1 Jun
1997
1 Jun
'97
12:06 a.m.
I responded to a Usenet post regarding some UCSD P-Code stuff. It turned
out the guy had a garage of other stuff that he was trying to get rid of.
Here's what I got in two carloads:
o 1 Kaypro II, 1 Kaypro 2X (dead--for parts), 1 Kaypro 4
o 1 boxed Commodore 64, 1 Commodore 128, plus a bunch of Commodore
accessories including a CP/M cartridge for C64
o 1 Osborne Executive
o 1 Compaq suitcase
o 1 Atari 520ST (dead--for parts), 1 Atari 1040ST, 1 boxed Atari Falcon030,
plus 2 Atari RGB monitors and other Atari accessories
o 1 boxed Timex Sinclair 1000
o 1 TRS-80 Model 1 with expansion interface and disk drive
o 1 Vector 4
o 2 Apple IIc's, one of them is a rare prototype
o 20 Xerox paper cartons full of original software on disks/tapes for the
above systems, manuals, out-of-print computer books, and old computer
magazines
The price? Free.
George
P.S. My back still hurts.
-- ______________________________ ______________________________
/ /\ / /\
/ George Lin _/ /\ / Opinions expressed in this _/ /\
/ Antique Computer Collector / \/ / message do not necessarily / \/
/ http://museum.home.ml.org /\ / reflect my employer's. /\
/_____________________________/ / /_____________________________/ /
\_____________________________\/ \_____________________________\/
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
Apple IIe, IIc, Mac 512K, Atari 800, 800XL, 1040ST, Falcon030, VCS, 5200,
ColecoVision VGS, Commodore 64, 64C, 128, plus/4, Compaq, Eagle II,
KayPro II, 4, Nintendo NES, Osborne Executive, TI 99/4A, Timex Sinclair
1000, 1500, TriGem SLT-100, TRS-80 Model I, III, 100, Color Computer 2,
Vector 4.
1 Jun
1 Jun
5:45 a.m.
On Sun, 1 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
<Looong list of treasure deleted>
The price? Free.
P.S. My back still hurts.
My heart bleeds, you lucky bastard.
--
Ward Griffiths
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within
the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." --Claire Wolfe
9:21 p.m.
On Sun, 1 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
I responded to a Usenet post regarding some UCSD
P-Code stuff. It turned
out the guy had a garage of other stuff that he was trying to get rid of.
Here's what I got in two carloads:
o 1 Kaypro II, 1 Kaypro 2X (dead--for parts), 1 Kaypro 4
o 1 boxed Commodore 64, 1 Commodore 128, plus a bunch of Commodore
accessories including a CP/M cartridge for C64
o 1 Osborne Executive
o 1 Compaq suitcase
o 1 Atari 520ST (dead--for parts), 1 Atari 1040ST, 1 boxed Atari Falcon030,
plus 2 Atari RGB monitors and other Atari accessories
o 1 boxed Timex Sinclair 1000
o 1 TRS-80 Model 1 with expansion interface and disk drive
o 1 Vector 4
o 2 Apple IIc's, one of them is a rare prototype
o 20 Xerox paper cartons full of original software on disks/tapes for the
above systems, manuals, out-of-print computer books, and old computer
magazines
The price? Free.
My personal haul today is not nearly as impressive, mostly because I had
to pay for the stuff, but I can't complain, since I've had days like
George's a couple of times.
An HP-85 and Commdore Tape Drive (ooh ahh) for $20. The HP85 is pretty
cool. It has a tiny CRT built into the unit (the same size as an Osborne
1's screen). It is about the same dimensions as an Apple ][, but with
the added height to house the screen and a built-in printer (don't know
if it is thermal or ink, all I know is that it is quiet...any help on
this?) It also has a built in BASIC, it seems to be capable of hi-res
graphics, and it has a 5-slot HPIB bus on the back. A very cool
system. Anyway, know anything more about this thing? I'd like to get a
manual and some HPIB cards.
An Apple ][ - it's in ratty shape but I got it for $7 with some periphs.
