This mini forum is intended to provide a simple means of discussion about the IMSAI  8080 computer. If you want to share your own experience or memories, or add relevant information about this system: post a message!

I was lucky enough to buy the IMSAI 8080C computer at a computer business that had an auction after the owner passed away for $14. ! It works great but I couldn''t bid on the two 8"floppy drives because the $14. was all I had! I begged the auctioneer afterwards for the drives as they didn''t sell, but he wouldn''t relent... My unit needs 3 switch covers(orange/blue) as I accidentally knocked them off... I have them somewhere. The computer is immaculate and works as if new,(love the robustness of older technology electronics). One big TO-3 voltage regulator(5V?) on the back wall on a aluminum 90 degree fin in front of the fan and two big capacitors(electrolytic) in the front in the voltage supply area on the right, walled off by aluminum shield from the S-100 bus slots on the left. The CPU is white w/gold cap. Such a joy to see it operate on the front panel as I load address and data registers(8 bit)using the switches in single step load/review mode. Then I flip then switch for Run and toggle the start switch and watch the digital light show as it computes, branches, adds and moves REAL Binary Data around before I hit the start/stop toggle switch or it reaches a halt in the program. I need to make a digital video of it in action someday. It is still a joy to operate, setup, run and observe the data in red Light Emitting Diodes(LEDs). This was one of the first times we could SEE our data bits and computing in action.

I was a programmer in the Air Force on 64-bit machines in the early 70''s... COBOL, PL/1, RPG, FORTRAN and assembly.

This machine is a museum piece that STILLl functions as it was designed. I had a few Timex Sinclair''s as well. Also great inexpensive machines for their day. Clive Sinclair was a mathmatician and it is reflected in the tight byte codes of his BASIC language computers for the masses. They are great as 8/16 bit scientific BASIC computers, not just for gaming, which is fun, and drove the computing industry to where it is today.

Steve Ingham 9-19-2018

I bought my IMSAI 8080 as a kit back in 1976. By 1979 I had it feeding a Heathkit H9 terminal and was running Northstar Basic. Writing and running Basic Code LOL. Everything is still downstairs in my basement in boxes, although I havent fired them up since 1983.

I used a couple of IMSAI 8080''s at NASA in the early 1980''s. Each had a Z80 4MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM. For storage each had a dual set of 8-inch floppy drives. Each also had a 5MB hard drive but were never used much because they were not very reliable and eventually failed.

Raindance Rob - it was indeed used in War Games (check out Fire in the Valley by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine)

looks like what David played by Matthew Broderick used in the film Wargames, can anyone confirm ?

now that's what I call oldschool! Respect to all who have been using this piece of fine equipement

I learned BASIC and 8080 assembly as a wee lad on one of these. It was owned and tricked out by a housemate, Gail Marshall. He wrote his own keyboard drivers and graphics libraries (so he could do the Game of Life) as well as an implementation of LISP. He hacked an Olivetti daisy-wheel typewriter into a printer! Gail was truly a Real Programmer. We still have a box of 8" disks around somewhere...