Heathkit H-11A / DEC LSI-11 Computer System
History
I purchased and built this Heathkit computer back in 1982 as I was wrapping up my last year in college. We had a DEC PDP-11/70 in the computer center at the college. It was a wonderful machine, but I could hardly justify staying in college just to have access to the 11/70 (and the "real world" was calling, and [truth be told] I did not want to see the inside of a classroom again for a LONG time). DEC must have known there was this group of people (we deserve better than the term "hackers") out there who had become infected with the PDP-11 virus (for which no cure has yet been found) when they created the LSI-11 CPU (a scaled down version of the PDP-11 architecture). Back when this computer came out it was (as far as I know) the first 16-bit computer for the home/hobbyist (all other computers having some type of 8-bit processor). When I first built this system I had a H19 terminal on it (which was a very nice terminal if you don't mind having the keyboard fixed to the rest of the terminal), a H-14 7-pin dot matrix printer (which was a good little workhorse if you don't mind printouts which looked like a bad job of spray painting), and a brand new Hayes 300-baud Smartmodem (really slick, compared to the modems where you had to dial a phone and then set the handset in a pair of muffs). Over the years the system changed. The terminal was replaced with a new H-29 when they came out, and the printer was upgraded a few times until I finally found peace with a Fujitsu DL4400. I was working at jobs where they used Data General computers, so I wrote a program for the H-11A which turned it into a pretty cool workstation emulating a Data General terminal (which in DG's proprietary manner was unlike any other type of terminal out there). I could upload and download files to either my local DG system or the remote system, design screens offline and then transfer the screens to the DG system for storage or processing, etc. I can't even begin to imagine how many hours I've spent writing thousands of lines of code using this system! Even though I haven't used it now in 10 years (the demand for custom programs for Data General computers having disappeared), I was holding onto it, thinking my kids might someday want to explore how computers REALLY work (poking around with the registers, debugging in ODT, etc.)... NOT! The point and click GUI world they've grown up in is just TOO far removed from accumulators, stack pointers, program counters, and so on. Time to let this system go and get it into the hands of a collector who can appreciate it.
Heathkit H-11A Computer
If you're reading this, you're likely familiar with this system, so I won't belabor you with TOO many details. When Heath first introduced the H-11 (back in '76, I think) as the big brother to their H-8 computer, they were using an early version of the LSI-11 processor which required a full height board. When DEC came out with the newer version it was a half-size board, which freed up a slot in the backplane for other uses. Thus the H-11 is the original (big) CPU, and the H-11A is the newer (smaller) CPU. Because I like to equip my systems with all the good stuff, I also added the KEV11 numeric processing chip (bet you don't see boards with those too often). The maximum amount of memory for the system is 64Kb (which was incredibly vastly HUGE back then), so I put in 2 memory boards to max it out. The rest of the slots in the card cage are filled with the floppy disk controller, 3 Heathkit serial cards, and one DEC DLV11-E serial card. I used the serial cards for: terminal, printer, modem, and mainframe.
Heathkit H-27 Floppy Disk System
Back when the H-11 first came out, there wasn't any disk system for it. Nope... punched paper tape! (Ever had someone dump a bunch of those punched out dots from the tape over your head? NOT fun!) When the H-27 dual floppy system came out, it was like: 256K on an 8" floppy -- how in the world would anyone ever fill up all THAT space [Heathkit's 5.25" diskettes for their H-89 were only 100K]. The way Heathkit designed the H-27 is especially nice, because although they have an "extended" mode which their HT-11 operating system looks for, it can also be switched into standard DEC RX-01 mode, should you be running RT-11 (or some such thing). Although I've only had occasion to use the feature a few times, having the capability to do a low level format on a diskette is a good thing to have. The drives in this baby are Memorex drives, and as you can see in the photo, they're built like a tank (in fact, just the H-27 alone weighs 61 pounds!). The motors in the drives also run all the time the power is turned on. If I was just going to be working with whatever program I was running in the CPU (often the case) and not needing any disk services, I used to switch off the power to the H-27, so there really isn't much wear and tear on the disk system at all.