I need to clean it up. This one seems to have auto-start integer basic
ROMs (it finds the disk controller and boots it rather than dumping into
the monitor when you turn it on), which is odd but I think I've heard of
this before. I'm still going to be on the look-out for a nicer one, but
this one will suffice for now. Also, it is missing the D8 ROM but seems
to work fine, Integer BASIC and all. Anyone know anything about this?
An Atari 600XL in the original box - the box has seen better days, but
this unit is complete, with all the accesories in their original
box/bag. This is a nice complement to my 800XL. I also met a guy who
says he has all manner of atari stuff, like a 65XE and 130XE, so I'm
going to be hooking up with him to check that stuff out. - $10
And the cool find of the day: get this, an Epson PX-8 laptop! This is
similar to the Epson HX-20, but is sleeker and better. It has a flip-up
display (looks like 10 lines by 80 columns), a full-size keyboard, and
like the HX-20 has a micro-cassette tape drive for storage. That's
all I know about it so far because I got no manuals and haven't been able
to power it up yet (I need to find the right PS). Allegedly it runs
CP/M. I'll fill you guys in on the details as I figure it out. I think
this is a new find, and needs to be added to the classiccmp list o'
systems. I don't remember it being in there. Am I wrong? At any rate,
this is truly THE FIND OF THE DAY! - $15
I passed on an IBM 5155 for $30 because it was in ratty shape and I
didn't even want to bother haggling over it. It was being sold by the
same guy who I bought the Apple ][ from and who has the Atari stuff, so I
figure I can always go back for it. Was I foolish to pass this up? I
was told it comes up with a PARITY ERROR upon boot up, which most likely
means a bad RAM chip.
I also saw some Digital platters which might interest you DECheads. I
can't remember the model number (something like RKL051...) but they were
brand spanking new in a sealed plastic bag (two of them). If someone
wants these, I can always find the seller and snag them for you.
Also, I still have that RK-02 dual 8" drive unit if anyone is interested.
Hope your classic computer scrounging was a fruitful as mine was. Stay
tuned for further information on the Vintage Computer Festival (as I am
now calling it). I should have a firm date and more details within the next
couple of weeks. If all goes as I am planning, it should be a nice show,
and will hopefully get some of you long distance folks to come out to
california to attend.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
2 Jun
2 Jun
5:31 a.m.
Sam Ismail said,
An Apple ][ - it's in ratty shape but I got it for
$7 with some
periphs. I need to clean it up. This one seems to have auto-start
integer basic ROMs ... Also, it is missing the D8 ROM but seems to
work fine, Integer BASIC and all. Anyone know anything about this?
That's normal for an Integer BASIC Apple II, actually. Integer
BASIC isn't big enough to require the $Dxxx address space, so
those sockets were left empty for add-on ROMs. The chip in the
D0 socket is probably the "Programmer's Aid" chip, which contained
a collection of subroutines for assembly language programming.
And the cool find of the day: get this, an Epson PX-8
laptop!
Neat! Yes, it runs CP/M and has WordStar.
Eric
6:08 a.m.
Sam wrote:
An HP-85 and Commdore Tape Drive (ooh ahh) for $20.
The HP85 is pretty
cool. It has a tiny CRT built into the unit (the same size as an Osborne
1's screen). It is about the same dimensions as an Apple ][, but with
the added height to house the screen and a built-in printer (don't know
if it is thermal or ink, all I know is that it is quiet...any help on
this?) It also has a built in BASIC, it seems to be capable of hi-res
graphics, and it has a 5-slot HPIB bus on the back. A very cool
system. Anyway, know anything more about this thing? I'd like to get a
manual and some HPIB cards.
Congrats. This is one of my favorites. I got mine free from
our Chemistry department (and later got a 9825 from them as
well). They have one of the more ecclectic collections of
computers I've seen.
Anyway, the printer is thermal. You will want to check out the
drive belts. They are toothed belts and over time get brittle
and may strip. I've stripped the main drive one on mine and the
head drive belt looks like it may not last much longer. Also
my tape drive has stopped working. I haven't looked into why
yet though. I do have manuals and a little bit of expansion
stuff, but they're not for sale. I will be glad to look up
answers to any questions you might have though and if you're
interested, I can try to make a copy of the pocket programming
guide. It has all the BASIC commands listed.
