PDP-8.co.uk » selling

PDP-8’s for sale

Toby Russell — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:39:08 +0000

I’ve decided to sell of a few PDP-8’s as the hoard is getting rather large at the moment and so I’m prepared to part with the following:

PDP-8/M, 8KW core, M8655 serial UART, very clean machine in working order
PDP-8/E, 4KW core, M8650 UART, requires a full rebuild
PDP-8/A, 16KW core, extended memory, serial, paper tape drive and controller (non DEC). Very clean and in working order
RX8E + RX01 drives
PC8E + PC04 paper tape
DECmate III
WP78 (aka a VT78)

Email offers to toby@pdp11.co.uk . Machines are located in UK

Recent sales

Toby Russell — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:25:59 +0000

Here is a review of recent known PDP-8 sales. As ever, prices appear to be heading upwards.

PDP-8/M

Ebay US sale, item #260385453584. Sold for £1023.23 / $1500.00

Original Description:

Winning Bidder will receive one (1) Complete 100% Working Digital pdp8M Computer with 8k of Iron core memory, the computer comes with the below listed boards, unit was removed from a 100% operational cnc control cabinet. Listed shipping fee for lower 48 only. (The top cover is included)

M8330 Timing Generator

M8300 Majo Registers

M8310 Major Registers Control

M837 Memory Extension Control

M847 ROM

M848 Power Fail / Auto Restart

G111 Sense Inhibit (1 of 3 8k stack)

H212 Planar Stack (2 of 3 8k stack)

G233 XY Driver (3 of 3 8k stack)

W968 I/O Interface

M849 Shield

M8320 Bus Load Module

Commentary

A very nice looking 8-M. The 8-M is a nice compact machine and this one looks like it should make its new owner very happy. The price seemed to be about spot on for a working 8-M. Interestingly its RF shield appears to be in the wrong location, I would normally expect it to sit between the CPU/options and core memory.

PDP-8/A

Ebay US sale, item #230334635912. Sold for £525.25 / $769.99

Original Description

Dec PDP-8/a computer removed from a working machine ( Wire EDM ) seems clean and in good condition but due to it’s age I cannot guarantee its operation.
Includes boards M8315 M8317 M8316 H219B G649 Power supply and an AXIS Board.

Computer has been in storage for 10+ years – it IS dusty, and needs cleaning – Collectors please note! the computer did run when removed but there is no guarantee to it’s current operation, sold AS IS because of it’s age .

Commentary

A very clean looking machine. Price was in my opinion on the high side given that the machine is the less desirable 8/A and not in known working condition. The machine has (for an 8/A) a fairly modest 8KW of core memory.

What is a PDP-8 worth?

Toby Russell — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:14:26 +0000

Pricing machines like PDP-8s is a difficult task. Due to the small numbers that change hands in any given year, it is often hard to put a firm price on them. It is however important for us to put a value on our collect not least to ensure that we are adequately insured against any disaster that might befall our beloved machines.

The following are my estimate (and what I will generally pay) for a PDP-8 and are based on private sale prices and prices reached on auction sites such as E-bay:

Model	Availability	Parts Availability	Poor	Good	Excellent
PDP-8 (straight-8)	* – - – -	* – - – -	3,000	4,000	5,000
PDP-8/S	* – - – -	* – - – -	1,500	2,500	4,000
PDP-8/I	* * – - -	* * – - -	1,250	1,750	2,500
PDP-8/L	* * – - -	* * – - -	1,250	1,750	2,500
PDP-8/E	* * * – -	* * * * -	800	1,200	1,500
PDP-8/F	* * * – -	* * * * -	500	900	1,200
PDP-8/M	* * * – -	* * * * -	500	900	1,200
PDP-8/A	* * * * -	* * * * -	300	500	750
VT78	* * – - -	* – - – -	150	300	500
PDP-12	* – - -	* – - – -	4,000	6,000	8,000

Prices are in UK pounds. Last updated 11th April 2009

Definitions:

Availability – Score out of 5 for how easy these machines are to find. Bare in mind finding a PDP-8 is never easy!

Parts Availability – Score out of 5 for how easy spare parts are to find for a machine. Of course the great thing with a PDP-8 is that due to their simple nature, many individual components can usually be found or a subtitute identified.

Poor – Price for a poor conditioned but complete machine. This be in an unknown state of operation having probably languished for years in a less than ideal environment. Expect to have to fully rebuild this machine. For machines with missing parts deduct up-to 50% from this price and bare in mind the difficulty you may face locating a part.

Good – A machine in generally good condition. All parts will be there and the machine should be largely operational with only minor faults.

Excellent – A clean, fully working machine with no faults. The machine will be include at least a CPU, memory, some form of console and probably some controller cards.