Heathkit H-29 Intelligent Terminal
I LOVE THIS TERMINAL! When it comes to the human / computer interface, this is where it all happens, and I'm VERY picky when it comes to what I'm looking at and typing on. I've used a LOT of terminals over the years (I won't list them all here), but this was always my favorite. The engineers at Heath designed a great terminal... and I made it better. Their prior terminal (the H-19) had a nice little speaker in it for the BEEP when there would be an ASCII BEL character or if you've got the "key click" feature turned on, but when they did the H-29 they put this cheesy little squeaker in the keyboard. ICK -- can't have that, so I changed it out to a speaker. The contrast between bright and dim video didn't have much distinction, so I seem to recall I modified that and the screen brightness a bit, too. There may have been something to do with stretching the video display to be just a wee bit wider, too (what's the sense of having the space on the screen, if it's not being used?). Then in front of the screen I put a 3M anti-glare screen to really make the display look sharp. As for the keyboard... all I can say is I wish I could use it on my PC. It just "felt right" to me, and I've never found anything else close to it. Setup of the terminal is a "soft" (on screen) setup, which is really slick, because you can change configuration of the terminal on the fly and save it or not. At the bottom of the screen (programmable 25th line) is a status bar with a clock. The terminal has 2 serial ports on the back (DTE and DCE) although only one can be selected at a time.
Fujitsu DL4400 Printer
This is about the nicest, best printing, versatile, dot-matrix printer ever made! This printer does just about anything: 24-pin printhead for great clarity, multiple fonts, tractor feed or cut sheets (or envelopes), 4-color ribbon or just black, serial or parallel interface, soft setup with 2 saved setting groups, paper widths up to 15 inches, and from draft to letter quality printing just to name a few things!
Zenith 2400 Modem
Okay, I KNOW you have NO use for a 2400 baud modem, but it matches the terminal. I wasn't using this modem, though, when I last used this computer. I was using a Hayes Smartmodem 9600, so the interface board in the H-11A is set for 9600 baud. If you want it to talk to this modem (which as far as I know still works great), you'll have to change the jumpers to 2400 baud (or if you want, I can change them).
Current Condition
Everything is in great shape and working, with these exceptions:What you're bidding on in this auction
In short, you're bidding on a complete computer system -- the whole enchilada! In addition to the 5 items listed above, you also get 4 boxes of diskettes (about 40 diskettes -- mostly new), the HT-11 operating system (a stripped down version of DEC's RT-11) and all that comes with that (see screen shot for sample), and also the FORTRAN compiler. You also get LOTS of paper, because back then they sent out these things called "manuals" with everything -- and I saved them (I read most of 'em, too). I've also got some newsletters from the DECUS RT-11 SIG, as well as some REMark magazines from Heath's users group. Cables and leftover parts from building the kits are there. Then there's the original front panel from the H-11 which didn't have the Line Time Clock switch (which BTW doesn't seem to keep accurate time due to a bug in the operating system, as far as I've been able to determine). I've also got in there a source listing for the ROM in the H-29 terminal, my notes, some DEC literature, 3 font cards for the printer, about 2/3 box of 9.5 x 11 continuous form paper, and who knows what all! I've also got LOTS (a dozen, I'm guessing) of ribbons for the printer. Some are used (don't throw them out -- recycle & have them refilled with new ribbon), some new, some color though most black.
Shipping & Legalities
As you can see, this is a lot of stuff, but I feel it should be kept together as a system. I've got the original box for the printer, but other things will require some creative packing. The ebay shipping calculator doesn't work right for multiple boxes, so no sense putting a number in the auction when it would be wrong. Unboxed weights are: H-11A -- 44 pounds, H-27 -- 61 pounds, printer -- 40 pounds, H-29 -- 30 pounds, and all the other stuff is probably about another 30 pounds. So we're talking some weight here! I of course won't have final weights and dimensions of the boxes until it's all boxed up, and I won't be doing that until after the auction because... you may want to stop by and pick it all up... or we may be able to work out something where I'd do some driving (you pay for the gas). In the end, though, all packing and shipping costs are to be paid for by the winner of the auction.
As I'm not familiar with export issues regarding this equipment -- and shipping would probably be prohibitively expensive anyway -- I'll only ship to the USA and Canada. Bidders on this auction must have at least 10 positive feedbacks and no negatives, or they must first contact me and somehow convince me that they'll come through with no hassles at the end, should they win the auction. A Paypal deposit of $500 is due within 24 hours of the end of the auction, and the rest of the transaction wrapped up within a week of the end of the auction. I've described this equipment fairly extensively and as accurately as I can at present, yet must inform all bidders that the equipment is being sold as-is, and that all sales are final. (Check out my feedback, though, and although I don't sell a LOT of electronics, I think you can see I don't sell junk or rip people off.)
... and Finally
I don't have to tell you how rare this is to find a complete working computer system like this. I've been watching the Heathkit computer auctions, and I've NEVER seen a complete H-11 system come up, let alone one which is in such great shape. If you've always wanted a nice LSI-11 system, this is your chance! If you'd like any more photos or need any more details, please let me know and I'll see to it. 
