23 Jan
2023
23 Jan
'23
12:10 p.m.
Guess I've been lucky; haven't had any issues (AFAIK ;-) with any of the
hundreds of ICs I've bought on eBay . On the other hand I've heard folks
even have issues with stuff from Mouser etc.
Same here; there's satisfaction in keeping the entire vintage package
running, but when it comes to actually working with it and especially
moving stuff to and from the modern world the emulators are indispensable
and it's amazing just how active and ingenious the folks designing them
are.
And I'm still blown away that I can store ~10,000 times the amount of data
on this IMI 'brick' in front of me (which cost ~$1200 in its day) on a much
faster thumbnail-sized SD card costing <$100.
m
On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 2:24 PM Sellam Abraham via cctalk <
cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 11:14 AM Mike Stein via cctalk
<
cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
I offered some 8" diskettes a while back and
didn't have a single
inquiry,
and there doesn't seem to be a real shortage
of other sizes either if you
don't mind sorting through used ones; even paper and mylar tape seem to
still be available.
True, eBay always has blank media, lots of it new-old stock still in the
shrinkwrap. I have a pile of such myself.
When it comes to parts I often read complaints that a certain IC or part is
unobtainium when a quick look on ebay or even
Amazon will find a dozen
listings; some people get satisfaction from finding parts or
documentation
that no one else could and sharing with the
community.
A lot of that apparently is fake Chinesium, so it's somewhat misleading.
As to the reliability of mechanical devices,
again, to each his/her own;
what is a frustrating experience for someone trying to get something done
is an opportunity for someone else to repair it and get that
satisfaction.
At least, unlike some mysterious custom IC you
can see what the problem
is
and repair it.
I prefer using the original hardware myself, but I do enjoy the convenience
of modern high-capacity memory drives and emulators.
Sellam