Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P, Apple II+, PET/CBM 3032, TRS 80 Model 1, Atari 400, Osborne 1a, System 80/Video Genie/PMC 80, IBM PC, ZX 81, TRS-80 Colour Computer 1, Vic 20, Epson HX 20, BBC B, ZX Spectrum, Kaypro II, Eaca Colour Genie, RX 8800, Apple IIe, Atari 800XL, Tandy Model 100, Commodore  64, Commodore 64C, Commodore  SX-64, Spectravideo 318, Mattel  Aquarius, Sinclair QL, IBM AT, Atari 130XE, Apple IIe Platinum, Amiga 500, Atari  1040ST, IBM PS/2 30-286, Compaq SLT/286, IBM PS/2 70, Mac SE/30, Mac  Classic II, Mac Powerbook 145B, Generic 386-DX 40

IBM PS/2 Model 30-286 (with a Philips monitor)

The PS/2 represents one of the lines developed by IBM in 1987 to wrest back market share from the PC clones. Whilst the plan never worked, the line was responsible for several features which were widely adopted by others. This included the 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMM RAM, the PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, and the VGA video standard.

That's why an example of this model line is in my collection.

Fairly plain on the outside, this PS/2 Model 30-286 was designed to wear a monitor on top like most business computers of the day. That is not the type of monitor it would have been wearing in 1987 though. That's a 1996 Philips replacement. However, the keyboard and the mouse are authentic. At the moment it's maxed out at 1 MB RAM, and is running PC-DOS 3.3 with a bunch of utilities and games on the 20MB hard drive.

This unit caused me some grief. It arrived in mid-2008. At first it was working, then the on/off switch became somewhat unreliable. It had to be flipped just the right amount for things to fire. This must have effected the motherboard because eventually the computer failed to go at all, even with a new power supply! Luckily, I found a $13 replacement unit loaded with Dr-DOS, Windows 3.0 and lots of games. The replacement worked perfectly..until I decided to clean it. It then stopped working (Grr...)! I figure I must have shorted something out. After many hours (days!) trying to fix it I gave up and sourced a replacement motherboard (for the replacement!). I now have at least one fully-working machine.

Speaking of the power switch, it is the weirdest thing. Inside the unit, that on-off switch is actually attached to a metal arm, which pushes ANOTHER switch on the power supply. This is a large red switch only slightly smaller than the one found on the original IBM-PC. It seems a oddball way to turn the power on. Why they didn't just wire up the external rocker switch directly to the power supply unit I'll never know! That being said, the power supply fan is the quietest in any PC I own. You hardly know it's on.

The missing keycap on the keyboard in the photo has now been replaced and the Real TIme Clock and Battery Chip has been fixed. All that remains is to get a genuine IBM screen and this unit will be complete!

Want to know more about this micro? Google is your friend.

This page last edited 10th October, 2009

Comments welcome...

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