I'm sitting here this evening enjoying some sparkling wine and browsing Videokarma with a vintage 2001 iMac and am happy to report that the site works perfectly well with this old hardware. I know there are a handful of Videokarma members who are into vintage Macintosh computers, but is anyone into collecting/restoring/using any other vintage platforms? My collection consists mostly of Apple II and Macintosh. However, I'm interested in knowing who out there is into collecting other platforms such as Atari, Apple II, CP/M, Commodore, IBM PC/jr, TRS-80, TI 99/4a, and so forth.

I've seen a TRS 80 at a good will once, and I know someone who has one. But I hate old computers. My folks always had the crummyest ancient junkers growing up, and just looking at the pre GUI interface bored me to tears, and killed all interest in any digital equipment for many many years(for a five year old who could barely read and hated doing so, a pre GUI device will kill any interest in computers).

Just my 0.02$
Tom C.

I have a few......
Bell & Howell (rebadged Apple II)
Commodore 64
Amiga 2000
Amiga 4000
Mac Intosh (1st model from early 80's)
TI99
several oddball custom-built machines
early 80's IBM (don't remember which model)
and the machine on my desk which sees regular use is a Gateway 2000 from '98 which is running Windows 98 SE.
They all work fine and I still play games on them occaisionally.

I keep all my computers:
TI99/4 and TI99/4A with TI expansion box for game development
Commodore 64 with original Sequencial Circuits MIDI cartridge for Synthesyzers
IBM AT 6 Mhz which I bought in 1984 as IBM employee

I have several special video cards for doing Chroma key (Blue background) etc which I bought new in late 1980s and cost 2-3 times the price of the computer.

I have core memory from a couple of 1960s computers
I have maintenance console from IBM 360 mainframe

I found a 1984 "Bondwell" portable, model 14 a while back.
Orange CRT, two 5.5" drives.
It powers on but the obscure operating system is loaded from a floppy disc that I don't have and don't know how to get.

Looks like this one.
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/stuurmn/bw1214.htm

I have a Compaq DeskPro from about 1985 I would love to sell. I even have an extra monitor. It was upgraded with two 30 MB hard drives and a math coprocessor. I suspect the clock battery has corroded some nearby circuitry but I haven't looked.

I bought this thing new and got a few years out of it. MS-DOS 6.1 or something. Two floppy drives 5.25". It's been in the garage without being plugged in for at least 15 years.

Eric,

You could probably email the owner of the bondwell on the link you posted and ask if he could make you a copy of the CPM OS on a 5 1/2 diskette. It may boot an early version of IBM or Microsoft DOS since Z80 and 8080 are inthe same family of CPU chips. IBM was going to use CPM as their OS for the first IBM PC but the owner didn't show up for the scheduled meeting. So IBM decided to use DOS from Microsoft instead. IBM did use CPM on their POS cash registers until they brought out OS2 ver. 1.

I have a few......
Bell & Howell (rebadged Apple II)
Commodore 64
Amiga 2000
Amiga 4000
Mac Intosh (1st model from early 80's)
TI99
several oddball custom-built machines
early 80's IBM (don't remember which model)
and the machine on my desk which sees regular use is a Gateway 2000 from '98 which is running Windows 98 SE.
They all work fine and I still play games on them occaisionally.

Does your B&H have that power strip attachment on the back of it or is it the model that didn't come with that?

I'd love to get an Amiga 2000 or 4000 with NewTek Video Toaster again, those were fun!

I have had so many over time. I buy them, play with them and sell them. Now I can't find much of anything to buy :(

I currently have a TRS-80 model 4 that was smashed in shipping. The case is fine but the crt broke in shipping and flopped around and smashed most of the boards inside...

I also have a TRS-80 Color Computer that will go to ebay eventually.

Some highlights of Vintage Computers I have had-
Commodore 64 (tons of c64 accessories too)
Commodore Vic-20
Commodore SX-64 (wish I kept this one, very cool)
Commodore Colt
Commodore Amiga A500
Magnavox Odyssey
Nintendo Famicom Family Basic Computer
TRS-80 Color Computer 1
TRS-80 Color Computer 2
TRS-80 Color Computer 3 (tons of CoCo accessories too)
TRS-80 MC-10
TRS-80 Model 1
TRS-80 Model 100
TRS-80 Model 4 (tons of model 3/4 accessories too)
TRS-80 DT-1 Data Terminal
TRS-80 PC-2 Pocket Computer
Tandy 1000 (several varieties, SX, TX, HX)
Atari 1040ST
Atari 800XL
Atari 1200XL (tons of XL accessories too)
Atari 130SE
Amstrad 1512DD
Apple IIc
Texas Instruments TI-99

Those are just the ones I can think of, off the top of my head. I have sold all of these, and I probably still have pictures of them if you guys wanna see 'em. I used to find this stuff local all the time. Not so much anymore...

Hi !

I have a IMSAI 8080 with a Z-80 cpu card, and video terminal. 4k static ram, 2Mhz processor, 8K EPROM Burner card, 50lb power transformer!
Commodore 64 HS-MON cartridge (assembler programing) Original box.
Mac SE, SE-2, LC-2, 7600/200 I still use to do websites and graphics print work, Performa 6200/cd (All around "worst comuputer apple ever made"), a slew of windoze boxes Win95 on up.

I got the LC-2 NEW paid over $3,000. I think it has a 10Mhz 6810, 8meg ram, and I paid extra for the larger 100MB HD, and a Sony screen. System 7.1 graphical user interface. and a HP DeskWriter C first color printer inkjet, and they still sell ink for it too. At the time my windoze choice was a 286? and DOS 3.1 - 3.6? around that time period. Yah I still got it. Funny except for the screen, the LC-2 was a pizza box computer, almost like my newer flat screen white plastic imac 17" lcd 2.0ghz G-5. The computer I use the most though, is my Win 98 ASUS p2b something 600mhz. Also for websites and graphics. I still have all of these. And all the early apples SE's have small 40MB HD's and the inside of the cabinets have the signatures of the people who worked on them, Pretty cool!

