Topic: 40Mb HDD

[Clive]

Are there any specialist firms selling long obsolete computer parts such as the the above hard drive?

[Simon]

Never heard of one!  What's it for?

[Rik]

Two photos or a quarter of my iPod. 

[Simon]

[Clive]

It's for a 1990's computer attached to a spectrometer belonging to a 36" telescope. 

[Simon]

Is this any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RR12A491-Quantum-40MB-IDE-HDD-/230625885837?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item35b25fbe8d

[sam]

I bet you'll find some stacked away in University sysadmin offices (I used to have a few but junked them).

Why does it have to be 40Mb? Can it not be larger?

If you let me know the type of hard drive - i.e. what is the connection, I'm going to assume IDE though. I could fire an email off to our sysadmin and see.

[Clive]

Thanks very much Sam.  I don't know the full details yet but if and when I do I will get back to you.  It's for the 36" at the IoA where the spectrometer has conked out. 

[sam]

I thought that might have been the case - I'm sure the IoA people (I was in their sys admin office the otherday) must have tons of old kit - then again they might have cleaned.

[Simon]

Is this any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RR12A491-Quantum-40MB-IDE-HDD-/230625885837?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item35b25fbe8d

 

[Clive]

Thanks for that great link Simon which I'll pass on.  The IoA have thrown everything Sam and have no spares whatsoever.  This may be a deliberate ploy to kick out the 'owner' of the 36" who is not at all popular within the community.  However, he's a first class astronomer and I think he should be allowed to carry on until he pops his clogs.

[sam]

I wonder what the new Cavendish building might mean for that scope. I can't quite remember the orientation but its probably not great.

[Clive]

It's a disaster Sam.  They could have extended the Cavendish in a different direction which would have been more sympathetic to the observatory.  It's almost certainly a deliberate ploy to get rid of observatory, scope and observer in one fell swoop.   

[sam]

Well I don't think that was the reasoning for the Cavendish but I bet someone was aware of that.

[Clive]

I thought that might have been the case - I'm sure the IoA people (I was in their sys admin office the otherday) must have tons of old kit - then again they might have cleaned.

Do you know a Simon Mentha at the IoA?  He's the guru trying to fix the spectrometer computer.  The department *has* found a disc and it's likely to be suitable enough for the task.