Brian L. Stuart
Math/CS Dept, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
stuartb(a)acm.org
http://www.mathcs.rhodes.edu/~stuart/
7:10 a.m.
New subject: EPSON PX-8
On Sun, 1 Jun 1997, Sam Ismail wrote:
And the cool find of the day: get this, an Epson PX-8
laptop! This is
similar to the Epson HX-20, but is sleeker and better. It has a flip-up
display (looks like 10 lines by 80 columns), a full-size keyboard, and
like the HX-20 has a micro-cassette tape drive for storage. That's
all I know about it so far because I got no manuals and haven't been able
to power it up yet (I need to find the right PS). Allegedly it runs
CP/M. I'll fill you guys in on the details as I figure it out. I think
this is a new find, and needs to be added to the classiccmp list o'
systems. I don't remember it being in there. Am I wrong? At any rate,
this is truly THE FIND OF THE DAY! - $15
OK, I found my HX-20 power supply and fired this sucker up. Talk about
neat-o. It indeed does have CP/M in ROM! It also has two 32K ROM drives
and a 24K RAM drive. The drives can be configured anyway you like. The
current setting is: A: = RAM, B: = ROM1, C: = ROM2. ROM1 has the standard
CP/M utilities on it, such as PIP, STAT, etc. ROM2 has WordStar! This
unit is capable of hi-res graphics it seems, as when you boot wordstar it
comes up with a big MicroPro graphics display. There is a configuration
program which allows you to set up the system. You can set the dimensions
of two seperate virtual screens. Currently virtual screen 1 is set to
80x24, and virtual screen 2 is set to 80x8, which is the actual dimensions
of the LCD flip-up display. You can also set the serial port baud rate
(up to 19200!).
This unit has several ports on the back, including a Serial port, an
RS-232C port (I gleaned from the configuration that one seems to be for a
modem while the other for a printer perhaps). It can also hook-up to up
to 4 external disk drives.
One program on the ROM drive called FILINK allows you to transfer files
over the RS232C port, I guess like a laplink (not sure though).
This unit seems to be circa 1983 as all the programs have copyrights of
that year.
This is an entirely cool little system...a CP/M laptop. What a concept.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
8:09 a.m.
New subject: EPSON PX-8
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, Sam Ismail wrote:
OK, I found my HX-20 power supply and fired this
sucker up. Talk about
neat-o. It indeed does have CP/M in ROM! It also has two 32K ROM drives
and a 24K RAM drive. The drives can be configured anyway you like. The
current setting is: A: = RAM, B: = ROM1, C: = ROM2. ROM1 has the standard
CP/M utilities on it, such as PIP, STAT, etc. ROM2 has WordStar! This
unit is capable of hi-res graphics it seems, as when you boot wordstar it
comes up with a big MicroPro graphics display. There is a configuration
program which allows you to set up the system. You can set the dimensions
of two seperate virtual screens. Currently virtual screen 1 is set to
80x24, and virtual screen 2 is set to 80x8, which is the actual dimensions
of the LCD flip-up display. You can also set the serial port baud rate
(up to 19200!).
This unit has several ports on the back, including a Serial port, an
RS-232C port (I gleaned from the configuration that one seems to be for a
modem while the other for a printer perhaps). It can also hook-up to up
to 4 external disk drives.
The other port is for connecting a disk drive.
This is an entirely cool little system...a CP/M
laptop. What a concept.
It is a pretty nice machine. You didn't mention the built in micro cassette
drive which looks to CP/M just like a floppy (more or less). The tape
drive transfers data at 300 baud so it can easily provide hours of
fun and enjoyment. On the other hand, the system does know where all of
the files are on the tape so it does not have to be manually searched.
A dejanews search on Epson and px-8 will provide a good deal of information,
make sure to select the "Old" database though.
--pec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Jun
1 Jun
9:24 p.m.
