Nielsen6

The Nielsen#6 Computer:

This computer was the 6th of the 8 computers preserved by Robert Nielsen (owner of Nielsen Technical Institute) then sold to Herbert Eisengruber of the Computer Museum of Nova Scotia and then sold to an unknown buyer when the Computer Museum of Nova Scotia shut down. It wasn't initially clear who the new owner was, but it was noted that it matches the permanent display computer at the Computer Museum of America, in Roswell, Georgia. This museum has 4 Kenbak-1 computers, plus several reproductions, so the fact this machine made their top pick for the permanent display says something.

Evidence the Nielson#6 and the CMofA computer are the same:

Photo of Nielsen6 from Nova Scotia Museum (courtesy of Herbert Eisengruber)

This computer has some distinctive markings on the top case. Examination of the top makes it quite clear this is the main Kenbak-1 on display at the Computer Museum of America, in Roswell, Georgia.

On the left, you can see a dark ring, about dime sized, on the right front. of the case. There are also some linear front to back scratches.

Here we have the Kenbak-1 which is usually on display at the Computer Museum of America, in Roswell, Georgia. At the time of this writing, it seems the museum has at four different original Kenbak-1 computers, but this is the one that is usually kept on display in the main museum, so is probably felt to be the best specimen. You can clearly see through the acrylic there are two sets of 3 holes in the back of the case, which shows this is one of the Nielson machines. But even more distinctive, the round ring in the right front is not seen in any other machine. I think this is a rust spot, from storage with a bare piece of metal sitting against it in a humid (South Carolina?) environment. While other scrapes may polish out, this is not so easily removed.

Computer on display at Computer Museum of America

Also, if you look carefully, there are some dark discolorations along the bottom edge of the front panel. See the 2 cm long dark edge just below the set key, which is on both machines. And if you look at the far left of the bottom of the panel, just between the last screw and the sidewall, there's some irregular dark discoloration which has the same general shape and size on each machine. Lastly, the pushbuttons have a similar configuration. These were glued in from the back, and broken out ones appear to be a bit crooked, and fallen a bit lower. They really look the same.

It's very clear to me these are the same machines, just the museum piece has been polished and cleaned up a bit.

Photo of Nielsen6 from Nova Scotia Museum (photo courtesy Herbert Eisengruber)

This last picture shows the back side of the machine. It clearly has the usual Kenbak labels, but it's impossible to read the serial number at this resolution. I'm hoping to get some high resolution copies from the original photographer, to see if the serial number can be read.

This is subtle, but on the bottom edge of the front panel are some small blotches of dirt or "blemishes." Even in these two photos, it's clear that some dark blemishes which were noted on the original Nova Scotia Museum photos, match perfectly with the blemishes on the Computer Museum of America's computer. Note that due to perspective, the left side of the computer is stretched, and the "Kenbak-1" label is compressed to the right, but the precise locations of these dark blobs is convincing evidence. Due to low-resolution pixilation, enlarging and blurring of vision may be helpful.

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