Good day!!! We got a Wang 4000. This was the first computer model from Wang. Before that they only made calculators. Back story: the computer belonged to a chemical company here in NJ. They bought it around 1967-1968, used it deep into the 1970s, and replaced it with an HP-3000. Frank's father tightly wrapped the 4000 in plastic, put desiccant bags inside, built a wooden crate for it, and put it in some corner of his warehouse. The father died several years ago. His son Frank took over the company and recently decided to sell one of their warehouses. While clearing the warehouse this month, Frank and his colleagues found the crate. Frank remembered that the company had the HP-3000 so he Googled, found an HP mailing list, and posted about its availability. Dave M. and Mike L. read that message, noticed it was here in NJ, knew VCF would love to have an HP-3000, and forwarded it to me. He agreed to donate it to VCF. He didn't want to wait until he got here to see it, so he opened one side of the crate back at his warehouse. It happened to be the front. He saw it was a Wang 4000 and not the HP (he has no idea now what became of the HP!) He re-sealed the crate and brought it to us today -- special thanks to Infoage volunteer Ray B. for operating the forklift. Steve A. led the crate-opening party. We were shocked at the good condition of the computer inside! It looked very clean. Steve and I determined where to put the computer (in place of the Data General Eclipse in the museum) and then we removed the plastic wrap. That left a lot of tape residue; I went out to buy some Goof Off (they didn't have Goo Gone). But then there were about 30 museum visitors today and other tasks to do, so I'll clean the new artifact another day. 4000 picture 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MFIYqIOVHKRH-D87sBpTxxnwA3lPWBJp/view?usp=s... 4000 picture 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/199JTwJwFYkaxR_hUfhc2o1OsDZ60zBe-/view?usp=s... 4000 memory: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WP1qDzZlwn9DLbpsBc3WaFoaJEdJvQzW/view?usp=s... Frank: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G2pd9sbWmzxakkQQSdB1Ak2-lLc1ub2X/view?usp=s... Forklift: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C4sQpHQamzexjJKoTbV_7QmiIOnkX3-H/view?usp=s... Beside the great visitorship today, I also installed the next rack shelf and put the combo DVD/VCR along with the laserdisc player in there (the LD has a karaoke feature... I can't see us using that!). I couldn't find where in the warehouse I put the stereo receiver, but it was an old crappy one anyhow, so it's no big deal if we need to replace it. Also on the agenda: replace the rack's network wires with black ones in order to continue the "stealth" theme which I like. A/V so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EU6TZoSwIW5NVtoXUV2Crr6kzODONQE3/view?usp=s... Whole rack so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vqdd5YqtoLOW1BhWdCa0xBK6dT7oaTsa/view?usp=s... A weird thing about the tablet server: its power button is on the front near the top left side -- exactly where you wrist would hit when using the keyboard that sites on top of it (since we don't have a keyboard tray). But the server happens to have pull hooks on both sides, the hooks happen to have round indentations on their inward-facing sides (facing toward each other, that is), and the height of the indentations happens to line up with the power button about a half-inch in front of it. So I went to Home Depot, bought a metal rod, asked Roddy next door to spray it black, and installed it between the indentations. Got all that? :) (The pictures below will show you.) Now the rod serves double-duty as a wrist-rest and power button guard. It worked very nicely. Front: https://drive.google.com/file/d/100dAtR4HGtHJ-Nhzi8f1fTK1HcheJNjk/view?usp=s... Top: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WsF5UYQ4EQBBjlIUFPCpbikcyFO8bWVN/view?usp=s... Looking ahead: next weekend (or maybe Friday) is when Dean, Drew, and I will swap from the Pi to the server and the consumer router to the Cisco access point. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan@vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation
Some of you may know this already but please be careful with Goof Off, it’s significantly more harsh than Goo Gone and I’ve had it unintentionally remove paint. David
On Mar 18, 2018, at 22:44, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Good day!!!
We got a Wang 4000. This was the first computer model from Wang. Before that they only made calculators.
Back story: the computer belonged to a chemical company here in NJ. They bought it around 1967-1968, used it deep into the 1970s, and replaced it with an HP-3000. Frank's father tightly wrapped the 4000 in plastic, put desiccant bags inside, built a wooden crate for it, and put it in some corner of his warehouse.