On Sun, 1 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
I responded to a Usenet post regarding some UCSD
P-Code stuff. It turned
out the guy had a garage of other stuff that he was trying to get rid of.
Here's what I got in two carloads:
<...>
accessories including a CP/M cartridge for C64
A CP/M _carthridge_? Awesome.
o 1 Atari 520ST (dead--for parts), 1 Atari 1040ST, 1
boxed Atari Falcon030,
What's a Falcon030?
o 1 boxed Timex Sinclair 1000
Boxed? Sweet.
o 1 Vector 4
What's that?
o 2 Apple IIc's, one of them is a rare prototype
What's the prototype like? I would be totally interested in seeing a
picture of this and hearing more detail about it.
The price? Free.
Actually, I'm used to getting most of my stuff for free now. I hate it
when I have to pay for any old computer junk because I've been so spoiled
with free crap lately.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
2 Jun
2 Jun
10:10 a.m.
At 11:24 PM 6/1/97 -0700, you wrote:
It's an Atari ST based on 68030. It has built-in SCSI, AppleTalk, and MIDI
interfaces. I have a CD-ROM full of ST stuff--that will keep me busy for
days. The GUI seems to be built into the ROM.
Vector Graphics Model 4. Unfortunately, the system is dead when I got
around to test it--no display and the disk drive just clicks.
It looks much like the production IIc but without all the glamor. For
example, the top is smooth, unlike the ribbed vent you find on the
production ones. I will be glad to take some digital photos and email them
to you, if you are interested.
George
-- ______________________________ ______________________________
/ /\ / /\
/ George Lin _/ /\ / Opinions expressed in this _/ /\
/ Antique Computer Collector / \/ / message do not necessarily / \/
/ http://museum.home.ml.org /\ / reflect my employer's. /\
/_____________________________/ / /_____________________________/ /
\_____________________________\/ \_____________________________\/
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
Apple IIe, IIc, Mac 512K, Atari 800, 800XL, 1040ST, Falcon030, VCS, 5200,
ColecoVision VGS, Commodore 64, 64C, 128, plus/4, Compaq suitcase PC,
Eagle II, Epson HX-20, KayPro II, 4, Nintendo NES, Osborne Executive,
TI 99/4A, Timex Sinclair 1000, 1500, TriGem SLT-100, TRS-80 Model I, III,
100, Color Computer 2.
<...>
I just tried it yesterday. Pretty cool. The Z80 is in the cartridge. The
package comes with a CP/M 2.2 diskette for 1541 and a condensed CP/M manual
by Commodore (copyright 1983). There is a K-Mart price tag on the original
box that reads $54. Not bad.
accessories including a CP/M cartridge for C64
A CP/M _carthridge_? Awesome. o 1 Atari
520ST (dead--for parts), 1 Atari 1040ST, 1 boxed Atari Falcon030,
What's a Falcon030? o 1 Vector 4
What's that? o 2 Apple
IIc's, one of them is a rare prototype
What's the prototype like? I would be totally interested in seeing a
picture of this and hearing more detail about it. 
9 Jun
9 Jun
1:08 p.m.
New subject: C64 CP/M carts (was: Re: Yet another weekend haul story)
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
At 11:24 PM 6/1/97 -0700, you wrote:
This reminds me... I also have a Z80 cartridge for the C64. But it's not
the one from Commodore. It's from a company called DATA 20 Corporation.
I haven't been able to get it to work. It has what looks like a connector
for a power supply on the back, but I didn't get the PS with it. It also
came without any disks, though it did have a cassette in the box with it,
which says "Use side A for Commodore 64/Use side B for VIC 20".
It's a Z-80 Video Pak, that combines the Z80 processor AND an 80-column
display adapter into one (big fat) cartridge.
To quote from the box:
The Z-80 Video Pak brings the convenience of an 80 column screen and
the power of a CP/M compatible operating system to the Commodore 64.
Designed to be used with a monitor, the Z-80 Video Pak lets the
Commodore 64 owner switch to a 40 or 80 column screen in black and
white, or back to the standard color screen. All switching is done
through software and no cables need to be moved.
