at all. The high voltage sound means the CRT is probably working fine, there's just nothing to display 🤷🏻♂️
but at a bare minimum most terminals of this kind showed some manufacturer's logo or basic prompt or some video lines of some sort (either amber or green phosphor)
Would recommend not gutting it. Restore it to a working state, and since it just uses RS-232 for communication, you could hook up an external modern computer to it. This will preserve the units original state, while allowing you to use it with a modern system. EDIT: Ican almost guarentee thst the CRT itself is perfectly fine. You are almost certainly experiencing one of 2 problems: 1) Brightness knob is either turned down, or is bad (try spraying Deoxit into it and turning it repeatedly until it feels smooth). 2) The electronics on the terminal side are bad. This should not be too difficult to diagnose if you get help from the vintage computer community, as these terminals were usually quite simple.
That poor computer, looked so much happier after the clean :) Always love watching rare vintage electronics be cleaned up and/or restored to working order.
the "useless foam" is a sound dampener still used in custom keyboards to this day. also the grim on the inside of the keyboard indicates the ppl using it where smokers as that is what happens to electronics. when u smoke around them
this isn't relevant to this video in any way, but I just wanted you to know i rescued a working 2011 iMac from the side of the road last week, bought her a keyboard roughly of the same age on eBay, cleaned her up, learned how to system restore, and brought her back to life. She's now running the newest software I could get her (High Sierra) and doing well. I've named her Gertrude, the very angry computer. Point is, I probably wouldn't have gone to the effort if it wasn't for you, so thank you for your work!
@@mmbeno it’s actually not too bad! I’m not a computer expert by any means but I can tell it’s a little sluggish sometimes, but it still runs my NBN normally, RUclips videos run smoothly and so far so good!
@@araigumakiruno hell yeah! She wasn’t even visibly damaged either, just had a bit of oxidisation on her from being outside for a day but that cleaned up just fine.
I can't stand it when people ""repair"" something and just throw random parts away and say "this is useless" when they think they know more than the engineers that built the thing at why something was put there. If you are too ignorant at how electronics function and what each part is for, you shouldn't be repairing them. Imagine repairing a car with that logic. It would never even start.
@@MrWolfSnack I’m pretty sure he meant they’re useless because of the gross condition they were in not because he’s uneducated however you could be right too who knows 🤷♂️
I love the look of this technological artifact. I also am still bewildered at the fact that this was a late 70s/early 80s computer, fast forward 30 to 40 years and we now have super computers in the palms of our hands that most of us probably used to watch this video. I always get excited about technological advancements.
It's not even a computer, it's just a terminal. It's meant to be the human interface to a much larger computer, in this era likely a fridge-sized "minicomputer."
@@babylfsh this was used to access a much larger computer? This is so cool because of how refined computers are now and how small computers can get compared to the computers of the time which took up an entire room. I'm sorry I just love this sort of stuff
@@omegasiarnaq By the late 70s, it's more likely that this would be connected to a fridge-sized computer, although it could also have been connected to an ancient room-sized mainframe. The room-size computers of the 50s and 60s usually used teletype machines (telephone connected automatic typewriters) as terminals, which are clunky mechanical beasts. Video terminals like this one started becoming available in the 70s as a paperless alternative to a teletype.
I was a drilling rig radio operator in the 80's and 90's and this system is extremely similar to what I knew as a Laine Data System. Effectively a terminal that ran a very basic system and connected to peripherals (in our case an early modem) via RS232 which, if memory serves worked at 300bps. Our modem was connected to a modified car phone that connected to the land based cell system.
The question is "Should you repurpose it?" ... To which my answer would be "It belongs to a museum" :) If you can't find any info on the internet, it looks like its rare, and part of the Australian computer history.
"it belongs in a museum" Mostly everything that gets donated to a museum gets thrown into storage where it won't be documented and won't be seen by anyone. . At least this might be thrown into someones man cave. It'll have purpose instead of being chucked behind a sheet of glass where maybe one or two people a month might acknowledge it's existence.
@@BarrySmoother guess where it collected all this crud. guess who auctioned it. this thing probbably has been on some collectors display before he died and it ended up in a garage. or it has already been in deep storage of some museum that didn't know what to do with it
I'd just like to add, I currently own some of the last surviving ECS stage lighting equipment, this appears to be an old ECS lighting computer console, as I have the serial system this plugs into. The CRT get input from a lighting desk, which this acts as monitor/keyboard for. These were developed in the late 1970s/early 80s. I'd be interested in buying this, as they are well obsolete but a part of theatrical history.
That high pitched noise might acctually be the horizontal sweep generator making that noise as its sweep rate is in the audible range for most computers. The sweep generator is meant to make the CRT beam sweep across CRT display so the entire screen is covered. The Sweep generator should be making a saw-tooth wave form at its output and feeding it into the horizontal deflection coil. Another problem maybe that the flyback transformer may be out. The epoxy may have degraded over time this letting in moisture or air allowing the HV to arc inside the transformer thus not letting the HV get to the CRT anode. Or possibly that is only a display for a external computer. With those dumb terminals it may be a data monitor. The CRT socket connector to the CRT pins at the back of the CRT may also be corroded and not making a good connection to either the heater element pin, cathode pin, focusing electrode pin, beam amplitude pin. Or its just that the main processor is dead or other critical components. One good idea though before checking anyone of these is to check all power supply voltage rails. There maybe a short on one of the supply rails and the current limiting protection kicking in. If you think that current limiting didnt exist back then you are wrong because I have experience working with 22** 4** series Tektronix oscilloscopes. The 22** series are from the 1980s and the 4** are from the 1970s. Check the fuses (if there are any). Well thats all I can think off the top of my head. Good luck.