The father died several years ago. His son Frank took over the company and recently decided to sell one of their warehouses. While clearing the warehouse this month, Frank and his colleagues found the crate.
Frank remembered that the company had the HP-3000 so he Googled, found an HP mailing list, and posted about its availability. Dave M. and Mike L. read that message, noticed it was here in NJ, knew VCF would love to have an HP-3000, and forwarded it to me.
He agreed to donate it to VCF. He didn't want to wait until he got here to see it, so he opened one side of the crate back at his warehouse. It happened to be the front. He saw it was a Wang 4000 and not the HP (he has no idea now what became of the HP!)
He re-sealed the crate and brought it to us today -- special thanks to Infoage volunteer Ray B. for operating the forklift.
Steve A. led the crate-opening party. We were shocked at the good condition of the computer inside! It looked very clean. Steve and I determined where to put the computer (in place of the Data General Eclipse in the museum) and then we removed the plastic wrap. That left a lot of tape residue; I went out to buy some Goof Off (they didn't have Goo Gone). But then there were about 30 museum visitors today and other tasks to do, so I'll clean the new artifact another day.
4000 picture 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MFIYqIOVHKRH-D87sBpTxxnwA3lPWBJp/view?usp=s...
4000 picture 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/199JTwJwFYkaxR_hUfhc2o1OsDZ60zBe-/view?usp=s...
4000 memory: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WP1qDzZlwn9DLbpsBc3WaFoaJEdJvQzW/view?usp=s...
Frank: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G2pd9sbWmzxakkQQSdB1Ak2-lLc1ub2X/view?usp=s...
Forklift: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C4sQpHQamzexjJKoTbV_7QmiIOnkX3-H/view?usp=s...
Beside the great visitorship today, I also installed the next rack shelf and put the combo DVD/VCR along with the laserdisc player in there (the LD has a karaoke feature... I can't see us using that!). I couldn't find where in the warehouse I put the stereo receiver, but it was an old crappy one anyhow, so it's no big deal if we need to replace it. Also on the agenda: replace the rack's network wires with black ones in order to continue the "stealth" theme which I like.
A/V so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EU6TZoSwIW5NVtoXUV2Crr6kzODONQE3/view?usp=s...
Whole rack so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vqdd5YqtoLOW1BhWdCa0xBK6dT7oaTsa/view?usp=s...
A weird thing about the tablet server: its power button is on the front near the top left side -- exactly where you wrist would hit when using the keyboard that sites on top of it (since we don't have a keyboard tray). But the server happens to have pull hooks on both sides, the hooks happen to have round indentations on their inward-facing sides (facing toward each other, that is), and the height of the indentations happens to line up with the power button about a half-inch in front of it. So I went to Home Depot, bought a metal rod, asked Roddy next door to spray it black, and installed it between the indentations. Got all that? :) (The pictures below will show you.) Now the rod serves double-duty as a wrist-rest and power button guard. It worked very nicely.
Front: https://drive.google.com/file/d/100dAtR4HGtHJ-Nhzi8f1fTK1HcheJNjk/view?usp=s...
Top: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WsF5UYQ4EQBBjlIUFPCpbikcyFO8bWVN/view?usp=s...
Looking ahead: next weekend (or maybe Friday) is when Dean, Drew, and I will swap from the Pi to the server and the consumer router to the Cisco access point.
________________________________ Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit
evan@vcfed.org (646) 546-9999
www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation
On Sun, Mar 18, 2018 at 11:05 PM, David Ryskalczyk via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Some of you may know this already but please be careful with Goof Off, it’s significantly more harsh than Goo Gone and I’ve had it unintentionally remove paint.