The Z-80 Video Pak has its own Z-80 microprocessor and operating
system which allows the 64 to run CP/M software formatted for the
Commodore 1541 disk drive. A Terminal mode which brings communication
with central data bases is included at no extra cost. The Z-80 Video
Pak also supports the advanced screen handling features of all Video
Pak models such as erase to the end of line, erase to end of screen,
and dump screen to printer.
If anyone out there knows this thing's power requirements (AAAGH! Another
wall-wart!) and where to get CP/M disks in 1541 format, please tell. :)
Doug Spence
ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca
<...>
I just tried it yesterday. Pretty cool. The Z80 is in the cartridge. The
package comes with a CP/M 2.2 diskette for 1541 and a condensed CP/M manual
by Commodore (copyright 1983). There is a K-Mart price tag on the original
box that reads $54. Not bad. accessories including a CP/M cartridge for C64
A CP/M _carthridge_? Awesome.
2 Jun
2 Jun
7:52 a.m.
On Sun, 1 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
I responded to a Usenet post regarding some UCSD
P-Code stuff. It turned
out the guy had a garage of other stuff that he was trying to get rid of.
The price? Free.
Holy crap! I got an Osborne Executive from the same guy. In fact I
saw George there, but didn't know it at the time. Of course the guy
had to tell me that had I responded a little earlier, all of the stuff
would have been mine. Gak! (Repeat to self several times: must read
comp.os.cpm every day.) Atleast it went to a collector and not into a
dumpster.
--pec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
10:18 a.m.
At 09:52 AM 6/2/97 -0700, you wrote:
Holy crap! I got an Osborne Executive from the same
guy. In fact I
saw George there, but didn't know it at the time. Of course the guy
had to tell me that had I responded a little earlier, all of the stuff
would have been mine. Gak! (Repeat to self several times: must read
comp.os.cpm every day.) Atleast it went to a collector and not into a
dumpster.
That was you!? My wife saw you. She told me that some guy carried an
Osborne Executive out from the house and she was amazed that people are
still interested in these junk. She is actually very supportive in my
effort to collect old computers. She drove another car to help me haul the
stuff. Both cars were packed to the roof (one of them is a pretty big
station wagon).
George
1:58 p.m.
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, George Lin wrote:
That was you!? My wife saw you. She told me that
some guy carried an
Osborne Executive out from the house and she was amazed that people are
still interested in these junk. She is actually very supportive in my
effort to collect old computers. She drove another car to help me haul the
stuff. Both cars were packed to the roof (one of them is a pretty big
station wagon).
It was me. My wife still thinks I am the only one who collects this kind
of junk. She goes along with it because it is not very expensive and
she gets to play games on some of the machines. (I think that she has
logged more time on our vectrex than I have.)
I am running out of space. I don't think I could store 2 carloads of
stuff without completely annexing the garage. Where do you put it all?
--pec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:18 p.m.
At 03:58 PM 6/2/97 -0700, you wrote:
I am running out of space. I don't think I could
store 2 carloads of
stuff without completely annexing the garage. Where do you put it all?
I bring a lot of stuff to my workplace. Some of my co-workers would play
Pacman on my Atari 800 (during lunch or after work, that is). Some day, I
will talk my employer into donating a room to setup a small museum here.
George
-- ______________________________ ______________________________
/ /\ / /\
/ George Lin _/ /\ / Opinions expressed in this _/ /\
/ Antique Computer Collector / \/ / message do not necessarily / \/
/ http://museum.home.ml.org /\ / reflect my employer's. /\
/_____________________________/ / /_____________________________/ /
\_____________________________\/ \_____________________________\/
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
Apple IIe, IIc, Mac 512K, Atari 800, 800XL, 1040ST, Falcon030, VCS, 5200,
ColecoVision VGS, Commodore 64, 64C, 128, plus/4, Compaq suitcase PC,
Eagle II, Epson HX-20, KayPro II, 4, Nintendo NES, Osborne Executive,
TI 99/4A, Timex Sinclair 1000, 1500, TriGem SLT-100, TRS-80 Model I, III,
100, Color Computer 2.