Right lol two years ago I bought an iMac from ebay, it’s listing was same like u said until I found using drivedx the hdd is failing with over 23,000 hours runtime 🤦🏻♂️
I remember back in the 1970s when I was in junior high. Back then radio shack had groups of people who went into school to demonstrate electronics. That was where I had my first experience touching a computer. They would put the game pong up on the screen and talk about how that computer was programmed to play a game. They told us about the gaming and then explain how if you were to become a computer programmer perhaps you would invent a new game. I'm really enjoyed this video and thank you for bringing back some very fond memories. I most definitely hit the like and subscribe button. Look forward to watching more of your videos.
i doubt he'll keep it stock. it's sad. the computer thinks it's getting restored but in the end it's just ending up in the trash and it's skin it used for some raspberry pi crap.
A quick check of the production dates on the chips would give a reasonable estimate of when it was manufactured. I glimpsed a white, ceramic EPROM -- I think those are late-1970s vintage.
@@N3KO_79 That is because it was one. Any type of computer back then was not for consumers and they money these things cost was immense. Rubber membrane and other cheap keyboard designs were obviously to get the prices down for consumers in the 1990's.
@@AustinMichael Even in the late 70's and 80's membrane keyboards were around and only got more popular with the rise of home and small business computers
Great video Hugh. When I started my IT career in the 90's there were still a few terminals like these around the office, hooked up to either Honeywell Bull mainframes, or later DEC Alpha mini computers. In those days I worked with programmers who started programming with punch cards! This terminal would have been cutting edge stuff to them in the 80s :-)
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I am 75 have been in IT since I was 19 and the name rings a bell with me. I'll watch your video all the way to see if it gives me a clue. Worst case I can ask a few of my contemporaries if they can recall ECS. May take a while they're in almost every time zone! (or no longer on the planet!)
ECS was started by Michael Roberts from UNSW in the 70s and they did quite well selling terminals to banks and government departments. Roberts then bought out Dulmison/Dulmont and the company became Time Office Computers. They threw a lot of cash into laptop development and sales but couldn't compete with the overseas big boys and went under in the late 80s.
@@nysaea Agree. And the CRT is a Hitachi job, so probably more or less generic and replaceable. Would be interesting to see how it reads on a CRT tester.
Being a terminal, powering on at most on a working model would likely give you nothing but a flashing cursor if not connected to a host. This looks nothing like an IBM compatible mainframe terminal or a VT52/100 etc. (the obvious clue is in the keyboard content/layout). My guess is either a terminal for a lesser known mainframe series or more likely some sort of proprietary minicomputer (and there were lots of them until the likes of Wang and Prime started dying off in the 1980s) - also the company that made these in all likelihood just produced peripherals and not the machines you connected them to. Before terminal emulation on PCs became the done thing there were lots of non-OEM terminals available for most popular systems.
tbh, since how old it is and how it was found in condition, I agree with you even though he made it in a good condition. Just because it looks nice doesn't mean its good on the inside.
Can be generic UART/RS232 terminal. Tons of different models of those character oriented terminals were made. 3270 series for mainframes were a different kind of dog, proprietary protocol, field oriented, designed for S370. IBM frames used proprietary tech quite often. Minicomputers often used more common/standard stuff.
If it were an IBM mainframe terminal, wouldn't it have had a SEND key instead of a RETURN key? I remember those terminals operated in block mode instead bothering the mainframe with every keystroke.
I'd be interested in seeing this old guy restored rather than gutted tbh, though im about a year late on commenting. That's an old school computer. More than likely it was from a period where individual computer set ups didn't have their own OS, and ran data fed into it from a cable connected to the main server. It used to be easier to do that since storage was incredibly massive and expensive back in the day. It made it possible to store the data in one space, and have a compact unit on your desk in your office.
Whatever you do with it, i think it would be great to see the keyboard working with the final product. Its the perfect example of vintage goodness. Keycaps that put tungsten to shame, contactless honeywell switches, a case that you could probably use in the zombie appocalypse, i would love to see the keyboard speaking with a modern computer or something
Please keep it retro and preserve the “living fossils” of the extinct computers so that inquisitive minds in the future won't only have to rely on the theoretical material but can look at well preserved fossils and learn “what it used to be” and “how far have we got” of the modern computers. Ik it has little to no functionality left or that it wasn’t a marvel of a computer in its own time either but it still looks good after cleaning. Can you please do that? : )
Umm, it's a dumb terminal. Of course there was no functionality left, because there barely was any to begin with! A dumb terminal requires being hooked up to a mainframe computer to do anything.
Using a USB-FTDI serial port interface, you can easily and cheaply connect this to your PC/raspberry-PI/etc. A terminal emulator program will allow you to decode it without needing to write any of your own code.. This can be done on the cheap.
This^ unless something is totally unfixable/Unreplaceable, then it deserves a chance. However, if this is a dummy terminal like the other comments mentioned then even if it’s fixed it’s going to be useless without a mainframe to plug into, especially considering the one com port isn’t even wired to the mobo anymore
@@jussapitka6041 yeah, and play command line games, with BBSes or something. It would be very interesting, or change the CRT and make a retro gaming machine, would be amazing.
Those diodes on the power supply board seem to have gotten coocked to a crisp. That's probably why it didn't want to turn on. That buzzing sound could be the flyback crashing because it doesn't get high enough voltage, along with a substantial ripple. Either that or it's a coroded connector somewhere that has gone high resistance.
