Antique "laptop"

Here I have a piece of history, still in working order. No way am I selling it though, lol.

It's a Compaq SLT/286 laptop. Weighs like a brick more than a laptop! It's a 12MHz 80286 with 1664kb RAM (640kb base, 1024kb extended), a 41MB hard disk, 2.4k modem and a 1.44MB floppy drive. No pointing device on it at all, it requires a serial mouse. BIOS date is June 16th, 1989.
I believe it was one of the first portable computers to have an LCD screen, before this they all used CRTs! :eek: The keyboard is removable, the LCD is mono and it has a handle, as seen in the third pic here. Don't really trust it though, its so heavy that I wonder if the handle is strong enough to take the weight.

When I got hold of it the CMOS battery was dead. But upon inspection it was contained inside an RTC chip, a DS1287, and as such the whole chip needed to be replaced. I replaced it with the newer DS12887 chip and now its working perfectly! Even the main Ni-Cad battery is working fine!

What ya think of this, hehe.

aidan_dunne

God, that brings back memories. I seem to remember seeing those advertised in a couple of computer magazines around that time. I think one of the ads mentioned something along the lines of "The Essential Tool For All Global Business Travellers" or something cheesey like that! Wouldn't fancy hauling one of those beasts around from airport to airport and country to country with me, though. You'd end up seriously straining yourself carrying it around, I reckon! :eek:

If I recall, they were unbelieveably expensive as well, starting at something like over five or six thousand pounds at the time. :eek: And you thought some laptops today were expensive!

Pigman II

We've come a long way baby!

Hard to believe there's even desktops nowadays that probably take up less volume than that suitcase of yours there

*Page*

aw its so retro!

telecinesk

I think I have one of those in the garage buried under a pile of boxes, but from memory it wont boot up so its a hopeless case.
Going back to the weight issue. My Acer is as heavy as the old 386 laptop. Speed has increased but at some cost, the weight!

Thats a classic Compaq...

Catsmokinpot

thats deadly

telecinesk

Just for sake of amusement> Another #fast# laptop.

cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1247&item=5210651599&tc=photo

Actually yerman has loads of retro stuff too.

Capt'n Midnight

Karsini wrote:

I believe it was one of the first portable computers to have an LCD screen, before this they all used CRTs!

Amstrad used to make a green LCD screen with dual floppies - no HDD , and I know where there is a Zenith XT with a 20MB drive and 640KB and CGA graphics - got windows 3.11 on it once for the crack.

Capt'n Midnight

Karsini wrote:

I believe it was one of the first portable computers to have an LCD screen, before this they all used CRTs!

Amstrad used to make a green LCD screen with dual floppies - no HDD , and I know where there is a Zenith XT with a 20MB drive and 640KB and CGA graphics - got windows 3.11 on it once for the crack.

Zapho

Man thats quite the antique, I'd love to get one for the laugh!

TerrorFirmer

Man....lol

What a cool piece of kit. All you need now is one of those ancient huge cell phones, and sit down in a busy cafe in town, turn on that compaq whilst drinking coffee, and then whip out a huge massive cellphone mid-use and start chatting

relive the 80's :cool:

Stephen

Unfortuantely the oldskool mobile phone won't work any more, since they shut down the analogue mobile network (there was only 1 at the time, Eircell) years ago.

telecinesk

Ah. This is slightly off topic, BUT I have a Motorola3200 (international) Thats the GSM brick phone. And yes it works, battery is ok and I get a whopping 8hrs before it dies. Anyone want a pic?
And I have a transportable Nokia Talkman (450mhz NMT) thats still connected to the local network.(e.europe) Im waiting for the day I get the letter from tmobile saying.... RIP

I should take it out for a walk alongside that 486 b/w screen laptop here....

retro is cool.

Blisterman

Does anyone remember mobiles with a handle and a reciever?

SouperComputer

its actually shocking how useful word is with these ancient machines.

My one had a different fate:

http://members.boards.ie/soupercomputer/mov01383.zip
http://members.boards.ie/soupercomputer/mov01386.zip

L1011

Stephen wrote:

Unfortuantely the oldskool mobile phone won't work any more, since they shut down the analogue mobile network (there was only 1 at the time, Eircell) years ago.

You will definately be able to find a brick-with-an-antenna GSM phone somewhere; and if you can get an engineering testing model from the 1980's, you'll be able to get a briefcase-with-a-handset one....

GSM is theorethically from 1987, final specs 1989 - we still had suitable phones to match that laptop in 1995...

Deadwing

Blisterman wrote:

Does anyone remember mobiles with a handle and a reciever?

if you ever watch lethal weapon 1, theres a great scene where mel gibson is running around talking on his 'mobile', with a handset, big twisty cable like the old phones, hooled up to a giant battery thing. looks like it weighs about 5lbs

KTRIC

MYOB wrote:

You will definately be able to find a brick-with-an-antenna GSM phone somewhere; and if you can get an engineering testing model from the 1980's, you'll be able to get a briefcase-with-a-handset one....

GSM is theorethically from 1987, final specs 1989 - we still had suitable phones to match that laptop in 1995...

I have a perfect condition Motorola Startac at home, will work on the Vodafone network. It was my first mobile and it's bloody huge.

loz

Karsini wrote:

Here I have a piece of history, still in working order. No way am I selling it though, lol.

It's a Compaq SLT/286 laptop. Weighs like a brick more than a laptop! It's a 12MHz 80286 with 1664kb RAM (640kb base, 1024kb extended), a 41MB hard disk, 2.4k modem and a 1.44MB floppy drive. No pointing device on it at all, it requires a serial mouse. BIOS date is June 16th, 1989.
I believe it was one of the first portable computers to have an LCD screen, before this they all used CRTs! :eek: The keyboard is removable, the LCD is mono and it has a handle, as seen in the third pic here. Don't really trust it though, its so heavy that I wonder if the handle is strong enough to take the weight.

When I got hold of it the CMOS battery was dead. But upon inspection it was contained inside an RTC chip, a DS1287, and as such the whole chip needed to be replaced. I replaced it with the newer DS12887 chip and now its working perfectly! Even the main Ni-Cad battery is working fine!

What ya think of this, hehe.

I have the basestation at home for it - use it as a monitor stand

Pigman II

Pigman II wrote:

Hard to believe there's even desktops nowadays that probably take up less volume than that suitcase of yours there

Here's a pic of the SLT/286 in its original carry bag with the AC adapter. I put a Mac Mini on top of it - you're certainly right!

loz wrote:

I have the basestation at home for it - use it as a monitor stand

Cool, would love to see that alright.

The Real B-man

2.4k modem :eek: good think it was only for basic text

pork99

This was a laptop back in my day;



and we had to cycle uphill for 90 miles every day to get to school

harney

And now to make it useful

http://tuxmobil.org/286_mobile.html