Rick Altherr

@mxshift@treehouse.systems
1.5K Followers
610 Following
759 Posts

Pronounced like mischief.

BMC Bandit. Secure boot afficionado. FPGA historian. Quantum computer designer. 🏎️, 🔧, 🚜, Corgis.

TAI is time, all else is presentation

They/them
Monroe, WA

Mentoringhttp://calendly.com/mxshift
Bloghttps://www.kc8apf.net
Ko-Fihttp://ko-fi.com/mxshift
Show threadRick Altherr2d ago
Actual contents are newly manufactured air filters for CDC Phoenix hard drives from the 1980s. HEPA had destroyed the molds years ago but they could make the main filter section. I'm making new end caps. #retrocomputing
Rick Altherr2d ago
I now understand why this shipment got stuck in customs for a while. Labels are entirely accurate but are certain to be misinterpreted by most folks.
Rick AltherrJun 29
Went to the Greenwood Car Show with @WoodlandFey today. 20 city blocks of cars! I only took a few photos though. A Fairlady. A '78 Trans Am TA/6.6 very close to my Dad's. A very clean drag car.
Rick AltherrJun 23
I bought a GPS antenna. It was a great deal on an excellent antenna. I didn't look at the physical size. 386DX for scale.
Rick AltherrJun 15
Today's attire
Rick AltherrMay 24
Kid and I went to clear a few trees that fell over the winter. After pulling them down from a hill, they were largely in tact. Instead of cutting them up, kid pulled them with the tractor over to the backyard. They now frame out the edge of the yard that slopes down to a drop. Now I can backfill with dirt to level the yard out a bit.
Show threadRick AltherrMay 19
Show threadRick AltherrMay 19
But my partner sent me some of their photos
Rick AltherrMay 18
Visited @icm 's physical location in Seattle. So much to see and interact with that I forgot to take pictures except for the PDP-8. #retrocomputing
Rick AltherrApr 26
I hate standing at the fridge defrosting the ice maker. This is much better.
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Rick Altherr2d ago
I now understand why this shipment got stuck in customs for a while. Labels are entirely accurate but are certain to be misinterpreted by most folks.
Show threadRick Altherr2d ago
Actual contents are newly manufactured air filters for CDC Phoenix hard drives from the 1980s. HEPA had destroyed the molds years ago but they could make the main filter section. I'm making new end caps. #retrocomputing
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@mxshift you... asked HEPA to manufacture custom filters for you? that's so cool
Show threadRick Altherr2d ago
@whitequark turns out they're perfectly happy to do small runs. This batch was $105ea at qty 10.
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@mxshift very nice!
Show threadPhil M0OFX2d ago

@mxshift @whitequark That is surprisingly reasonable for a small run. I remember the old classiccmp posts about these drives - "don't run them up, the filter will be trash and you'll write off the drive - keep it as a show piece". It's cool to see replacements available.

I feel like one day I'm going to wake up to a Usagi video on re-winding or rebuilding a CDC disk drive head.

Show threadRick Altherr2d ago
@philpem @whitequark *glances over at the dead Hawk head next to the microscope*
Show threadSheddi2d ago

@whitequark @mxshift
Impressive that they're still in business.

Far too often I've looked at manufacturing drawings for kit from the 80s and 90s and have found that the only manufacturer of some important McGuffin closed during one of the various recessions, with no equivalent part available.

Heck, even a major aerospace parts manufacturer divested the division that made my part and now has no records of what it was or how to make it ...

Show threadgaytabase2d ago
@mxshift oh dear