Products > Vintage Computing
I'm bored and feeling nostalic...
Bicurico:
Hi,
From time to time I get bored (because I already explored the latest gear I bought or because I am waiting for the gear to be shipped, like the new Analog Devices ADALM PLUTO which is on back order until Dec. 5th).
Also, I sometimes get very nostalgic. This is due for having had a rough childhood and the fact that my life changed considerably in the mid eighties. What gave me some grip was my passion for computers. The first computers were the Sinclair ZX81, the Commodore 64 and the Commodore Amiga 500, in this order. I still own them, but they are not fully functional.
Today I am a grown man, hard to deny that, and I own pretty awesome computers, like the laptop I am writing this post on (Core i7, 32GB RAM, 512SSD, 1TB HDD, nVidia GTX880M - the company would like to replace it, but apart from the nVidia card there is not much to improve). At home I have a desktop PC with similar specs, apart from all the other hobby related stuff (radios, satellite reception, field meter, spectrum analyser, etc.).
I have several Raspberry PI, several tablets, some running Windows, small PC's, etc.
I write all this to come to the point: When I am bored and nostalgic, I start looking at classic computers on eBay...
I get this urge to buy myself any of this:
- Apple IIe
- Micro Professor MFP1B
- Commdore 64 (despite having one, which as mentioned is not in fully working order)
- Amiga 2000
- Epson HX20
- Sinclair Spectrum 48K
- Atari VCS2600
- Sharp E500
- ...
All these computers are significant to me, because somehow, somewhere I came in contact with them in my childhood. It makes me remind the "good old times"...
But then reality and logic kicks in:
1) These computers are useless today
2) Most can be emulated and yes, I do have emulators, tried them out, converted my C64 floppy disks to D64, etc. I have Retropi, too.
3) Buying these old computers is a risk, for the failure rate is high and some components are really hard to source.
4) Floppy disks are difficult to obtain and data is hard to transfer
5) These machines occupy a lot of space
So in my mind a struggle is set free between "I want to have it" and "What a waste of time, money and space" and the next idea is FPGA based machines like the MiST or ZX Uno. What do you guys think about these? Are they worth the price? Is there really a different experience to ordinary emulators? One drawback is of course the fact that one cannot connect original periferals.
Am I sick and do I need counseling? Why do I get the urge to waste time in reliving joyful moments with old computers (lunar landing on CP/M computer)?
Why does an emulator not really satisfy me? Is a FPGA machine a viable solution to fix my urge without spending a lot of money and wasting a lot of space?
HELP!
Regards,
Vitor
daybyter:
I would look into repairing the little gems, that you already have and then maybe expand them a bit. Build your own SD card interface for the c64! Or for the zeddy. Add a network card to your zx81 and run a webserver!
There are great forums and communities now for all of these machines providing all the information for free. It's not just tun, but it's also a great learning experience!
chris_leyson:
My only retro computers an HP9825T and an old MSX machine. I too sometimes wonder why I have them but the 3 chip hybrid processor in the 9825 was also used in a few HP instruments. BTW I don't think you need counseling ;)
Bicurico:
@daybyter: Thanks for your suggestion. I have thought about it. Here are some details regarding my C64:
I have: C64, 1541, 1701, Datasette, Final Cartridge 2 (I think) and lots of floppy disks.
Years ago, when I tried to run it, there was a fault that caused a given memory space to be mirrored, like having $0000-$2000 mirrored to $2000, $4000, $6000 and so on. At the time I thought that the IC responsible for mananging the RAM IC's was broken. Back then I had far less electronics knowledge than today, so I left it as is.
Recently (a few weeks ago) hooked everything up and surprisingly, the C64 did not show that issue anymore. I am not sure if I tested it insufficiently or if it magically fixed itself. In this case, it could have been anything from bad contact to moisture. Not sure.
But now the floppy drive won't recognize any inserted floppy disk. I read different 1541 repair tutorials, but got unsure where the fault might be. It points to some possible fault in one of the IC's on the controller board. Again, that would be hard to fix without spare parts or even a whole spare floppy drive... It is defnitly not just the light sensor or a misaligned read/write head.
This means it would probably be cheaper and easier to just buy a second hand C64 with floppy and then eventually use them to find the faults in my devices.
Looking at eBay, this would cost at least around 100 Euro, though, which is where my common sense kicks in... Why spend 100 Euro on a system, which can be spectacularily well emulated? Look here, at the best C64 emulator in my opinion: http://micro64.de/
Ufff...
Oh, did I mention I have no free time, because I SHOULD be looking at the PhD I am supposed to do... ::) :palm:
@chris_leyson: "BTW I don't think you need counseling ;)" - hopefully I won't, but sometimes I do wonder...
Regards,
Vitor
capt bullshot:
Any kind of emulator or FPGA implemention is just boring.
You've got to get the real stuff, with that smell of old aged plastic and components, stored in a cellar or attic for many years.
That's interesting to get it cleaned and up and running again, once it works, it'll start to get boring. You can make them polished and shiny and make an exhibition like this: http://www.homecomputer.de/
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