This is e sort of stuff I love being preserved and deserves to be preserved, so so interesting and important to see how things have developed over the years to teach the younger generations how advancements work.
@Good Old Gamer I think a pi would be too small for something this big, I mean there’s plenty of room, wouldn’t you rather fit a mini itx board in it instead?
@@growtopiajaw If we ignore that this CRT is most likely not able to display high resolutions (or color graphics), CRTs are quite gorgeous and clean looking with good blacks and high refresh rates if you get a high quality one
Yes, I saw that. I still have some that have never been used, they were used in the earpiece of the later 400 series phones and then in the mouthpiece and earpiece of the 800 series.
Distiled white vinegar, scrubing bubbles, peroxide isopropyl alchohol mixture, chlorox wipes, and let it dry and then use all purpose polish as a final touch and you've got this thing as clean as it can be. Be sure to get rid of all of tge vinegar before using the alchohol and peroxide mix. It will for a very toxic gas if you neglect to do so
This isn’t a “computer”, this is a terminal. Which is just a display with keyboard attached. There is no brain inside. Even with this thing fixed up, it’s useless.
This looks very unique and even rare. In my opinion it should end up in museum or something in unmodified state. However, you still have second keyboard so maybe you could do something with that.
This isn't his thing at all, he does home entertainment stuff. This is commercial / industrial computing, not his field at all. There are experts in museums and online for this sort of thing. Many of whom used to work with it when it was new (and EXPENSIVE!). Sadly, every year, more of them grow old and die. But they're often extremely keen, they really loved this stuff, especially the programmers and system guys, so they've done what they can to get their information written down so it can survive them.
No, that would be a horrible idea! Why destroy such a rare terminal? There's already a hundred million PC cases around, no need to sacrifice such a cool case for it.
You shouldn’t make it more modern it’s such a cool piece and considering even google doesn’t know much about it makes it really unique and rare in its own regard and also in a way one in a million I would keep it the way it is and put it on a shelf it would be a great conversation starter! Once it is restored of course.
@@MetalTrabant i was expecting a blinking cursor bc thats typical for those terminals. they are literaly like cmd.exe or a linux tty shell but as a device that plugs into a headless pc.
I know I'm late to the party but if you have not done anything with this beast, turn it into a Commodore Pet or TRS-80...since both are monochrome and I think you can get DIY kits for either. Quite honestly, I say to try to restore it to it's original glory. It is a piece of history after all.
Instructions to do with the computer case: 1. replace the motherboard with the best and newest one for business. 2. replace the CPU with an Intel Core i7 Inside. 3. increase the RAM to 128GB. 4. replace the GPU with a GeForce RTX 3080. 5. increase the HDD to 2TB. 6. replace the power supply with a 700V one. 7. replace the CPU cooler with a water cooler. 8. install Windows 10 Pro on it. 9. install business software one it (e.g. ClickUp and LibreOffice). Do that if the computer can handle all the upgrades, and bam! You have a fully fledged business PC with a vintage design using parts from a 1986 PC (that was probably used for business).
Hardware like this is pretty rare these days. As someone who worked on terminals like this in the UK in the 1970s (different designs from different manufacturers, but very similar components and general design arrangements) I would vote for a proper restoration. However, that could be a challenge, especially if the design is using some of the more unusual PMOS semiconductors typical in that period (especially around the memory section).
This felt like an AmmoNYC video because I didn’t notice 11 minutes had passed. And to think about it, it’s like shoving an LS engine in a 1970s Holden if you upgraded it to something with the performance of a modern machine. (Make it a Windows 10 or Linux Machine if you intend to do this though)
If you want to really make sure to get that grime off with just a couple squirts, mix Spray and Wipe and 95% IPA in a spray bottle in a 3/1 ratio, spray it on and leave it for about 60 seconds, anything that it can't remove is either cursed or nuclear waste!
As much as it would be cool to do something else with this, I think you should leave it stock. Computers of any type of this vintage are extremely rare and they are important pieces of history. Would probably look cooler on display anyways, as a piece of art.
*Found something about the company:*
"Michael Roberts had founded Sydney-
based Time Office Computers, originally
called *Electronic Control Systems* , in the
1970s, intending to develop and market small computer terminals."
Sauce: "A Vision Splendid: The History of Australian Computing - ACS", pg. 226
Thanks, have updated the title to reflect the proper decade.
Great video Hugh. I'm a computer scientist myself. This terminal really fascinated me because it tells something about the history of computing there in Australia. I love watching your vids. Keep it up
Hugh Jeffreys Now I understand why the title has changed
Yes, that's right. Michael Roberts came out of the computer faculty at UNSW and made quite a bit of money selling these data-entry terminals. He then went on to take over Dulmont, which made the Magnum / Kookaburra, the first Australian-made laptop and probably the world's first battery powered one. Pretty important figure in the history of Australian computing.
This is a so called "dumb terminal", meaning it absolutely needs to be hooked up to a mainframe in order to do anything at all. The high voltage sound means the CRT is probably working fine, there's just nothing to display 🤷🏻♂️
but at a bare minimum most terminals of this kind showed some manufacturer's logo or basic prompt or some video lines of some sort (either amber or green phosphor)
@@alerey4363 Maybe this one's so old it doesn't display anything? I dont really know, I'm just guessing by the simplicity of the circuitry inside.
It is actually a DUMP Terminal,…get it? Because of the animal poop.
The highvoltage sound is likely the sweep generator though.
@@SeaDooEric 😂😂😂
looks like a computer you would find in a fallout game
🤝 Agreed
Yes 🤣
OMG IT ACTUALLY DOES HAAHAHHA
Lool
"Change my mind"
Would recommend not gutting it. Restore it to a working state, and since it just uses RS-232 for communication, you could hook up an external modern computer to it. This will preserve the units original state, while allowing you to use it with a modern system.
