Quote:
Originally Posted by SiriusHardware
I know of one person over in the vintage computer forums who has actually ordered the JM version PCB but I don't know if he has received his yet.
To be honest they seem eye-wateringly expensive to me, more for the unpopulated board than the original £39.95 cost of an entire MK14 kit - although, of course, that was quite a bit of money in those days.
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The mind plays tricks when it comes to the comparative value of money back in time and the older we are, the worse this phenomenon becomes.
The link below is as good a site as any for making historical comparisons of inflation, and works both ways. That is you can put a figure in today and find out what that would equate back in time to your chosen year, or you can put a figure in for your chosen historical year and it will tell you the equivalent in 2018. There are several indices which do this and may give different results, just as today there are several cost of living indices, but this one seems as good as any. I often use it for checking the price of vintage radios when updated to 2018:
http://inflation.iamkate.com/
As a matter of interest, the index shows that £39.95 in 1977 equates to £275. On that basis, the new PCBs at £37.00 - which look excellent quality, double sided PTH screen printed boards produced in small batches - seem remarkably cheap and would equate to £5.50 in 1977. I find it incredible and really quite uplifting that there are people who are so enthused and dedicated to this aspect of vintage technology as to design and source the PCBs for such a tiny niche market.
I recall that in 1985, I bought a Sinclair Spectrum 16k for £125, which equates to £505 today, and later upgraded it to 48k with a plug-in memory strip which cost £45 - the equivalent to £130 today. Think what £635 would buy today in terms of a laptop!
How times change!