Nice Site On Communist Era Hardware in Hungary 3221

On 7 Apr 2006 11:15:24 -0700 in alt.folklore.computers,

Quoting from site: "Sometimes unrelated machines were labelled as TPAs, too. Big VAX machines, which were smuggled in, despite the COCOM embargo (a pact of the "western" countries against the socialist countries, that forbid the export of high-end technologies to these countries), were relabelled to TPA's: VAX11-780s (and sometimes 8000s, although only a few has made it to Hungary) were often seen with KFKI stickers over the original Digital banner. This was of course top secret then. In the mid-eighties there were some other machines like this, not just DEC computers, but PCs too. Nobody was allowed to know, that these were original western products, even when everybody just knew..."

Must have been more than 40-50 11-780s total if a few 8000s also made it to Hungary alone? Given a few 8000s in Hungary, there must have been a few dozen 8000s elsewhere, and more than that for 11-780s, maybe low hundreds. Must have taken a few hex card sized diplomatic bags to transport.

I would have thought that would have been even more difficult than getting them east, given their shortage of machines; unless they were only too happy to take western currency to finance more machines?

-- Thanks. Take care, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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