EDIT: Ican almost guarentee thst the CRT itself is perfectly fine. You are almost certainly experiencing one of 2 problems:
1) Brightness knob is either turned down, or is bad (try spraying Deoxit into it and turning it repeatedly until it feels smooth).
2) The electronics on the terminal side are bad. This should not be too difficult to diagnose if you get help from the vintage computer community, as these terminals were usually quite simple.
or maybe the hard drive is bad and it literally doesn't have anything to display at all
That poor computer, looked so much happier after the clean :)
Always love watching rare vintage electronics be cleaned up and/or restored to working order.
Sh up
@@allmousekillnew583 ?
Like my dog who rolled in the mud, after a bath.
@@allmousekillnew583 ?.
@@allmousekillnew583tf did he do
the "useless foam" is a sound dampener still used in custom keyboards to this day. also the grim on the inside of the keyboard indicates the ppl using it where smokers as that is what happens to electronics. when u smoke around them
But the foam was only on one of the two keyboards
@@giofurla the key board may have been damaged by the smoke residue and the foam was never replaced when fixing it
How nice are those key caps boys
@@shaquilleoneal45i was thinking the same thing. they look so nice
Seems logical, I guess smoking in the office was the norm back then.
this isn't relevant to this video in any way, but I just wanted you to know i rescued a working 2011 iMac from the side of the road last week, bought her a keyboard roughly of the same age on eBay, cleaned her up, learned how to system restore, and brought her back to life. She's now running the newest software I could get her (High Sierra) and doing well. I've named her Gertrude, the very angry computer. Point is, I probably wouldn't have gone to the effort if it wasn't for you, so thank you for your work!
Nice! One more computer saved from eWaste
I wonder how fast it is
@@mmbeno it’s actually not too bad! I’m not a computer expert by any means but I can tell it’s a little sluggish sometimes, but it still runs my NBN normally, RUclips videos run smoothly and so far so good!
@@araigumakiruno hell yeah! She wasn’t even visibly damaged either, just had a bit of oxidisation on her from being outside for a day but that cleaned up just fine.
@@jessica23claire atleast she have a new,nice and caring owner!
Those pieces of foam are not useless actually. They dampen the sound from key presses. It actually makes a difference from a completely hollow case
I can't stand it when people ""repair"" something and just throw random parts away and say "this is useless" when they think they know more than the engineers that built the thing at why something was put there. If you are too ignorant at how electronics function and what each part is for, you shouldn't be repairing them. Imagine repairing a car with that logic. It would never even start.
@@MrWolfSnack yeah as a keyboard nerd i’m literally fuming
They’re useless! Didn’t u see the shape they were in? Sure it makes a change but that old foam is no good for the keyboard.
@@yahillo That's not what I'm saying and you know it.
@@MrWolfSnack I’m pretty sure he meant they’re useless because of the gross condition they were in not because he’s uneducated however you could be right too who knows 🤷♂️
I love the look of this technological artifact. I also am still bewildered at the fact that this was a late 70s/early 80s computer, fast forward 30 to 40 years and we now have super computers in the palms of our hands that most of us probably used to watch this video. I always get excited about technological advancements.
It's not even a computer, it's just a terminal. It's meant to be the human interface to a much larger computer, in this era likely a fridge-sized "minicomputer."
@@babylfsh this was used to access a much larger computer? This is so cool because of how refined computers are now and how small computers can get compared to the computers of the time which took up an entire room. I'm sorry I just love this sort of stuff
@@omegasiarnaq By the late 70s, it's more likely that this would be connected to a fridge-sized computer, although it could also have been connected to an ancient room-sized mainframe. The room-size computers of the 50s and 60s usually used teletype machines (telephone connected automatic typewriters) as terminals, which are clunky mechanical beasts. Video terminals like this one started becoming available in the 70s as a paperless alternative to a teletype.
@@babylfsh nah too smol... bring it up to a small room sized.
I love how it looks too ❤️
I was a drilling rig radio operator in the 80's and 90's and this system is extremely similar to what I knew as a Laine Data System. Effectively a terminal that ran a very basic system and connected to peripherals (in our case an early modem) via RS232 which, if memory serves worked at 300bps. Our modem was connected to a modified car phone that connected to the land based cell system.
thats honestly pretty awful but also awesome at the same time lol
The question is "Should you repurpose it?" ... To which my answer would be "It belongs to a museum" :) If you can't find any info on the internet, it looks like its rare, and part of the Australian computer history.
I think that they didn’t make very many copies
"it belongs in a museum" Mostly everything that gets donated to a museum gets thrown into storage where it won't be documented and won't be seen by anyone. .
At least this might be thrown into someones man cave. It'll have purpose instead of being chucked behind a sheet of glass where maybe one or two people a month might acknowledge it's existence.
@@BarrySmoother "privatize everything" right?
i agree , and i think it have a hight historical value , its too valuable to just change it to any thing else ,
@@BarrySmoother
guess where it collected all this crud.
guess who auctioned it.
this thing probbably has been on some collectors display before he died and it ended up in a garage.
or it has already been in deep storage of some museum that didn't know what to do with it
I'd just like to add, I currently own some of the last surviving ECS stage lighting equipment, this appears to be an old ECS lighting computer console, as I have the serial system this plugs into. The CRT get input from a lighting desk, which this acts as monitor/keyboard for. These were developed in the late 1970s/early 80s. I'd be interested in buying this, as they are well obsolete but a part of theatrical history.