Got an iMac G3 in ruby. Nice old machine. It doesn't really like the internet.
At one time I liked vintage computing but nowadays I like the newest and best. :-(

I had an old IBM 5150 machine 2 months ago before I threw it out. Had a black and green zenith monitor with it. It needed a new HDD and I just had nothing to use it for beside taking up room I don't have. But currently have one of the first colored iMacs,(purple), an authentic Hotwheels computer, (needs some peripherals since origs. got wore out.) 3 other mid '90's machines, and a 2003 gateway which still works.

1999 G3 iMac... Bought it new and was frustrated by how fast it became obsolete after OS X came out. Sits in storage closet unloved. Replaced it in 2003 with sony vaio desktop which i use to today.

used a 1991 powerbook 140 for internet and email till 2001 on business travel... Still fire it up sometimes

I didn't get a computer until 1995 when Microsoft introduced Windows 95. That's about the time my dad starting using a personal computer for his work as well. Only the big banking companies on Wall Street and those massive c-corporations provided personal computers to their employees in the late-1970's to early-1980's. Computers weren't commonly found in the typical workplace until the mid- to late-1980's. Like I said before, my dad used electric typewriters at his jobs until the mid-1990's.

I have an full-up Imsai 8080 with a Soroc video teletype teminal, wide carriage daisy-wheel teletype terminal, and all kinds of other stuff.

I also have a Dec PDP 1103 & a Heath Z89 computer...all kinds of vintage computing stuff.

Enjoy,
Rich P

I have a lot of vintage computers and am working on getting them set up where they can be used. I already have one of the Apple IIe's set up to be able to access the internet.
I have:
Apple II+
Apple IIe
Apple IIc
Apple IIGS
Several black and white Macintoshes
Macintosh IILC
2 Osborne portables with very small screen
Eagle metal cased portable
Compaq portable
DEC terminals, VT-220 to 320 (soon to get VT-100)
Tandy Color Computers
TRS-80 (can't remember model but it has built-in monitor)
Commodore 64
Texas Instruments Home computer
DEC Microvax

I've collected vintage computer equipment for a long time. Right now the "jewl" of my collection is an Apple Lisa 2/10. You can see pictures I've taken of it here: http://compu85.homeip.net/stuff/lisa/

I've always liked the IBM PS/2 line of computers, but I've been slowly getting rid of my stockpile of them. If anyone here is interested in PS/2s let me know, I just don't have the space to store them. Most of my collection is still at my parent's house back in Michigan :eek:

-J

Nice Lisa....yum! I only have a few :

Tektronix 4051
Mac plus
Mac Color Classic
TRS 80 pocket computer, type 1
Indigo iBook G-3

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6199/6050239097_6d39d3da83_z.jpg

jr

I just picked up a Compaq Portable from eBay. Sold as non working, some quick detective work found a paperclip floating around inside the machine, a bad cap on the floppy disk board, and a bad cap on the motherboard.

This one on the floppy board was easy to spot:

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171715&stc=1&d=1316878076

Which I think damaged this one on the motherboard:

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171716&stc=1&d=1316878076

That cap sits between the -12v rail and ground. It was short. One question though... how do you read the value on these caps? Is that one 10mf at 16 volts?

Thanks,

-J

That cap sits between the -12v rail and ground. It was short. One question though... how do you read the value on these caps? Is that one 10mf at 16 volts?

Yup!
jr

I have a MITS Altair from 1976 and several Imsai. All running CPM on 8 inch floppies (clunk, clunk).

Working in a thrift store allowed me to tinker with many old computers, which I would try to fix up and get ready to sell.

I don't really have much of a collection, but I do have a NOS, still in the box Packard Bell computer from c. 1996, and a c. 1993 Gateway computer that was made in the USA and built like a tank. I put a maxed out 486 motherboard in it, and it runs 3.1/95. I use it for vintage gaming or when I want that early Windows experience.

My main computer, when I'm home on break, is one I built new in 2005 and has Windows 98SE on it. I haven't upgraded it, since it's lightning fast and there are patches out there that allow me to run the latest version of most software. Plus viruses/spyware are no longer an issue as nobody makes them for 98 anymore, lol.

my collection is all macintosh stuff. mostly. I have some older PC stuff as well, like a compaq LTE 150mhz with 80mb RAM module, and an old NEC versa V/75.

But 95% of what I have are all old macs. Powerbook Duos, a PB180/145/etc and a color classic, SE, SE/30, a 512K, 2 pluses, and a plus with a HyperDrive 20 upgrade that the HDD was removed (BOOOO) but the 030 accelerator is still in place inside the plus.

macintosh LCIII, a powermac 5260 and 6400/250. a powerbook lombard, titanium 500mhz, 2 ibook G3s, and 1 ibook G4. busticated powerbook 1400, PB3400.

iMac G5 with fuxored LCD panel. PB 520c with PPC upgrade, and a macintosh portable that still needs recapped.

Yea.. and thats not including the ones i forgot to mention.

What am I going to do with all these? I have no friggen idea. I only have a 14' by 30' room, and thats my living quarters. (bad economy, no house). I might keep a couple things, mostly the rarer stuff like the hyperdrive mac, the mac portable and 520c PPC card. rest of it i need to do something with.

http://ascii24.ascii.jp/2006/04/07/images/images804704.jpgonkyoHDC-7Windows XP Media Center Edition:thmbsp:http://www.phileweb.com/news/photo/200604/ONKYO-HONTAI-FRONT_big.jpg

I dragged home another TRS-80 today. It's really dirty as it's been sitting in a shed for years. Tomorrow I'm gonna start cleaning it up and eventually I'll test it to see if it still works.

