Problem is there were multi 6386 WGS. SX, 20, 25 and 33. Which was it ??? You said you researched 😁
A 6386 WGS was on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284541847541
also a 6386sx WGS https://www.ebay.com/itm/256841932590

Horun wrote on 2025-05-07, 01:29:

Problem is there were multi 6386 WGS. SX, 20, 25 and 33. Which was it ??? You said you researched 😁
A 6386 WGS was on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284541847541

So I know nothing about it other than the case style. Going off 35 year old video, and the researcher hasn’t come back to me with any details.

That said, how did that machine come up? I searched all afternoon! Got plenty of SXes but not the plain WGS.

That one has seen better days though. I may try negotiating for it as a parts machine and continue looking for a nice one. So the hunt is still on 😀

Ah nevermind
Out of stock, doh

Maybe link us to the demo - details about it could make clear which model WGS was beging used...

And as for how to find stuff... eBay is very sensitive to spacing and formatting of search terms. AT&T could be written "AT&T" but also "AT & T" or "ATT". All give (partially) different results, at least referring to WGS. Similarly, "6386" without AT&T comes up with different stuff, even if the results have AT&T in them.

dionb wrote on 2025-05-07, 12:54:

Maybe link us to the demo - details about it could make clear which model WGS was beging used...

The model is 6386 WGS with the full height case as in that picture 😀

I used to run a computer lab full of the 20 Mhz version in 1989. Quirky. They were Olivetti’s in everything but name. You could expand them to 12MB using 256Kb simms if you had 3 of the 32 bit memory expansion cards and 48 simms. They had 80MB ESDI hard drives and DoS 3.3, which was a challenging combo. No L1 cache so they were not excellent performers. Lots of proprietary parts, so they were hard to keep running. Used one as a Netware server!

The 20 mhz motherboard looked significantly different than this one. https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/atandt … -wgs-fm-0589-06
No onboard simm, three of the proprietary memory expansion slots, I think the motherboard was in 2 pieces maybe?

Was not a standard case. 512KB paradise vga if I remember correctly. I played so much “ Empire: Wargame of the Century” on them that it was almost embarrassing.

I sort of recalled that the mainboard was "LPX like" and you accessed it through the bottom of the case while the expansion riser was separate and mounted parallel, above the mainboard and accessed from the top of the case. My recollection on this wasn't so clear and it was so strange so I had to hunt for fotos to see if I remembered correctly.

https://0xea.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-at-pc-6386-wgs.html

I had forgotten about that frustrating DE-15 proprietary keyboard connector. People would try to connect the VGA to it and vice versa.

I do clearly remember upgrading them to 4MB ram for Windows 3.1. Moving through the lab, I'd put 4 x 1MB simms in 3 computers and then the 4th computer would get the 12 256KB simms removed from the other 3 to bring it up to 4MB. The memory size was all configured through a set of 16 dip switches. The simms had to go in specific, interleaved slots. I think we were paying $90 for each 1 MB simm that year. It was during one of those "memory shortage" periods that happened with some regularity back then.

Plasmator wrote on 2025-05-07, 01:07:

I’m looking to recreate a famous Bell Labs demo that used an AT&T 6386 WGS. It took awhile to identify the machine, but that’s […]
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I’m looking to recreate a famous Bell Labs demo that used an AT&T 6386 WGS. It took awhile to identify the machine, but that’s what it is.

I’ve looked on eBay, but they only have the slimline version listed whereas I’m looking for one like in the attached pic.

Any idea where I might be able to find one? I’m not worried about finding a deal, as I’m already being picky about getting that specific machine.

I know there are big recyclers but I don’t know who’s good to deal with, etc. Any advice appreciated, thanks so much!

The attachment IMG_5934.jpeg is no longer available

I have this exact machine. It's a bit rough, only works when it wants to, but the case is mostly clean. DM me on discord @yestergearpc if you want to make an offer or have me to dig it out.