The Eagle has landed

On March 24, 2011 I was contacted by Lunds Tekniska Högskola, a Swedish university that had read my blog about old Data General minicomputers. They wanted to know if I was interested in a complete Data General Eclipse MV/8000, code named “Eagle”, the first 32-bit computer built by Data General. And yes, I was very interested.

The system has been stored in a dry storage facility since the day it was decommissioned 25 years ago. The MV/8000 is complete with a 6026 tape drive, an Argus disk (thank you Randy) and an 6061 Zebra disk drive with a 14″ Disk Pack storing 195 MByte’s.

Untouched during all this time and with all the original components intact the way they were 25 years ago, this complete system, when decommissioned, was a running production system in perfect order. After being powered down, the disk and tape drive cabinet were disconnected from the CPU and the system was stored in a dry and warm storage facility where it has been stored ever since. I suspect that a thorough vacuum cleaning to remove any dust, a check of the power supplies for correct voltage and ripple before powering up and the system will most likely run as it did when decommissioned.

This system, was the in-house computer that was used at Data General’s Nordic headquarters in Huvudsta outside Stockholm, Sweden where I worked in 1983-85 and on on this very machine I had my first ever e-mail account since we ran CEO (Comprehensive Electronic Office) on this MV/8. The system was later sold to the university when our MV/8000 was replaced by an MV/10000.

A first trip to the university was made aimed at making a plan for the loading of the MV/8000 system onto a truck for transportation to Upplands Väsby and planning the temporary relocation of a complete VAX 11/780 from the mid 80’s which I also acquired.

On April 18, 2011 a second trip to the university was made. This time the MV/8000 was loaded onto my truck and wrapped with a layer of plastic shrink wrap film. Then corner protection made from Styrofoam was applied and Styrofoam boards were placed on all sides. Another layer of plastic shrink wrap film was wrapped around and over the top side. Finally each cabinet was strapped to the sides of the truck.

Back in Upplands Väsby the system was unloaded and placed in the garage of the building where I live. Here a third layer plastic shrink wrap film was wrapped around and over the top side of all three cabinets and finally a tarp was wrapped around the whole system for dust protection. The system will be stored here until I find permanent storage.