I keep all my computers:
TI99/4 and TI99/4A with TI expansion box for game developmentWhats the differemce between a /4 and 4A??

A 4A was my FIRST COMPUTER and it was OK i guess.... Then i got a C64 and i still love it now :)

I have a collection of just a few "vintage" computers:

two or three Timex Sinclair Z81...and one about half done as a kit (I should get on that)

One Commodore VIC20....still works, but I don't really have it out
One Commodore SX64 (REALLY love to play with that one sometimes)

Now I am currently playing with an Atari800 (the big one..not the XL). I got it at a swap meet about a month ago, but it had a dead keyboard (typical for these). Got a replacement mobo and power board (didn't need the power board..but got one anyway). This fixed the keyboard problem I had tracked to the POKEY and two demux chips. Now I play with it on an RCA "prison TV" and with it's original 1010 datacassette unit (changed two belts). Got the original BASIC cartridge and the thing had a Pac-Man cartridge in it already. Lots of fun poking in stupid BASIC proggies and saving them on tapes. Really just for fun.

I've had an "unintentional" collection of "really tiny laptops" for many years....starting with me buying a real small Hitachi palmtop back in the very early 90s....and then kept buying all the Toshiba Libretto machines from around 1995 until around 2006...and still have all those machines:

CT50 (Win95)....and at least one parts machine
CT70 (Win98)....and a couple parts machines
CT101 (98SE)....(still play with sometimes
U105 (XPproSP3)....is a Centrino, so is actually SLOW but still useful

A couple of those little tiny VIA "Artigo" pico-ITX kits.....one is actually inside of an old 5" Craig LCD TV set as a mini portable HTPC.

Asus 900HA (XPproSP3/Win7 Ultimate/Ubuntu)"netbook"....not really vintage, but it IS like five years old now....daily driver for work as my "away team" work on old Novell Netware 4.11 servers that only run IPX/SPX.

It's a very odd collection...of which maybe half would be "vintage".....but the term is a bit loose for computers. Even a "new" laptop...is OLD after like a year these days.

I'd love to get an Amiga 2000 or 4000 with NewTek Video Toaster again, those were fun!

Good lunk finding one cheap nowadays. Most Amigas died from battery acid death! I did manage to pick up an Amiga 4000 with Toaster 4000 card though. Motherboard needs a recapping as the audio output is weak. I have a whole bunch of other vintage stuff too.

Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j579s5cS4CA
Cheesy Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n7GoNmgHGI

Check out: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forum.php

That looks like a nice site,its too bad they are on VB4 which is ugly crap :(

I use an old IBM Model 8525.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maceachb/8089481603/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maceachb/8110034747/in/photostream

Mine is "upgraded" to a 2GB SSD, instead of the original 20MB MFM drive it had. 8-bit ISA IDE card.

I have owned several computers; however, all but two are long gone. Here is the list.

________________________________________

1. Commodore 64, DOS operating system, with external 5.25" floppy drive and Commodore MPS-803 dot-matrix printer; used an old TV as a monitor. No modem. Got rid of the entire system when I moved in 1999 (space constraints in my then-new apartment).

2. "Explorer" (off brand, don't know who actually made it) with integrated keyboard and Emerson b&w VGA monitor. 3.25" floppy drive, operating system (DOS 3.1) built in, probably on the internal hard drive. No modem. This computer was given to me by an old friend in the early '90s. No printer.

3. AST "Adventure!" 200 (off brand, again I don't know the actual manufacturer), with an off-brand monitor. OS was Windows 95. I added a printer shortly after getting the computer, but cannot recall the make or model. This computer was my first Windows system, and it got a lot of use -- on the Internet, with e-mail (I began e-mailing a couple of old friends whom I had lost contact with by now, shortly after getting the system) and also as a word processor, although the Explorer system I mentioned above also had WP software and was used in the same capacity. This system had only 8mb of RAM and was constantly crashing due to the sheer number of programs besides the word processor and Internet software I was using with it, but it was the best I had at the time, so I made the best of it.

I gave the AST system away when I moved, again due to space limitations in the apartment I moved to. I don't know what became of it after that.

4. IBM "Aptiva" desktop tower. My second Windows computer, this one had Windows 98 (I later upgraded it to Win98SE), a 600 MHz CPU, 128mb of RAM, a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 832c printer, and was TOTL at the time (late 1999). Kept it 11 years, used it to death, and still have it, although it is now in storage in my bedroom closet and has a dead CMOS backup battery.

5. My current system. It is a "PowerSpec" (house brand of MicroCenter, Columbus, Ohio) model 8736 desktop tower running Windows XP, 2.23 GHz CPU, just under 1GB (991 MB) of RAM, with an HP flat-panel monitor and an HP LaserJet 4+ lasser printer. The FP monitor and laser printer were later addons to the system; the laser printer was given to me by my friend who had given me the Explorer system I mentioned above. He has an accounting business and was upgrading his entire office to Windows 7 at the time, so, knowing that I had been running Windows 98 (by this time becoming obsolete), he decided to give me one of his old Windows XP systems for Christmas two years ago, followed by the LaserJet 4+ laser printer last year.

BTW: For now, the Windows XP system does well for what I need it to do, but I'm wondering just how much longer I will be able to run that operating system before being forced to upgrade to Windows 8 (old software refusing to run on Win8, etc). I'm sure this system will run Win7, but eight....I don't know.

I used Windows 98 for 11 years (!) and got by, but I'm not so sure I'll be so lucky with WinXP. I use this WinXP computer for online banking and other tasks on the Internet, and am wondering how long I have before I start seeing warnings online or elsewhere that XP is not secure enough for such activities. I realize the end of XP's life cycle will be some time in 2014, but I wonder if the end is already in sight as far as some applications or secure Internet sites are concerned.