5:24 p.m.
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, Paul E Coad wrote:
It was me. My wife still thinks I am the only one who
collects this kind
of junk. She goes along with it because it is not very expensive and
she gets to play games on some of the machines. (I think that she has
logged more time on our vectrex than I have.)
I am running out of space. I don't think I could store 2 carloads of
stuff without completely annexing the garage. Where do you put it all?
So far my wife has been supportive, but I've had to come up with some
pretty clever white lies and quick thinking lately to explain away my
occasional ATM withdrawals (we're supposed to be saving money, and its
hard to explain to a woman that saving computers transcends the silly
concept of saving money). The worst she has done is threatened to get a
public storage facility, which I am against because it would only cost
more money (money that can be spent saving more computers) and would mean
I'd have to go somewhere else to play with my machines. Plus they'd get
lonely. I'm having space problems myself. I built a 4 level, 5'x4'
shelf but it got used up right away. Now I'm going to build another
shelf along another wall in my garage which should tide me over for, oh,
maybe a month or two at the rate I'm going. I'm thinking about building
a nice storage shed in the back, complete with electrical outlets,
workbench and insulation to keep the babies nice and cozy.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
6:08 p.m.
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, Paul E Coad wrote:
> It was me. My wife still thinks I am the only one who collects this kind
> of junk. She goes along with it because it is not very expensive and
> she gets to play games on some of the machines. (I think that she has
> logged more time on our vectrex than I have.)
Nope. There have to be more than a few out there. A few months to a
year ago I would see stuff at thrift shops and think about whether I
wanted it for a week or two before going back for it. Now it's gone
the next day. To tell you the truth, I think it's Kai running around
with his GPS tracking down 30 thrift stores in a weekend ;)
So far my wife has been supportive, but I've had
to come up with some
pretty clever white lies and quick thinking lately to explain away my
occasional ATM withdrawals (we're supposed to be saving money, and its
hard to explain to a woman that saving computers transcends the silly
concept of saving money).
I actually put $60 per month into my budget for old computers. I have
to because it would be far to easy to spend $200 a month!
The worst she has done is threatened to get a
public storage facility, which I am against because it would only cost
more money (money that can be spent saving more computers) and would mean
I'd have to go somewhere else to play with my machines. Plus they'd get
lonely. I'm having space problems myself. I built a 4 level, 5'x4'
shelf but it got used up right away. Now I'm going to build another
shelf along another wall in my garage which should tide me over for, oh,
maybe a month or two at the rate I'm going. I'm thinking about building
a nice storage shed in the back, complete with electrical outlets,
workbench and insulation to keep the babies nice and cozy.
Try this: For the last 8 months I've been living between here in the
Seattle area and Central California with no actual place of my own.
My computers have been in storage or in my car, or in my parents'
garage, friends' closets... What it comes down to is that I haven't
really had access to most of my computers for almost a year. I'll
actually have my own place again next week and it will have an unused
room. A big room. A room where I can hide my social problem from the
rest of the world ;).
One of my favorite computer stories: A couple years ago I was having
a party at my apartment with a bunch of my friends. One of them who
had not been over before asked where the bathroom was. I told him
back door on the right. A moment later from the back of the hall we
hear him yell, "Good God! You're a geek!". Funny enough, but everyone
else simultaneously yelled, "Wrong door!" in response.
Bill
----------------------------------------------------
Bill Whitson - Classic Computers ListOp
bill(a)booster.u.washinton.edu or bcw(a)u.washington.edu
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~bcw
6:34 p.m.
On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, Bill Whitson wrote:
Try this: For the last 8 months I've been living
between here in the
Seattle area and Central California with no actual place of my own.
My computers have been in storage or in my car, or in my parents'
garage, friends' closets... What it comes down to is that I haven't
really had access to most of my computers for almost a year. I'll
actually have my own place again next week and it will have an unused
room. A big room. A room where I can hide my social problem from the
rest of the world ;).