Did you get to purchase this?
@@nahmastay3300 yeah dude @JK Forde
@@amirrayyan5151 doubtful, Hugh said he was keeping it, at least at that time.
@@SgtKOnyx He gave Hugh an offer he couldn't refuse.
This would have gone quicker if you'd had a Ducktor on hand. He's always very helpful
Was that...
a TysyTube reference?!
@@frstwhsprs Odd Tinkering, but honestly I just spent 10 mins trying to see if they are the same person. Identical aesthetic
@Allan Dods Odd Thinkering is Finish and Tysy is French (my nation)
@@justapurerandom5374 not really. He is romanian born and just moved to France afaik
@@cosmingfx how do you know that?!
This is a terminal. No computer bits inside. It is purely for displaying and entering data from another machine. Still is really cool. Nice video!
It's hard to make me gag just by sight, but you cleaning the base was able to do it. You gained a subscriber just by having the stomach to clean this.
There should be a warning on this video -
"Don't watch this video if you are eating or about to eat ... or are a germophobe ... or an arachnophobe."
I was eating an apple and I almost died
I was eating a dinner while watch this
@Sagnik Chatterjee lol I just woke up and ate a apple lol
Agreed
I was eating the whole time
That high pitched noise might acctually be the horizontal sweep generator making that noise as its sweep rate is in the audible range for most computers. The sweep generator is meant to make the CRT beam sweep across CRT display so the entire screen is covered. The Sweep generator should be making a saw-tooth wave form at its output and feeding it into the horizontal deflection coil. Another problem maybe that the flyback transformer may be out. The epoxy may have degraded over time this letting in moisture or air allowing the HV to arc inside the transformer thus not letting the HV get to the CRT anode. Or possibly that is only a display for a external computer. With those dumb terminals it may be a data monitor. The CRT socket connector to the CRT pins at the back of the CRT may also be corroded and not making a good connection to either the heater element pin, cathode pin, focusing electrode pin, beam amplitude pin. Or its just that the main processor is dead or other critical components. One good idea though before checking anyone of these is to check all power supply voltage rails. There maybe a short on one of the supply rails and the current limiting protection kicking in. If you think that current limiting didnt exist back then you are wrong because I have experience working with 22** 4** series Tektronix oscilloscopes. The 22** series are from the 1980s and the 4** are from the 1970s. Check the fuses (if there are any). Well thats all I can think off the top of my head. Good luck.
Too long : didn't read
That's a very neat answer! Hope Hugh sees it
@@Random3DAnimations Good for you? But genuinely, who asked
You
@@Random3DAnimations no
An Ebay Auction for this would be like:Almost New Condition, rarely used
true
Right lol two years ago I bought an iMac from ebay, it’s listing was same like u said until I found using drivedx the hdd is failing with over 23,000 hours runtime 🤦🏻♂️
@Quantum wtf , gamming?
the terminal in reality:15 years abuse in some manufacturing plant with 600 smokers in a 9x12 room with 1200 rats using it as a toilet XD
I remember back in the 1970s when I was in junior high. Back then radio shack had groups of people who went into school to demonstrate electronics. That was where I had my first experience touching a computer. They would put the game pong up on the screen and talk about how that computer was programmed to play a game. They told us about the gaming and then explain how if you were to become a computer programmer perhaps you would invent a new game.
I'm really enjoyed this video and thank you for bringing back some very fond memories. I most definitely hit the like and subscribe button. Look forward to watching more of your videos.
Your videos inspired me to open my own business repairing computers
From one of the date codes on a transistor this looks like it is made in 1977. It's a terminal. Please keep it stock since it is so old
Good catch!
I'm saying the same but I really don't think Hugh will read this, if you read this bro, please keep it stock and don't ruin such a classic machine
i doubt he'll keep it stock.
it's sad.
the computer thinks it's getting restored but in the end it's just ending up in the trash and it's skin it used for some raspberry pi crap.
I've seen cleaner men's toilets after a football final.....
I’ve seen dirtier toilets in a woman’s dorm.
I’ve seen cleaner boys’ middle school bathrooms
It’s a computer data monitor. (Dumb terminals) probably from the ‘70s.
A quick check of the production dates on the chips would give a reasonable estimate of when it was manufactured. I glimpsed a white, ceramic EPROM -- I think those are late-1970s vintage.
But the keyboards reminds me the actual mechanical keyboards 😂
@@N3KO_79 old keyboards were actually better since they weren’t meant to be affordable
@@N3KO_79 That is because it was one. Any type of computer back then was not for consumers and they money these things cost was immense. Rubber membrane and other cheap keyboard designs were obviously to get the prices down for consumers in the 1990's.
@@AustinMichael Even in the late 70's and 80's membrane keyboards were around and only got more popular with the rise of home and small business computers
How I see my computer: a little dirty but pretty clean
*How my mom sees my computer:*
lol same. Except Its my brother as you and your mom as me. Its so relatable though.
Why do I love how it is designed? Boxy Terminal that looks like a PC.
Great video Hugh. When I started my IT career in the 90's there were still a few terminals like these around the office, hooked up to either Honeywell Bull mainframes, or later DEC Alpha mini computers. In those days I worked with programmers who started programming with punch cards! This terminal would have been cutting edge stuff to them in the 80s :-)
It's always good to have insights from those who actually used these things. Thank you.
Nice
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I am 75 have been in IT since I was 19 and the name rings a bell with me. I'll watch your video all the way to see if it gives me a clue. Worst case I can ask a few of my contemporaries if they can recall ECS. May take a while they're in almost every time zone! (or no longer on the planet!)
