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Home of the New Altair 8800 Kit!

Looking for the Altair 680 replica kit? Click here!

New:  A review from Geoff Harrison!



AltairKit.com Newsletter!
Send an e-mail to grant@stockly.com with the subject "Subscribe Altairkit"
to get a newsletter!  Will contain availability information and stories from the past!

If you have a story about the Altair or an S-100 machine you would like to share, e-mail it to me!

Coming Soon! (4/21/07-PCBs are being tested right now!)
88-ACR - Cassette Tape Interface Card Set
88-2SIO - 2 Port Serial Card
88-PMC - 1k ROM card
88-4MCS - 4k static memory card
SuperAltair Card - 64k RAM, 512k FLASH, Disk drive emulator, ADM3 emulator (VGA/NTSC/PAL and PS2), Ethernet, MP3, and more!

Please visit the
Stockly Electronics Forums for a discussion of this kit!

   
"I held it up against the original and it looked absolutely perfect.  I'm impressed! :)

If everything else is this good at the fine detail level (I'm sure they are functionally) then you're truly producing a top-quality item!"
- Erik Klein, http://www.vintage-computer.com - After looking at the 4 slot motherboard I mailed him
Introduction/FAQ:
Who are you?
Grant Stockly

What is this?
My Hobby, I think...

What are your intentions?  Are you trying to make a living?
Nope.  I just hope I can break even in the end.  This kit was made in about 6 months of evenings and weekends.  I'm not making a profit selling these.  If I were, no one would be able to afford the kit.  Due to using the highest quality parts and materials, the kit is expensive to build!

Your web page stinks!
Yeah, and it took me forever to toggle in all these characters!  ; )

I think that covers most questions and concerns.  Click on the "'Creation of a Kit' Story" above to learn the details of how/why/when.
   
Availability:
4/21/07 -  Discounts for veterans and active military are available.  Possible educational discounts available.  Reservations for units may be made now.  I will not expect or accept any money until a kit is ready to be sold/shipped. These "reservations" are non binding of course, they are just place holders. E-mail me at grant@stockly.com about it and include "Altair" in the subject line.

Details:
The Altair 8800 Kit is built using the highest quality parts available.  Every part is new or new old stock.  Every part required to complete the kit is included except the power cord, which I do not want to include due to possible liability issues.

The kit contains:
  • Revision 0 Display/Control board, Revision 0 CPU board, Revision 0 1k SRAM board, and Revision 0 Motherboard
  • Genuine Optima enclosure with powder coated and ink silk screened dress panel
  • ALL parts required to complete the kit (please see "More Pictures" for examples of kit contents)
  • 8v 100W Switching Power Supply, +16v/-16v/5v 60W Switching Power Supply
  • Restored Altair 8800 Construction Manual, Technical Manual, Operators Manual, as well as my own full color assembly guide with step-by-step instructions illustrating the assembly process.  Over 80 hours has been put just into the documentation (deleting copy machine specks, positioning text blocks and page numbers, etc)  The manual is printed on 28lb premium Hammermil paper and bound in a 1" D ring binder.   (available for PDF download to anyone)

This Altair kit is functionally and in most ways physically identical to the original Altair 8800 Computer.  A complete listing of differences is available.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!  I will be glad to provide requested pictures, specifications, or a description of your area of interest.  Any peripheral or software designed for the Altair will work without a problem in this unit.

Additional 4 slot motherboard kits (with 4 card edge connectors) are available at a price of $90 each.

The kit comes with a guarantee that you will end up with a fully functional Altair.  As long as you make a good effort at assembling the kit, and pay shipping both ways, I will diagnose and repair your kit for free.  This guarantee does not cover physical damage to any part during or because of incorrect installation.  Some parts, if damaged, cost so little that I would not charge for replacement.  PCBs, Power supply, or the case for example would not be replaced for free.
See "More Pictures" for the kit contents!
   


   
Everything Else:
I'd like to acknowledge the following people for their assistance in the creation of this kit.  Their advice and support is responsible for the quality and value of the kit!
Stephen Gabaly of Obtronix, creator of the Apple I and Mark-8 kits - he was a HUGE help with many aspects of the kit!
Steven Reidman of Mile High Testing Services, for providing raw PCB to Gerber scanning services.  EXCELLENT quality, service, and pricing!
Erik Klein of http://www.vintage-computer.com, for the loan of the bare Rev 0 4 slot motherboard and for being a good friend throughout the development
John Woodall, ebay seller "vintagemicros", for all the great S-100 cards and the bare 18 slot motherboard, as well as encouragement along the way.  ;)
Todd Fisher of IMSAI, for giving me some very good advice a year ago about what to expect when taking on this kit project!
Richard Cini, creator of the Altair32 Altair 8800 emulator
Henry S. Courbis of GSE-Reactive, because Altairs are way better than Apple IIs.  :P  Thanks for being a good friend!

Other:
Howard Harte of Harte Technologies
Forrest Mims, Ed Roberts, Popular Electronics - without them, I guess you wouldn't be looking at this web page!
©2007 Grant Stockly
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