I used to have it this way until the wife moved into my house and my life
and began dictating what rooms get used for what purposes. Now I have to
argue just to keep my computers in my garage. Even proposing silly ideas
like building a storage shed gets a cold stare. One day my computers in
a very cheezy B-movie-esque fashion will come alive go after my wife for
not respecting them. :)
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
3 Jun
3 Jun
1:36 a.m.
I used to have it this way until the wife moved into
my house and my life
and began dictating what rooms get used for what purposes. Now I have to
argue just to keep my computers in my garage. Even proposing silly ideas
like building a storage shed gets a cold stare. One day my computers in
a very cheezy B-movie-esque fashion will come alive go after my wife for
not respecting them. :)
It does seem that wives/partners are quite understanding of our hobby/
obsession. My wife, Michelle, has her moments of support when she has
got me some of the best machines in my collection, and other moments of
'you are not bringing another computer into this house.' The later is
usually broken when I bring home a really rare machine and I go on about
how good the design was or how bad it was and that it was only sold for
a short time. I find that the longer I leave the machine(s) temporarily
dumped on the sofa the worse things get, especially if friends come
around and there is nowhere to sit :-)
We have just finished converting our loft into an office, as the
previous office is now used as a nursery for our baby girl. The problem
is that even though this new office is bigger I have had to move up all
the computers I had hidden around the house into it. You cannot see the
carpet anymore :-( (I will have to post a picture I took on my web site
so you can play spot the computer.)
I have started to trade/swap machines lately, either selling some of my
duplicates or trading large machines for smaller ones. Space is
becoming so much of an issue that I am thinking I may have to start
specialising and re-distribute some of the larger things I have. These
are computers I have saved from a skip but never used through my
childhood or my working life. Here I am talking about the PDP stuff and
maybe CPM machines. (It's funny as a kid I drooled over having a
Superbrain with dual Z80s and 64K of memory. I only ever saw pictures
of them in adverts and when I got one recently I was a little taken
a back with how big they are.)
Do other people specialise? Personally I think I would find it hard
because I hate to leave computers at boot sales etc.
--
Kevan
Old Computer Collector: http://staff.motiv.co.uk/~kevan/
3:26 a.m.
On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Kevan Heydon wrote:
It does seem that wives/partners are quite
understanding of our hobby/
obsession. My wife, Michelle, has her moments of support when she has
got me some of the best machines in my collection, and other moments of
'you are not bringing another computer into this house.' The later is
usually broken when I bring home a really rare machine and I go on about
how good the design was or how bad it was and that it was only sold for
a short time. I find that the longer I leave the machine(s) temporarily
dumped on the sofa the worse things get, especially if friends come
around and there is nowhere to sit :-)
It is due to my fiancee that we have the TI-99 and the Atari ST
equipment, the former three (one still in shrink-wrap) because Lisa
credits a cassette-based algebra tutorial on her original TI-99/4A with
getting her through the maths requirement for her nursing degree, the
latter (a 1040 and a 520) because she's musically inclined and we got
them for their MIDI features. She's also the one that loves cute little
PDA-type devices, so we've got gear from HP, Casio, Sharp, Psion and one
or two others to be the classic in a decade or so. All of the Tandy and
AT&T and Sun equipment I take full responsibility for, as well as the
various non-classic Intel boxes for hacking Linux.
--
Ward Griffiths
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within
the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." --Claire Wolfe
6:46 a.m.
On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Kevan Heydon wrote:
I have started to trade/swap machines lately, either
selling some of my
duplicates or trading large machines for smaller ones. Space is
I've begun to do the same myself. It was an alternative to a budget. I
created a "hobby" account which is just a virtual account in Quicken.
Any money I make off of selling anything within my hobby I put into the
account to go towards future purchases. I started to realize I don't
need 4 TI-99/4a's and 5 VIC-20s, etc. Of course, if a find at a swap
meet warrants, I can always borrow from another account to cover the
purchase until I can sell off other stuff. :)
Do other people specialise? Personally I think I would
find it hard
because I hate to leave computers at boot sales etc.