Goof Off is NOT the same thing as Goo Gone. Use Goo Gone. Goof Off is mostly Xylene - a paint thinner. It will dissolve many plastics, and it will damage or remove many paints. Goo Gone is a citrus based cleaner that is safe for plastics. It can still damage paint, but it's considerably safer and is generally better at de-gooing things than Goof Off (in my experience). Test in a small area, of course, but I've yet to have it remove paint from metal. Standard procedure when using Goo Gone is to saturate with enough Goo Gone to dissolve the goo and wipe it up - then clean with alcohol to remove the Goo Gone, as it leaves an oily residue. -Ian
Goof Off is NOT the same thing as Goo Gone. Use Goo Gone. Goof Off is mostly Xylene - a paint thinner. It will dissolve many plastics, and it will damage or remove many paints. Goo Gone is a citrus based cleaner that is safe for plastics. It can still damage paint, but it's considerably safer and is generally better at de-gooing things than Goof Off (in my experience). Test in a small area, of course, but I've yet to have it remove paint from metal. Standard procedure when using Goo Gone is to saturate with enough Goo Gone to dissolve the goo and wipe it up - then clean with alcohol to remove the Goo Gone, as it leaves an oily residue.
Good details. Thank you. I'll use proper Goo Gone. (In my defense, I shopped for GG, couldn't find a local store that had it, and bought GO based on a recommendation from the experienced-seeming local hardware store employee.)
On Mar 19, 2018, at 1:46 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Goof Off is NOT the same thing as Goo Gone. Use Goo Gone. Goof Off is mostly Xylene - a paint thinner. It will dissolve many plastics, and it will damage or remove many paints. Goo Gone is a citrus based cleaner that is safe for plastics. It can still damage paint, but it's considerably safer and is generally better at de-gooing things than Goof Off (in my experience). Test in a small area, of course, but I've yet to have it remove paint from metal. Standard procedure when using Goo Gone is to saturate with enough Goo Gone to dissolve the goo and wipe it up - then clean with alcohol to remove the Goo Gone, as it leaves an oily residue.
Good details. Thank you. I'll use proper Goo Gone. (In my defense, I shopped for GG, couldn't find a local store that had it, and bought GO based on a recommendation from the experienced-seeming local hardware store employee.)
What Ian said. We use goof off on the boats to remove chewing gum from carpets and industrial stains from the walls. It will pull the shine off a two part epoxy based paint if left on the surface too long and melts many plastics on contact. I totally understand a store owner/employee suggesting it. In normal everyday circumstances there isn't much that stands up to goof off, but normal everyday doesn't encompass vintage artifacts :-) Tony
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 1:46 AM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Good details. Thank you. I'll use proper Goo Gone. (In my defense, I shopped for GG, couldn't find a local store that had it, and bought GO based on a recommendation from the experienced-seeming local hardware store employee.)
You can find Goo Gone at Dollar Tree near the museum.
Good details. Thank you. I'll use proper Goo Gone. (In my defense, I shopped for GG, couldn't find a local store that had it, and bought GO based on a recommendation from the experienced-seeming local hardware store employee.)
You can find Goo Gone at Dollar Tree near the museum.
I looked there, didn't find it.
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 3:33 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Good details. Thank you. I'll use proper Goo Gone. (In my defense, I
shopped for GG, couldn't find a local store that had it, and bought GO based on a recommendation from the experienced-seeming local hardware store employee.)
You can find Goo Gone at Dollar Tree near the museum.
I looked there, didn't find it.
Get a professional for something like this or just leave it as is. *There is no rush* Bill
My uncle works in research at an adhesives manufacturing plant. I'll ask him for a recommendation on something that emulsifies tape goo and is safe for painted surfaces. On Mon, Mar 19, 2018, 4:21 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Get a professional for something like this or just leave it as is. *There is no rush*
A professional tape-residue remove expert?
I get it, why make a fuss, it's just tape. Thing is, it's not just any tape, it's tape on a 1960's mini computer. Why not call LCCM or the Computer History Museum. They have experienced experts with Wang computers, etc. THey may have the perfect concoction devised from years of working on this same thing. Why take chances? IF there is a failure it'll cost more to fix. b On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 4:53 PM, Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
My uncle works in research at an adhesives manufacturing plant. I'll ask him for a recommendation on something that emulsifies tape goo and is safe for painted surfaces.
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018, 4:21 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Get a professional for something like this or just leave it as is. *There is no rush*
A professional tape-residue remove expert?