I am using the Lotus 1-2-3 office suite (presently, word processor only) and am wondering if I will need an entirely new WP system after XP is declared obsolete. :scratch2: I am concerned about the word processor because every file I have written using that processor, including a story 500+ pages long I've been writing since at least 25 years ago (until 1995 the story was typed using a standard typewriter), can only be read by that word processor and no other. I do have QuickView Plus, a file viewer which, according to its developers, can read most if not all text-based files written with any word processor, so I guess reading the old files won't be much of a problem -- unless QVP32 won't run under Windows 7 or 8. I'm wondering if WordPerfect 5.1, which I downloaded recently, would run on the newer OSs in DOS mode, or will there be such a thing as DOS mode in Win8? :scratch2: I'm thinking by the time Win8 goes mainstream in offices and such, there may be little or no need for DOS.

I don't have much anymore, I used to have a ton of stuff... mostly 90s early 00s stuff. I have a old IBM Eduquest 486 that I have DOS 6.22 on for a old gaming machine. I have some old Compaq "portable computer" in the basement though. I think it has a 6in green and black CRT, 2 low density disk drives, i think its a 8086 and a built in daisy wheel printer. the keyboard snaps to the face of it. Never been able to bring myself to get rid of it though.

[QUOTE=Jeffhs;3055880]I have owned several computers; however, all but two are long gone. Here is the list.

________________________________________

1. Commodore 64, DOS operating system, with external 5.25" floppy drive and Commodore MPS-803 dot-matrix printer; used an old TV as a monitor. No modem. Got rid of the entire system when I moved in 1999 (space constraints in my then-new apartment).

2. "Explorer" (off brand, don't know who actually made it) with integrated keyboard and Emerson b&w VGA monitor. 3.25" floppy drive, operating system (DOS 3.1) built in, probably on the internal hard drive. No modem. This computer was given to me by an old friend in the early '90s. No printer.

3. AST "Adventure!" 200 (off brand, again I don't know the actual manufacturer), with an off-brand monitor. OS was Windows 95. I added a printer shortly after getting the computer, but cannot recall the make or model. This computer was my first Windows system, and it got a lot of use -- on the Internet, with e-mail (I began e-mailing a couple of old friends whom I had lost contact with by now, shortly after getting the system) and also as a word processor, although the Explorer system I mentioned above also had WP software and was used in the same capacity. This system had only 8mb of RAM and was constantly crashing due to the sheer number of programs besides the word processor and Internet software I was using with it, but it was the best I had at the time, so I made the best of it.

I gave the AST system away when I moved, again due to space limitations in the apartment I moved to. I don't know what became of it after that.

4. IBM "Aptiva" desktop tower. My second Windows computer, this one had Windows 98 (I later upgraded it to Win98SE), a 600 MHz CPU, 128mb of RAM, a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 832c printer, and was TOTL at the time (late 1999). Kept it 11 years, used it to death, and still have it, although it is now in storage in my bedroom closet and has a dead CMOS backup battery.

5. My current system. It is a "PowerSpec" (house brand of MicroCenter, Columbus, Ohio) model 8736 desktop tower running Windows XP, 2.23 GHz CPU, just under 1GB (991 MB) of RAM, with an HP flat-panel monitor and an HP LaserJet 4+ laser printer. The FP monitor and laser printer were later addons to the system; the laser printer was given to me by my friend who had given me the Explorer system I mentioned above. He has an accounting business and was upgrading his entire office to Windows 7 at the time, so, knowing that I had been running Windows 98 (by this time becoming obsolete), he decided to give me one of his old Windows XP systems for Christmas two years ago, followed by the LaserJet 4+ laser printer last year.

BTW: For now, the Windows XP system does well for what I need it to do, but I'm wondering just how much longer I will be able to run that operating system before being forced to upgrade to Windows 8 (old software refusing to run on Win8, etc). I'm sure this system will run Win7, but eight....I don't know.

I used Windows 98 for 11 years (!) and got by, but I'm not so sure I'll be so lucky with WinXP. I use this WinXP computer for online banking and other tasks on the Internet, and am wondering how long I have before I start seeing warnings online or elsewhere that XP is not secure enough for such activities. I realize the end of XP's life cycle will be some time in 2014, but I wonder if the end is already in sight as far as some applications or secure Internet sites are concerned.

I am using the Lotus 1-2-3 office suite (presently, word processor only) and am wondering if I will need an entirely new WP system after XP is declared obsolete. :scratch2: I am concerned about the word processor because every file I have written using that processor, including a story 500+ pages long I've been writing since at least 25 years ago (until 1995 the story was typed using a standard typewriter), can only be read by that word processor and no other. I do have QuickView Plus, a file viewer which, according to its developers, can read most if not all text-based files written with any word processor, so I guess reading the old files won't be much of a problem -- unless QVP32 won't run under Windows 7 or 8. I'm wondering if WordPerfect 5.1, which I downloaded recently, would run on the newer OSs in DOS mode, or will there be such a thing as DOS mode in Win8? :scratch2: I'm thinking by the time Win8 goes mainstream in offices and such, there may be little or no need for DOS.

every file I have written using that processor, including a story 500+ pages long I've been writing since at least 25 years ago (until 1995 the story was typed using a standard typewriter), can only be read by that word processor and no other.
Most word-processing programs, even older ones, have various options to save files in other formats. If you can skip italics or other text enhancements in your files, you should be able to save copies of each file in basic text format and/or other simple ones that any newer program can read easily. I have word-processor files from 1990-92 that I can still open in Microsoft Office 2010 just fine.

My word processor on my IBM is PFS First Choice and it has no other saving options. BUT! You can print to a file, which just becomes a regular ASCII text file.

I actually just picked up my first vintage computer. Its a new in the box DEC 486 with the floppy drive and windows 95 as the OS. Im definately going to need a lot of help from my techie gf, i know so very little about computers.

But a brand new desk top that was still in the box and shrink wrap for 40 bucks?! How could i turn it down.

