Have also worked on 2000-F up through cx to N series now.
The 2000 was actually a very nice system in many ways. I worked on a couple where there were up 32 user terminals in action, and doing that on 2 processors of (IIRC) a max of 64k or RAM isn't bad. The built in Basic was not that different from the final Basic/V on MPE, the biggest drawback was the lack of anything more than a simple file system. We wrote our own indexed file system and sorts .

My then company installed a couple of interconnected 2000-F on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) to process both technical and commercial aspects of the Phosphate mine there in late 70s-early 80s. There was a stamp issued by the island showing a guy in shorts sitting at the console of the system around that time, and it was featured on the back cover of the HP in house magazine of the time - see if you can find a copy of that!

jp

-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charles C Cookston
Sent: Thursday, 11 June 2009 6:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] Survey: When was the being of the HP3000?

Actually, I started on the HP2000.  There really was one.  Its panels were
dark blue.
Then I moved to the pre-CX.  Oh those flashing lights.
The paper tape backup was a trip.  Its chads were great for weddings.
(stuffed lots of cars heater vents).
We were in heaven when we got our 800BPI reel to reel tape and 64meg disc
drive, and of course core plain memory made of magnetic donuts.
Those were the days.... (To sit and wait for your program to compile).


Charles C Cookston
Web Navigation LLC
[log in to unmask]
(317) 259-1426


-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Brett Forsyth
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 4:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HP3000-L] Survey: When was the being of the HP3000?

I know the world started somewhere around a Series C or CX - a little before

my time - but during one of those hmmm moments, I started thinking about
which HP3000 would we really brag about being the beginning of THE MACHINE.

Which one would we nominate to the Hall of Fame?

I was around during Series IIs & IIIs, and with polling wires, interupt
jumpers,
backplane terminators, "interesting" backplanes and the like, they were not
the most friendly computer (support-wise), and could become the home of the
intermitten nightmare.  The 7970B/E and 7920/25 series productlines kept an
HP CE with great job security. Lucklily, the HP support product of the time
was striving for stellar, and keep the customer base content during the
evolution of the product - quite a common goal back when Bill and Dave were
running things.

My vote would probably go the the Series 30 thru 70 product line, not so
much the first models in the 30/33 40/44 era, and although I thought the
desk
model was kinda cool,  most of the client base complained about the loss of
the instruction register lights.  How else could you tell if it was hung or
not?

The Series 70 in all its glory was a very hefty machine, payload capable
with a
stabilty appropriate to the top evolution of the line - quite ahead of it's
time.
Pair that with the support model of the '80s - lots of talent, training and
parts
in the field with phenominal documentation and support available - and you
can well understand how Hewlett-Packard Company (not to be confused with
today's HP) came to be the corporate model it used to be.

So I guess I just said my vote for the machine that really started it all,
like
started them down the great road, would be the Series 30, although I could
see where many would vote for the Series IIILC (one of which I would love to

find for personal reasons).

Plus the 793X series of disc of the same era, had a great dual purpose
utility.
If put into butterfly seek test - looped of course - one could put a small
container of alcohol on the outside top of the disc module, pop your
jewelery
into it, and by the time your call was finished, your stuff was spotless and

shone beyond compare.

Just another one of the reasons HP CEs used to look so good...

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