ECS was started by Michael Roberts from UNSW in the 70s and they did quite well selling terminals to banks and government departments. Roberts then bought out Dulmison/Dulmont and the company became Time Office Computers. They threw a lot of cash into laptop development and sales but couldn't compete with the overseas big boys and went under in the late 80s.
@@libertyordeaf Thanks for the update, I also remember TIme Computers
The keyboard is beautiful. The blue too. You'd be hard pressed to find the replacement CRT
Agreed
External (adapted) monitor?
@fallen aspie but shouldnt it display something? Like a flashing underscore
The CRT is probably fine. Most likely dim and a bit burned in but the electronics are the likely culprit.
@@nysaea Agree. And the CRT is a Hitachi job, so probably more or less generic and replaceable. Would be interesting to see how it reads on a CRT tester.
If you jump on the Australian Vintage Computer Collectors group on FB, I’m pretty confident someone would know it’s full history.
It looks very good aesthetically speaking but I would have loved to see it working
The styrofoam on the key board is to act as a dampener, so when ur typing there is no hollow sound being created.
@@tuononh which other keyboard? There's only one in the vid no?
@@jeeroylenkins6625 There's literally 2 keyboards
@@arsyadaiman8474 oh yea ahahaha. Well then idk y there isn’t one on the other keeb
@@tuononh it was probably put in on the blue keyboard bcuz the last person who used it did it
@@jeeroylenkins6625 maybe in the first keyboard something was causing the keyboard to be loud and someone put foam in it
Hugh: *Random and useless pieces of foam*
Custom Keyboard enthusiasts: *shaking their heads*
What is that foam for?
@@korbyndejong6490 Dampening foam to reduce pinging inside the metal case, and to make the keyboard sound deeper
ikr
@@korbyndejong6490 to dampin the case sound
@@cadenyang3058 I doubt back then they cared about making a keyboard sound deeper
"unindentified grime" sounds scary
Well it is scary
I don't know why, but i found that these kind of videos are satisfying
If this was a eBay listing it would be
"SUPER GAMING COMPUTER USED NO DIRT"
You should give this to Dankpod's friend James, he could probably fix anything.
Yes
As long as its a Fiat
There's a RUclipsr that's pretty good at tech repair as well, called Hugh Jeffreys
The crossover we need
Jerry fixes and a diy power checker with a broken fuse lookin light
Be a parent and you will always find unindentified grime.
Being a terminal, powering on at most on a working model would likely give you nothing but a flashing cursor if not connected to a host.
This looks nothing like an IBM compatible mainframe terminal or a VT52/100 etc. (the obvious clue is in the keyboard content/layout). My guess is either a terminal for a lesser known mainframe series or more likely some sort of proprietary minicomputer (and there were lots of them until the likes of Wang and Prime started dying off in the 1980s) - also the company that made these in all likelihood just produced peripherals and not the machines you connected them to. Before terminal emulation on PCs became the done thing there were lots of non-OEM terminals available for most popular systems.
tbh, since how old it is and how it was found in condition, I agree with you even though he made it in a good condition. Just because it looks nice doesn't mean its good on the inside.
Can be generic UART/RS232 terminal. Tons of different models of those character oriented terminals were made. 3270 series for mainframes were a different kind of dog, proprietary protocol, field oriented, designed for S370. IBM frames used proprietary tech quite often. Minicomputers often used more common/standard stuff.
If it were an IBM mainframe terminal, wouldn't it have had a SEND key instead of a RETURN key? I remember those terminals operated in block mode instead bothering the mainframe with every keystroke.
LOL
Those vintage SA profile key caps are so sweet!! I’d love to hear a sound test on the restored keyboard & switches.
I'd be interested in seeing this old guy restored rather than gutted tbh, though im about a year late on commenting. That's an old school computer. More than likely it was from a period where individual computer set ups didn't have their own OS, and ran data fed into it from a cable connected to the main server. It used to be easier to do that since storage was incredibly massive and expensive back in the day. It made it possible to store the data in one space, and have a compact unit on your desk in your office.
This has got to be the worst condition computer on youtube, even more than the 8-bit guy's VIC-20
That's exactly what I was thinking
It’s not really a computer, more of a dumb terminal, but same thing I guess.
I was thinking the exact same thing
Absolutely.
This would make The 8-bit Guy even more jealous.
The next time I see a video with the words '…Dirtiest Computer…' in the title I’m going to comment "You obviously haven’t seen Hugh Jeffreys's."
Most underrated comment ever
I think the one of the only contenders would be that nasty VIC-20 the 8 Bit Guy washed off. Although, it was more oily than feces ridden lol
This thing doesnt count because it's a bloody terminal and cant do anything by itself.
@@Cmdrbzrd Does that count as a technical knockout?
@@markharrisllb no
Whatever you do with it, i think it would be great to see the keyboard working with the final product. Its the perfect example of vintage goodness. Keycaps that put tungsten to shame, contactless honeywell switches, a case that you could probably use in the zombie appocalypse, i would love to see the keyboard speaking with a modern computer or something
It's neat to see that the internal wires are actually braided. A very interesting detail
Very brave of you!! That thing probably won many awards for Natiest Computer in the World!!
Please keep it retro and preserve the “living fossils” of the extinct computers so that inquisitive minds in the future won't only have to rely on the theoretical material but can look at well preserved fossils and learn “what it used to be” and “how far have we got” of the modern computers. Ik it has little to no functionality left or that it wasn’t a marvel of a computer in its own time either but it still looks good after cleaning. Can you please do that? : )
Umm, it's a dumb terminal. Of course there was no functionality left, because there barely was any to begin with! A dumb terminal requires being hooked up to a mainframe computer to do anything.