Ah, I assume that must've been you that posted the thread over on the VCF. Pretty good deal you got there, considering pretty much any beat up 486 crap-box tends to fetch $40 these days.

Hi All;
I have an Altair 8800, with (2 each) 8" Floppies, (hard sectored).. I have many, many 8" floppies (soft sectored), a PDP 11/44 and a PDP 11/04.. Both have power supply issues.. the 11/44 is backplane with boards only.. A Data General Eclipse S130, Power supply issues.. The other DG, Digital Group (8080-Z-80) two machines.. my oldest is a Varian 620i.. Not functional..
THANK YOU Marty

I also collect vintage computers right now here is wht I have
IBM 5160 with two half height floppy drives a 22 MB RLL Hard disk, Ethernet card, 640k of RAM, v20 processor upgrade, and a EGA graphics adapter/monitor.
macintosh +
commodore 64
TRS-80 model 1
and a few 386'es and 486'es of no intrest

I have 3:
1) "Olivetti" M290S: an 386 computer with an 286 processor. Desktop style. I took it for free;
2) "I.B.M." <<ThinkPad>> Type 2610 486 laptop. I need more R.A.M. for it. I don't know what I did with the bottom cover :( . I get it on a exchange for a 386 server computer which I got it for the same person that gave me the 286 ;
3) An "Fujitsu" (P1 or P3) (this one I alsp got it from somebody);
I'm dreaming to get me an 486 laptop with monochrome display. There where any Pentium 1 or Pentium 2 laptops with monochrome display? Colours are wonderoful, but the color displays and the sun light aren't good friends!

Well, it's not a computer, but it have and "A.M.D." 486 processor and it's the world 4th smart-phone and the 3rd one to be salled (the 3rd smart-phone was an prototipe). Unfourtenley, I got it without the small door that covers the S.I.M. and memory cards, but I still use the phone!
http://oldmobil.hu/phones/nokia-9110i

I'm mostly into the IBM PS/2 lineup and have been almost since I first worked with them in the early to mid 1990s.

Even so, I've been unable to resist the appearance of many an old computer. There are a few old Macintosh machines here, some of which are one-owner specials in amazing condition. There is also a very sizable pile of random PC clone "junk". :D :D

People around here know of my interest and I've received both known and anonymous "gifts" on my lawn or driveway.

One thing that galls me (a topic for another day and quite possibly another forum) is the relatively new Illinois law prohibiting computers from being placed with general trash. Almost no one who collects computers for recycling or actually recycles them will let me have anything from their piles. This is infuriating.

I've got an NEC Ultra Lite ("netbook" almost pre-net), a Toshiba Libretto (full Pentium laptop) about the size of a VHS cassette, a couple of Compaq Portable III (?) 286 lunchbox-style computers with orange plasma screens, 5.25 floppy drives, 10 meg HD, and a clip-on expansion chassis for full-size ISA cards. Those are the "collectables". I've got a few general desktop 386s that are hosts for ATT Vistium desktop videoconference systems (via ISDN) which are now retired, as I can do the same thing with my phone.

Chip

I have several dozen old computers, mostly 8-bit types from the early '80s. I'll attempt to catalog them all:

Apple ][+
Apple //e (2)
Apple //c
Apple //gs
Apple Lisa 2
Apple Macintosh Plus
Apple Macintosh SE
Apple Macintosh Classic
Apple Macintosh Classic II
Apple Macintosh LC III
Apple PowerBook 150
Apple PowerBook 165
Apple PowerBook 5300c
Apple Power Macintosh G3 Beige (2)
Apple PowerBook G3 Lombard
Apple PowerBook G3 Pismo
Apple iBook G3
Apple Power Macintosh G4 Yikes!
Apple Power Macintosh G4 Sawtooth
Apple Power Macintosh G4 Digital Audio
Apple iMac G4
Apple Power Macintosh G4 Quicksilver 2002
Apple Power Macintosh G4 Mirror Drive Door
Apple Power Macintosh G5
Apple iMac G5 (3)
Apple PowerBook G4
Atari 800
Atari 800XL
Atari 1040STf (4)
Atari Portfolio
Casio PB-700
Coleco Adam
Commodore VIC-20
Commodore 64 (3)
Commodore SX-64
Commodore 64C
Commodore 128
Commodore 128D
Commodore Plus/4
Commodore Amiga 1000
Commodore Amiga 2000
Compaq Portable III
Digital HiNote Ultra
Franklin Ace 1000
Hewlett-Packard 200LX
IBM XT (clone?)
IBM PCjr
IBM PS/2 Series 70
Kaypro 2X
Laser 128
Multitech Micro-Professor MPF-1B
Sinclair ZX-80
Sinclair ZX-81
TRS-80 Model 1
TRS-80 Model 4
TRS-80 Color Computer 1 (2)
TRS-80 Color Computer 2
Tandy Color Computer 3
TRS-80 Model 100
Tandy Model 102
Tandy 1000SX
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (2)

Plus all sorts of peripherals and accessories to support them. I've long wanted to start some sort of museum with them, but I'm not sure how I'd go about doing it. I've always loved putting these old machines to good use in the modern world; used a Commodore 64 or 128 to do much of my typed homework back in high school (graduated in 2001, so it was pretty darn old even then!).
-Adam

I used to have a ton, now I have a few, most of them are pretty tricked-out from stock.

- 1985 Tandy 1000A - Bone stock except for the Intel EtherExpress NIC and the VCF IDE Controller with a Seagate 540MB EIDE HDD attached to it, and the customer 5.25"/3.5" Drive bay adapter with a custom LED added for HDD activity. I usually run it through my old Mitsubishi TV. DOS 6.22

- 1989 GEM 286 - Full AT IBM 5170 clone chassis with 3 instead of 2 external 5.25" drive bays. It's got the same HDD as the Tandy on a 16-bit IDE controller, and was upgraded to SVGA and a SoundBlaster Vibra 16. DOS/Win31

- Home Built 486 - A 486 DX2/66 in an XT clone case running a 8GB HDD split into 2 4GB FAT-32 Partitions, dual boots Win95 and WFWG 3.11 with an option to boot into DOS as well. It's currently running and displaying the Flying Toilets AfterDark Screensaver after getting loaded with Sim City 2000 and Civ II.