I never said I don't take it seriously. I just thought some of the responses were a tad extreme, especially when some people prefer saying how it should be done instead of offering to actually help do it. Jeff S. -- I look forward to hearing what your uncle says. On Mar 19, 2018 4:59 PM, "Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I get it, why make a fuss, it's just tape. Thing is, it's not just any tape, it's tape on a 1960's mini computer. Why not call LCCM or the Computer History Museum. They have experienced experts with Wang computers, etc. THey may have the perfect concoction devised from years of working on this same thing. Why take chances? IF there is a failure it'll cost more to fix. b
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 4:53 PM, Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
My uncle works in research at an adhesives manufacturing plant. I'll ask him for a recommendation on something that emulsifies tape goo and is safe for painted surfaces.
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018, 4:21 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Get a professional for something like this or just leave it as is. *There is no rush*
A professional tape-residue remove expert?
Most of the adhesive dissolving chemicals my Uncle works with, like toluene, are strong enough to clean glue residue from equipment, but are NOT recommended for painted surfaces. Not much research at that facility has gone into actually determining how to remove their adhesives from a treated surface that needs preserved. I was told that most tape adhesives are water based and will eventually emulsify with water. It just takes patience. It was also recommended to use WD-40. That's been used for years to remove bumper stickers and residue from painted car surfaces. Another solvent that could work is naphtha. It can be strong, so spot testing it is highly recommended. But auto shops and detailers have used it to remove road tar and such from painted cars. I don't know what the painted parts on the Wang are painted with. Naphtha might only be best on anodized or unpainted parts. Sorry I couldn't get more information than this for consideration. On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 5:16 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I never said I don't take it seriously. I just thought some of the responses were a tad extreme, especially when some people prefer saying how it should be done instead of offering to actually help do it.
Jeff S. -- I look forward to hearing what your uncle says.
On Mar 19, 2018 4:59 PM, "Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I get it, why make a fuss, it's just tape. Thing is, it's not just any tape, it's tape on a 1960's mini computer. Why not call LCCM or the Computer History Museum. They have experienced experts with Wang computers, etc. THey may have the perfect concoction devised from years of working on this same thing. Why take chances? IF there is a failure it'll cost more to fix. b
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 4:53 PM, Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
My uncle works in research at an adhesives manufacturing plant. I'll ask him for a recommendation on something that emulsifies tape goo and is safe for painted surfaces.
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018, 4:21 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Get a professional for something like this or just leave it as is. *There is no rush*
A professional tape-residue remove expert?
On Sun, 18 Mar 2018, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
We got a Wang 4000. This was the first computer model from Wang. Before that they only made calculators.
The warehouse owner should keep an eye out for the Model 4002 Keyboard/Display unit: http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/x-wang4000-2.jpg Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
The warehouse owner should keep an eye out for the Model 4002 Keyboard/Display unit:
Not an important email goes by that I don't forget to mention some crucial details! Frank does have that unit but it didn't fit in his truck today with the crate and the ASR-33. He will bring it next weekend or perhaps we'll send someone to get it. Also: where we put the 4000 in the museum is the perfect spot chronologically (just after the PDP-8). The '8 has its own '33 there, so now that teletype is between the two computers. We can install an A/B switch rather than trying to squeeze in another identical teletype.
On Sun, 18 Mar 2018, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
The warehouse owner should keep an eye out for the Model 4002 Keyboard/Display unit:
Not an important email goes by that I don't forget to mention some crucial details!
Frank does have that unit but it didn't fit in his truck today with the crate and the ASR-33. He will bring it next weekend or perhaps we'll send someone to get it. Also: where we put the 4000 in the museum is the perfect spot chronologically (just after the PDP-8). The '8 has its own '33 there, so now that teletype is between the two computers. We can install an A/B switch rather than trying to squeeze in another identical teletype.
Was there any documentation with it? Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
The warehouse owner should keep an eye out for the Model 4002 Keyboard/Display unit:
Not an important email goes by that I don't forget to mention some crucial details!
Frank does have that unit but it didn't fit in his truck today with the crate and the ASR-33. He will bring it next weekend or perhaps we'll send someone to get it. Also: where we put the 4000 in the museum is the perfect spot chronologically (just after the PDP-8). The '8 has its own '33 there, so now that teletype is between the two computers. We can install an A/B switch rather than trying to squeeze in another identical teletype.
Was there any documentation with it?
Nope.
participants (8)
-
Bill Degnan -
David Ryskalczyk -
Evan Koblentz -
Ian Primus -
Jeffrey Brace -
jsalzman＠gmail.com -
Mike Loewen -
Tony Bogan