@@Cmdrbzrd as I said "it wasn't a Marvel of a computer in it's own time either" but it looks good
@@kushunadkat9087 it's not a computer though. It's a keyboard and monitor with extra electronics to handle ports and stuff.
@@oromis995 😅😂
Using a USB-FTDI serial port interface, you can easily and cheaply connect this to your PC/raspberry-PI/etc. A terminal emulator program will allow you to decode it without needing to write any of your own code.. This can be done on the cheap.
what all parents think their kids treat their electronics like:
cause they do lol
I think you should try to fix it and keep the original internals, this computer deserves to live
This^ unless something is totally unfixable/Unreplaceable, then it deserves a chance. However, if this is a dummy terminal like the other comments mentioned then even if it’s fixed it’s going to be useless without a mainframe to plug into, especially considering the one com port isn’t even wired to the mobo anymore
@@Anonymous-qr4ev No need for a mainframe, it could be used as a Linux terminal for example
@@jussapitka6041 I mean, as long as he can connect up that serial port ur probably right, I just was going off what was said in the video lol
@@jussapitka6041 yeah, and play command line games, with BBSes or something. It would be very interesting, or change the CRT and make a retro gaming machine, would be amazing.
@@jussapitka6041 I highly doubt the Linux kernel supports hardware that was made more than a decade before the kernel even started to be developed...
Finally a restoration video with audio commentary
Technically, he hasn't really restored it, at least in terms of function. Sadly, it looks like he's not planning on doing so, either. :^(
Those diodes on the power supply board seem to have gotten coocked to a crisp. That's probably why it didn't want to turn on. That buzzing sound could be the flyback crashing because it doesn't get high enough voltage, along with a substantial ripple. Either that or it's a coroded connector somewhere that has gone high resistance.
i though the flyback buzzes cause its arcing
"it's probably animal poop"
Me: no i think its dirt
"it has a foul smell"
Note: don't let the cat sit on top of the computer
Looks like we need a collab with LGR or Retro Man Cave.
Or The8BitGuy
Someone that’ll actually fix it instead of putting something else inside
Or Adrian's Digital Basement
Hugh: i dont have a scraper
*uses scraper to take off the moldy serial # sticker
I think he meant a washing scrubber
That was a guitar pick, man.
Drummer girl its a pick
@@horusfalcon it’s an Ifixit phone screen adhesive scraper, he uses them in most of his phone repairs
77 likes
nice
I would love to own one of these. My grandfather worked at this company.
If you live in Australia and want to pay to have it shipped to you I will consider it.
@@HughJeffreys I'm in Sydney. What's the best way to contact you privately.
This is e sort of stuff I love being preserved and deserves to be preserved, so so interesting and important to see how things have developed over the years to teach the younger generations how advancements work.
I could imagine the smell just by looking at it, good work!
This would likely make a neat 'hidden gaming PC' with enough work.
@Good Old Gamer I think a pi would be too small for something this big, I mean there’s plenty of room, wouldn’t you rather fit a mini itx board in it instead?
With a crt? Lol
@@growtopiajaw If we ignore that this CRT is most likely not able to display high resolutions (or color graphics), CRTs are quite gorgeous and clean looking with good blacks and high refresh rates if you get a high quality one
You mean sleeper pc 👌
11:16 I recognise that speaker mounted in the keyboard assembly, it was used in many Telecom Australia rotary phones from that time.
Yes, I saw that. I still have some that have never been used, they were used in the earpiece of the later 400 series phones and then in the mouthpiece and earpiece of the 800 series.
The sticker he removed also said telecom on it so it was most likely owned by telecom
I don't know how, but these are so satisfying to watch.
Distiled white vinegar, scrubing bubbles, peroxide isopropyl alchohol mixture, chlorox wipes, and let it dry and then use all purpose polish as a final touch and you've got this thing as clean as it can be. Be sure to get rid of all of tge vinegar before using the alchohol and peroxide mix. It will for a very toxic gas if you neglect to do so
You should repair it rather than put a new pc inside. It's quite unique, even the fan is really unique as I have never seen a computer use an AC fan
I very much agree!
Yes
This isn’t a “computer”, this is a terminal. Which is just a display with keyboard attached. There is no brain inside. Even with this thing fixed up, it’s useless.
And how are you able to find parts for such an old machine
@@NHbinaaa111 Not even close. It’s like the equivalent of the NEX dock. You need to connect a real computer to it to use it.
Tar from smoker's lungs removed from their lungs and placed on a 1980s PC
Doubt that's tar
I would love to see it restored or preseved as it is kind of a piece of history I guess
This looks very unique and even rare. In my opinion it should end up in museum or something in unmodified state. However, you still have second keyboard so maybe you could do something with that.
funny thing is you posted this video on my birthday July 24th !
I watch a lot of restoration videos and this is the first I've thought "I wouldn't touch that". Braver man than I.
Any Australian that saves things from sheds is used to cleaning possum urine off things
The mold when it touches the mold killer:
*_A-_* **dead**
Well, thats the idea
@@mariosanchezolmedo6898 Yup
@@mariosanchezolmedo6898 does the job
This needs to be talked about with Techmoan or sent to him. He'll know exactly what this is.