- Apple Macintosh SE FDHD - I bought this for $10.00 at Goodwill many moons ago. I've got 2 mice for it, a deluxe keyboard, the standard keyboard, external 800K Floppy, the Manual, and ir runs OS 6.1.

I have several dozen old computers, mostly 8-bit types from the early '80s.
-Adam
With your name, you need... A Coleco Adam! :)

I have one of these (although the display on mine is not quite as bright). The HP9100A had register operations and logical and scientific functions with maximums of 16 storage registers and 196 program steps. Core store remembers them nicely. This was the only desk top calculator in a lab of 60 engineers when I started working there in 1972. It sat on a trolley with a little flag on a telescopic aerial so you could spot who had it in the open plan maze.

Peter

http://www.hpmuseum.org/9100/9100bqm.jpg

With your name, you need... A Coleco Adam! :)

Oops, left it off the list, but I indeed have one. The computer part works, but the printer is majorly messed up. The daisywheel carriage constantly seeks to the right, making a lovely racket when it rapidly bangs up against the end of its travel. Truly a disgrace to my good(?) name. :mad:

I have one of these (although the display on mine is not quite as bright). The HP9100A had register operations and logical and scientific functions with maximums of 16 storage registers and 196 program steps. Core store remembers them nicely. This was the only desk top calculator in a lab of 60 engineers when I started working there in 1972. It sat on a trolley with a little flag on a telescopic aerial so you could spot who had it in the open plan maze.

Peter

Lucky you! I'd love to find a HP 9100A/B. So far, I've amassed a bunch of HP's pocket calculators, including a nice example of the HP-35. Amazing how far they were able to come in four years, squeezing (most of) the power of a scientific desktop calculator into something which fit in Bill Hewlett's pocket. :yes:

http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/images/calculator/hp35_case.jpg

More of these can be seen on my calculator page (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/calculator.html).
-Adam

At one time I had three vintage computers: a Data General Nova 1200
($40,000 with 512kbyte hard disk), a home-made microprocessor based thing
which I seem to recall was a PDP-8 clone, and a very nice PDP-11. These
were all from my work. They were in storage ... but unknown to me,
our University sent out the old computer Nazis to collect and throw
away all old computers on the grounds that sensitive data might be on
hard drives (even ones that didn't have them!) and when I went
to get them, they were gone. They just did it, no questions asked.
(To be sure, ones in offices were asked about).

Oops, left it off the list, but I indeed have one. The computer part works, but the printer is majorly messed up. The daisywheel carriage constantly seeks to the right, making a lovely racket when it rapidly bangs up against the end of its travel. Truly a disgrace to my good(?) name. :mad:



Lucky you! I'd love to find a HP 9100A/B. So far, I've amassed a bunch of HP's pocket calculators, including a nice example of the HP-35. Amazing how far they were able to come in four years, squeezing (most of) the power of a scientific desktop calculator into something which fit in Bill Hewlett's pocket. :yes:

http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/images/calculator/hp35_case.jpg

More of these can be seen on my calculator page (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/calculator.html).
-Adam

I just got a TI-55 scientific calculator out of a house I'm tearing down.

I have.....
1. 4 commodore 64s
2. an IBM ps/1 consultant
3. 1 commodore c64

Was at a thrift store the other day, and picked up a brand new sealed in the plastic speech synthesizer for a TI99, in hopes that someone here could use it.

Anyone? :)

The first computer I had was a TI99 :)

What does the /4a mean does anyone know?? (TI99/4A)

I have a "platinum" Apple Mouse IIe model A2M2070. Now I just need the rest of the computer. I also have Apple System Utilities on 5.25" disk with manual, sealed.

I'm sitting here this evening enjoying some sparkling wine and browsing Videokarma with a vintage 2001 iMac and am happy to report that the site works perfectly well with this old hardware. I know there are a handful of Videokarma members who are into vintage Macintosh computers, but is anyone into collecting/restoring/using any other vintage platforms? My collection consists mostly of Apple II and Macintosh. However, I'm interested in knowing who out there is into collecting other platforms such as Atari, Apple II, CP/M, Commodore, IBM PC/jr, TRS-80, TI 99/4a, and so forth.

I have...

4 commodore 64s
at least one of each commodore 64 hardware, exept tape recorder
An IBM ps/1
original mouse and keyboard

Very very nice!!

I have this dumpster-find Tandy Enhanced Keyboard with PS/2 plug and am hoping that I can find the few keycaps it needs as well as the missing keys. Just about all I can find on the Oracle of All Knowledge is Cherry MX caps and switches, which don't come close to matching. I'm planning a retro-looking PC build with FreeBSD; I also have a HP-Compaq dc7600 that's been stripped of its outer panels, awaiting transfer of its parts into a modified AT case.

Still running my 2000 Mac Pismo on OS 9.2 with Final Cut Pro 1.25 in my obsolete format dubbing center. I try to ignore how much I paid for this rig in 2000. Great for copying VHS/3/4"/8mm/HI8mm/Laserdisc analog formats to Quicktime if needed via a Sony DVMC2 converter. Otherwise direct to DVD. All my MiniDV tapes go through the Sony FW port to the Pismo. Pismo is boosted to 1gig RAM but still on the 10gig factory drive for the OS. An added 30gig drive lives in one of the expansion slots if I need to play from the Pismo. Firewire to outboard drives gives me the storage space for bigger files. Now I just copy to memory sticks for clients.

