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Wow, a Kenbak-1 Kit! Great idea!

So I just stumbled upon this, and very excited. Artem even got a source of the rare Intel 1404a shift registers! Not an easy feat.

So I have to ask, has anyone gotten one of these kits built and running? How does it work? Has anyone tried to get PCBWay to make up a case? I suspect they must have to charge at least $600 or more for these low quantity cases. Anyone get a price quote? I always thought that if the sheets were laser cut, bending and painting them wouldn't be terribly hard, and may be a fun project.

Thomas (a fellow Kenbak-1 enthusiast)

14 comments

Comments (14)

rdarlington

Oct 03

I'm starting to collect parts. Any hints on the front pushbuttons or lights? The Nielsen video describes the buttons as bounceless or de-bounced and look rather odd behind the panel. Big things. I'm curius if folks are just adding a little RC circuit to some other commercially available but similar buttons. -Bob

Edited

rdarlington

Oct 03

Replying to

Maybe I'm overthinking this. Here's what I'm seeing/hearing: https://youtu.be/lxsdL_OWumw?t=114 I'll take a look at the schematic and that should tell me what's going on.

rdarlington

Oct 03

Replying to

Okay, at least the data inputs are going through a 7403/74LS03. The manual does make mention that: some of the front panel control switches need some "cleaning up" before they can be used (see page 23). Perhaps this is sufficient. Perhaps it doesn't matter as much as I think it does!

Artem Kalinchuk

Oct 03

Replying to

Yeah, that is interesting. I'm using mechanical MX switches which do not have a debounce mechanism in them and it works just fine.

jim-kbk

Sep 28

Also curious about the case cost! I don't know how many boards or parts sets have been sold, but maybe a group buy is possible?

Thomas, I found your Gerber files on kenbak.com, but I was wondering if you still had the FreePCB files, or even the netlist? I bought a PCB and parts kit from Artem, and I find it helpful to be able to find signals and board locations in a CAD program while I'm assembling and testing.

rdarlington

Oct 04

Replying to

I pinged a guy that runs a metal shop that's into this stuff. Informal quote is $500 for the first (minus the handles/clamps) for the first and about $60 for each additional set. This is for the Bud drawing. No powder coat, no customization for the front/back.

Artem Kalinchuk

Oct 04

Replying to

Since you already have the front panel, you’ll just need the top, bottom and rear pieces. Also the two side CNCed pieces.

rdarlington

Oct 04

Replying to

I can make the front, back, and sides at home with some effort and the power of CNC but the real trick will be finding a couple other folks to go in on the project. I'll put my feelers out.

Edited

Artem Kalinchuk

Aug 31

Welcome Thomas! It's good to see you here. I believe you were the one that created the reproduction PCB? I couldn't find any other options out there and the PCB is very good quality. And no, I didn't find a source of Intel 1404A shift registers - I just happened to find a batch of them on the marketplace, luckily, and thought others would find use for them.