Getting out of the hobby

[Brad H]

-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Seth
Morabito
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2016 1:07 PM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Getting out of the hobby

Hey folks,

Recent activity on the list, especially the "Ka... ching!" thread, has had
me reevaluating a lot of what I get out of this hobby. I think there are two
things going on that make it less fun for me now: The money, and the age of
the stuff. I'll try to explain.

I've never been a real "collector", I suppose. I don't feel a burning need
to fill every hole in a product line, or to put things on display.
I've also never been in this for the money, far from it. No, the only reason
I've ever collected classic computers is because I've loved playing with
them. That's really all there is to it. I enjoy the sights, sounds, and
smells of firing up vintage computers and seeing them work.

I'm not sure yet what that means for my current collection. It's already
much smaller than it once was, as I've found homes for a lot of things over
the years. I've moved a lot, and every time I've moved I've found homes for
things I didn't want to take with me. It's probably time to do that again,
only without the moving part.

I think probably I'll have one last big "sale" of stuff, which I'll post
about here. At this point most of what I have is vintage home computers,
terminals, and QBUS PDP-11 stuff, so not everyone will be interested in it
-- but maybe some people will.

-Seth
--
> Seth Morabito
>web at loomcom.com

I hear ya, especially on the hospice stuff.  This is an issue if you're
collecting cars newer than the mid-80s.. some of the computers (ie. ABS
controller) aren't available anymore and repairs are not possible.  On older
cars you could always make what you didn't have (at great expense, yes) but
at least you could theoretically do it.  Not likely with ICs.

I always enjoyed the repair aspect of the hobby more than use, although I do
enjoy some use.  The learning is the best part, I think.  It's almost a
letdown when something is already just working.

Hunting would be really fun -- I had that experience with cars but not
computers.  Just doesn't seem to be much vintage stuff to hunt for in my
part of British Columbia.

Sorry to hear you're leaving.  Best to you regardless!