I collect whatever I can find that I don't have, but so far my collection
is 95% micro's. I guess I haven't been looking in the right places for
mini's.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
8:41 a.m.
It does seem that wives/partners are quite
understanding of our hobby/
obsession. My wife, Michelle, has her moments of support when she has
Yes, I often wonder why my parents (who get to store most of my small
collection) put up with it. It must be the only hall in the world to
contain 4 minicomputers and a couple of workstations...
got me some of the best machines in my collection, and
other moments of
'you are not bringing another computer into this house.' The later is
I get exactly the same reaction. One minute it's 'Why on earth do you want
_another_ workstation', the next it's 'I've got you a Tektronix colour
terminal that was being thrown out - I assume you want it'.
usually broken when I bring home a really rare machine
and I go on about
how good the design was or how bad it was and that it was only sold for
a short time. I find that the longer I leave the machine(s) temporarily
dumped on the sofa the worse things get, especially if friends come
around and there is nowhere to sit :-)
Sit? We ran out of places to sit years ago.....
Do other people specialise? Personally I think I would
find it hard
because I hate to leave computers at boot sales etc.
I tried to specialise - in workstations and minicomputers. But although I
can easily resist buying 1980's home micros (most of them are somewhat
uninteresting to a hardware hacker, since a lot of the logic is hidden in
a ULA), I find it very difficult not to buy unusual micros, prototypes,
1-of-a-kind machines, etc. So the specialisation didn't really work...
--
Kevan
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
2 Jun
2 Jun
10:47 p.m.
In message <Pine.ULT.3.91a.970602194851.21176A-100000(a)booster.bothell.washingto
n.edu>you write:
I actually put $60 per month into my budget for old computers. I have
to because it would be far to easy to spend $200 a month!
I have tried budgeting, but there is always that special rare machine
that becomes available and I have to break the budget.
--
Kevan
Old Computer Collector: http://staff.motiv.co.uk/~kevan/
3 Jun
3 Jun
6:41 a.m.
On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Kevan Heydon wrote:
In message <Pine.ULT.3.91a.970602194851.21176A-100000(a)booster.bothell.washingto
n.edu>you write:
This is the kind of hobby where a budget just can't work, because there's
always going to be that one machine that you absolutely cannot pass up.
And its not like you can just say "Oh I'll wait until next month" because
it won't be there next month...it'll be in some other collector's closet.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
I actually put $60 per month into my budget for old computers. I have
to because it would be far to easy to spend $200 a month!
I have tried budgeting, but there is always that special rare machine
that becomes available and I have to break the budget.
7:19 a.m.
In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.970603083953.15828A-100000(a)crl5.crl.com>you write:
This is the kind of hobby where a budget just
can't work, because there's
always going to be that one machine that you absolutely cannot pass up.
And its not like you can just say "Oh I'll wait until next month" because
it won't be there next month...it'll be in some other collector's closet.
... and while it is good that it will have gone to another collector it
not quite the same as having the machine yourself and be able to play
with it.
--
Kevan
Old Computer Collector: http://staff.motiv.co.uk/~kevan/
2 Jun
2 Jun
10:51 p.m.
In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.970602191847.6883C-100000(a)crl11.crl.com>you write:
The worst she has done is threatened to get a
public storage facility, which I am against because it would only cost
more money (money that can be spent saving more computers) and would mean
I'd have to go somewhere else to play with my machines.
I have looked into storage a few times but over here in the UK I have
found it too expensive as it all seems geared up to short term leases
to store furniture etc. while moving house.
Plus they'd get lonely.
:-)
--
Kevan
Old Computer Collector: http://staff.motiv.co.uk/~kevan/
9910
days inactive
9918
days old
24 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
-
ard12＠eng.cam.ac.uk -
bill＠booster.bothell.washington.edu -
dastar＠crl.com -
ds_spenc＠alcor.concordia.ca -
eric＠fudge.uchicago.edu -
george.lin＠documentum.com -
gram＠cnct.com -
gram＠terra.cnct.com -
kevan＠motiv.co.uk -
pcoad＠crl.com -
stuart＠colossus.mathcs.rhodes.edu