Picked up another Pismo for the internet. OS 10.44.

And I have an old Compac laptop with 98 laying around just in case I need to move floppy files or power up my Snappy frame grab. I got it at Kutztown for $1. Lots of fun to watch it do a defragment.

In the attic is a 1986 Mac Plus with the outboard HD and canvas carry bag. I need the Mac OS discs (some kind of double-sided disc and propritary I think) to boot it again.

I started collecting old computers as far back as 2000. Back then it was still relatively easy to get hold of some of the more obscure hardware. I practically went through every dumpster, second hand store and landfill I knew of and usually pulled something interesting out until about 2006. Then as copper went to the moon the incentive to recycle and process e-waste made them profitable and suddenly stores no longer accepted computers and the number of machines I was finding in the scrap heap fell through the floor as dumpsters started being locked and security was increased at transfer stations. A few years later the big rush for vintage computing began and the roof was blown off both the market and the hobby. Suddenly everyone wanted waaay too much for their hardware. $4000 for a PDP-8/e? $16000 for a PDP-12? You're nuts. $300 for an Apricot FP? $150 for a Mac 512? Come on now....
At this point in time I've basically been forced out of the hobby in terms of finding new machines or replacement parts. There's other people out there with way more money and time on their hands who are willing to travel great distances and pay huge sums of money for machines I can now only dream of. In several cases I also ran across some NASTY elitism. We do this as a hobby. Don't you ever tell someone "you aren't good enough for that machine". The only thing I am thankful for was those six years I spent basically hoarding whatever I could find. I now have enough spare parts to build many machines in almost any possible configuration. I still have a large inventory of machines to play with but for the most part because of previous statements of MONEY, they can't really be traded or upgraded.

To be humble about it, Silicon Graphics machines are one of my favorites. Not the little machines like the O2 or Octane. We're talking the bigger machines like the Onyx and Crimson. The machines that were six figures when new. The first time I ever experienced realtime 3D was in a Personal Iris 4D/20 at my father's old office when I was 4 or 5. Ten years later I managed to bring that same machine back to BC and it now happily sits in the room next to me. :D

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/PC133524.jpg

In the attic is a 1986 Mac Plus with the outboard HD and canvas carry bag. I need the Mac OS discs (some kind of double-sided disc and propritary I think) to boot it again.
Nope, just ordinary double-sided, double density 3.5" disks. I have a sealed box of those just because ya never know when they'll be needed.

Some info here about using 800K & 1.4M disks in early Macs:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA29947?viewlocale=en_US
jr

Late checking in .
Commodore PET 2001 chicklet keyboard, built in white key tape drive, blue crt mask, black label.
Commodore PET 4016
Commodore 64
Ast 486 laptop
486 IBM Aptiva with a model M keyboard.

You gotta be joking! Large numbers of various systems. Includes Video Toaster! Starts with a TI-59 and works up. Use your imagination.

Prefers tube radios from the '30's.

Add a 386DX33 tower with 4 mb of ram, 30 mb hard drive, sound blaster 16.........

Oh, I can contribute here!

Cut my teeth replacing the power supply and bad video chip on my Dad's apple II plus. My collection has only grown since then.

Fully tricked out breadbin C64 with 1541 disk drive, 1702 monitor, datasette, two of the later style commodore joysticks, some commodore paddles, an MPS 801 printer, and a ton of manuals and the liked.

Vic-20 with the early atari style commodore joystick and an early datasette with games and carts and all that.

4K Level 1 TRS-80 with matching monitor and cassette drive.

TI-99/4A with Peripheral expansion box, voice synth, acoustic coupler, TI printer, joysticks, later style TI monitor, and some games.

Blue trim commodore PET 2001

Early style Atari 800 with 810 disk drive and 410 datasette

IBM 5150 with IBM 5151 monitor, IBM 5152 printer, and IBM 5153 CGA monitor and matching CGA card

Mattel Aquarius with matching datasette, printer, memory expansion, and expansion box

Coleco adam with original joysticks, two data drives and a coleco floppy drive

Bally Astrocade (if you consider it a computer) with the basic cartridge and two joysticks

I've just recently added an RCA COSMAC VIP with the original box and manual, which is pretty exciting.

I'm still on the hunt for an IBM 5100, Heathkit H8, Apple III, IBM PCjr, Apple Macintosh 128, MOS KIM-1, Xerox 820, TRS-80 Color Computer, CompuColor 1, Intertec Superbrain, and a TI-99/4. I'll probably decide I want something else the moment I complete my collection, though.

I mainly work in the high-end but yes, I do have an extensive collection from the likes of Sun Microsystems, IBM, Silicon Graphics, NeXT, Apple, Tandy, Hewlett Packard, DEC, and LOTS of OEM branded PC's from people like NCR, Packard Bell, GRiD, Compaq and the likes.

I tryed to strart a collection, but dind't get anything that was very good, so I stoped doing it. Well, I had an 386 computer with 286 processor, but there wasn't too much that I could do with it so I gave it way (to a collector).
I have an "A.M.D." 1800+ computer on which I run the XP. Some stuff won't work on '7'. But I can't really consider it collectable, trough all that is obsolete tech. To be onest, I want something for the XP, but to te a better system. Probably in the future I will ask some one to make an system that can run '95' and '98' - in order that I can use some scanners that probably won't work on newer computers (I've seen some nice old scanners).
Oh, well, if I find an Romanian old desktop computer (we've assambled some) probably I will keep it.

.......Prefers tube radios from the '30's.Ahhhhh those probably sound groegous!!

I never want to see another Commodore 64 again as long as i live, I HATE them with a passion , my first job ever was in a small computer store , and I had to repair thousands of them, they failed all the time, they were awful.

my first pc was an IBM PC jr, which i modded the hell out of, then i upgraded to a 386DX clone, and i have been building my own pcs since, and i'm proud to say Im a AMD only slut now.