32 likes
nice
This isn't his thing at all, he does home entertainment stuff. This is commercial / industrial computing, not his field at all. There are experts in museums and online for this sort of thing. Many of whom used to work with it when it was new (and EXPENSIVE!). Sadly, every year, more of them grow old and die. But they're often extremely keen, they really loved this stuff, especially the programmers and system guys, so they've done what they can to get their information written down so it can survive them.
nah hes more audio equipment eevblog now he might know
Cool idea putting modern internal parts inside an older 70’s computer case. I think that would be interesting to see
No, that would be a horrible idea! Why destroy such a rare terminal? There's already a hundred million PC cases around, no need to sacrifice such a cool case for it.
You shouldn’t make it more modern it’s such a cool piece and considering even google doesn’t know much about it makes it really unique and rare in its own regard and also in a way one in a million I would keep it the way it is and put it on a shelf it would be a great conversation starter! Once it is restored of course.
the truth is that these videos are very satisfactory, I don't know if some of them like it
if you liked this then you can check out the worst vic-20 i have seen from 8 bit guy
Next up: cleaning my filthy desk after the grotesque 1980’s computer.
-replying enabled-
hugh: after correcting my mistake and trying again this happened ...
me waiting for a blast xd
Trueeee🤣🤣🤣
Timestamp someone please
I was just expecting a command prompt to appear...
@@MetalTrabant i was expecting a blinking cursor bc thats typical for those terminals. they are literaly like cmd.exe or a linux tty shell but as a device that plugs into a headless pc.
I expected the reaction I got, he probably shorted something
I know I'm late to the party but if you have not done anything with this beast, turn it into a Commodore Pet or TRS-80...since both are monochrome and I think you can get DIY kits for either. Quite honestly, I say to try to restore it to it's original glory. It is a piece of history after all.
Instructions to do with the computer case:
1. replace the motherboard with the best and newest one for business.
2. replace the CPU with an Intel Core i7 Inside.
3. increase the RAM to 128GB.
4. replace the GPU with a GeForce RTX 3080.
5. increase the HDD to 2TB.
6. replace the power supply with a 700V one.
7. replace the CPU cooler with a water cooler.
8. install Windows 10 Pro on it.
9. install business software one it (e.g. ClickUp and LibreOffice).
Do that if the computer can handle all the upgrades, and bam! You have a fully fledged business PC with a vintage design using parts from a 1986 PC (that was probably used for business).
Hugh's mom: *Hugh, where are all my cleaning products?*
Hugh: *Sorry mom, i used all for a video in youtube!*
😂
You have been a bad boy Hugh..you are grounded.....no smartphones or computers for a week
@@somewhatacat7526 Hugh:NOOOOOO-
On
Hugh: ma if you like what happened to your cleaning products hit that subscribe button.
we need more deep cleaning videos on youtube, theyre so satisfying.
That's an absolutely beautiful terminal. I'd love to use it to control the server in my home.
You can do that?
It must have been amazingly satisfying to slowly see it becoming cleaner
Does this guy ever make part 2s?
Should've just pressure washed this with some strong disinfectant.
99% IPA, and electronics cleaner respectively heated to 150-180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cycle between them with 1 soap pressure wash, followed by a rinse.
Bruh I wouldn’t just go with a spray bottle and paper towel, I’d use a pressure washer on that thing 😂
Same tbh
Hey, I just ran across your channel and I love it! :) Im a HUGE fan of repair and restoration videos, there's something so satisfying about them :)
I can’t believe you didn’t show a split screen side by side comparison of the computer as you received it and once it was clean!
Bro that thing bout to take off with that sound
"removing the two random and useless pieces of foam"
you have just declared war on r/mk
I love how those old chunky keyboards look. Would love one for my current setup but they cost an arm and a leg
they did back then too
This is the greatest deep cleaning computer restoration of All Time
Ya
The high pitch note is from the flyback transformer.
Also I think you must send some ASCII characters to let the screen show them.
The historian in me is balking at the idea of gutting that to turn it into a completely new computer.
the foam inside the keyboard is dampening foam to make it sound better when you type
Damn this is the best comment I ever read. Thanks for making my morning better
Hardware like this is pretty rare these days. As someone who worked on terminals like this in the UK in the 1970s (different designs from different manufacturers, but very similar components and general design arrangements) I would vote for a proper restoration. However, that could be a challenge, especially if the design is using some of the more unusual PMOS semiconductors typical in that period (especially around the memory section).
imagine if that keyboard had vintage cherry mx blacks in them
*softer clicks*
but micro switch hall effect is better though
yeah with that dunk in soapy water they're probably dead now.
This felt like an AmmoNYC video because I didn’t notice 11 minutes had passed.
And to think about it, it’s like shoving an LS engine in a 1970s Holden if you upgraded it to something with the performance of a modern machine.
(Make it a Windows 10 or Linux Machine if you intend to do this though)
If you want to really make sure to get that grime off with just a couple squirts, mix Spray and Wipe and 95% IPA in a spray bottle in a 3/1 ratio, spray it on and leave it for about 60 seconds, anything that it can't remove is either cursed or nuclear waste!
As much as it would be cool to do something else with this, I think you should leave it stock. Computers of any type of this vintage are extremely rare and they are important pieces of history. Would probably look cooler on display anyways, as a piece of art.
Love to see this as a sleeper gaming machine. Finding a display panel to fit and replace the monochrome monitor will be your main thing issue though.
I would love to see this fully restored and I wonder what company used this? A retro game machine would be quite cool I must say!
Yeah whack a pi in there 😁
@@bigsteve6729 it’d lose it’s value, you don’t do mods and things in such a rare device
@@mitsostechtips9047 unless it's broken
@@TRIisaloser still, doesn't matter
@@TRIisaloser these are much easier to repair than modern pc lol
You are so dedicated it’s unbelievable
those pieces of foam aren't useless, they are there to dampen the sound the keys make to make it quieter