I got a couple. Commodore 64, IBM PS/2 Model 25.. Used to have way more but I lost them in an eviction.

Im so sorry Yamamaya :(


I love my C64 ..... My 1541 drive seems to be stuck. (When ya turn it on it doesnt stop running) -- I didnt use it for so long and when I finally used it again it did this.......... I hope I didnt spill anything in it!!! (I have since read those drives get stuck often)

Really late checking in....

I do, hang out at Vogons and VCFED a lot

What I've got?

1985 Tandy 1000A - 640K, 8088, 3GB HDD, XT-IDE, Deluxe Mouse, I use this one with my NEC Multisync II CRT a lot

1989 Apple Mac SE FDHD - 4MB, 68000/6, Original HDD, all original actually and working

1989 GEM 286/12 - 6MB, 286/12 w/ 80287, 3GB SCSI w/ 2X CD-ROM, SVGA, SB16

1994 NEC Versa 40EC Laptop - 486 DX2-40 SL, 8MB, 250MB, SVGA, Active Matrix TFT LCD (Which oddly is still easy to find and replace, NL6448AC30)

1994 NEC Versa M/75 Laptop - 486 DX4-75 SL, 24MB, 80GB, SVGA, Crystal Business Audio, Same Active Matrix TFT, 3M MicroTouch Digitizer (which I'm replacing, cracked), yes, it has capacitive touch and it's from the early 90's - it was a part of an AAC setup from Words+ whom I read was an early provider of augmentative speech equipment for Stephen Hawking. Still have the Words+ System 2000 Commpac unit that was attached to it too - I have plans to use it to "sing" into Autotune while recording :D I also put WiFi in it which I Tether to my phone.

Parts Mutt XT 486 - New Old Stock Case I bought in 04 (XT), Socket 3 FIC board, Drive caddies so it has 8-80GB HDDs for it running everything a 486 can run pretty much. AMD DX4-100, 64MB of RAM, S3 805 2MB VESA video, SoundBlaster AWE64, DVD-RW drive (!!), it actually eats the Pentium below for lunch by virtue of the video card and lighter OSes (95 OSR 2.5, FreeDOS, and WFW 311)

NEC Ready 9522 - Pentium 100, 128MB RAM, 80GB HDD, Win98SE, 52x CD-RW, Alliance Video, Crystal audio. I use this for later games that don't run on anything else.

Lately I've had a really big taste for NEC Stuff.....while my 486 desktop is probably my favorite of the desktops, the NEC M/75 has been growing to be my favorite computer of the lot.....I hammer on that one almost daily more like it's a "tweener" than a full blown vintage-only device by virtue of various modernized DOS apps (Links browser, mTCP).

@ Mad-Mike : I think you wanted to write that the "Tandy" haves a 3 MB, not a 3 GB hard disc. :scratch2:

I've got loads of vintage computers, in fact, the majority of my CRTs are either in computers or computer monitors...

Really late checking in....

I do, hang out at Vogons and VCFED a lot

What I've got?

1985 Tandy 1000A - 640K, 8088, 3GB HDD, XT-IDE, Deluxe Mouse, I use this one with my NEC Multisync II CRT a lot

1989 Apple Mac SE FDHD - 4MB, 68000/6, Original HDD, all original actually and working

1989 GEM 286/12 - 6MB, 286/12 w/ 80287, 3GB SCSI w/ 2X CD-ROM, SVGA, SB16

1994 NEC Versa 40EC Laptop - 486 DX2-40 SL, 8MB, 250MB, SVGA, Active Matrix TFT LCD (Which oddly is still easy to find and replace, NL6448AC30)

1994 NEC Versa M/75 Laptop - 486 DX4-75 SL, 24MB, 80GB, SVGA, Crystal Business Audio, Same Active Matrix TFT, 3M MicroTouch Digitizer (which I'm replacing, cracked), yes, it has capacitive touch and it's from the early 90's - it was a part of an AAC setup from Words+ whom I read was an early provider of augmentative speech equipment for Stephen Hawking. Still have the Words+ System 2000 Commpac unit that was attached to it too - I have plans to use it to "sing" into Autotune while recording :D I also put WiFi in it which I Tether to my phone.

Parts Mutt XT 486 - New Old Stock Case I bought in 04 (XT), Socket 3 FIC board, Drive caddies so it has 8-80GB HDDs for it running everything a 486 can run pretty much. AMD DX4-100, 64MB of RAM, S3 805 2MB VESA video, SoundBlaster AWE64, DVD-RW drive (!!), it actually eats the Pentium below for lunch by virtue of the video card and lighter OSes (95 OSR 2.5, FreeDOS, and WFW 311)

NEC Ready 9522 - Pentium 100, 128MB RAM, 80GB HDD, Win98SE, 52x CD-RW, Alliance Video, Crystal audio. I use this for later games that don't run on anything else.

Lately I've had a really big taste for NEC Stuff.....while my 486 desktop is probably my favorite of the desktops, the NEC M/75 has been growing to be my favorite computer of the lot.....I hammer on that one almost daily more like it's a "tweener" than a full blown vintage-only device by virtue of various modernized DOS apps (Links browser, mTCP).

My first new laptop was a NEC Versa 6230 which was purchased for me to use in technical school, which ran Dragon Naturally Speaking 1.1. Lasted 8 years of heavy road warrior duty, a reliable PC, the worst issue was CCFL backlights dying (which today I could fix easily).

NEC you say? Have I got a deal for you...

I have a boatload/plethora of NEC Versa Pentium I systems. Like maybe 4-5 laptops, accessories out the proverbial wazoo, and 6-8 of the VCR-style auto-eject docking stations, that let you add full-size PC cards, extra hard drives, extra floppies, etc. to the base laptop. Plus, I'm getting ready to move, so I'm somewhat motivated.

PM me if you decide life isn't complete without owning a few of these retro battlestations.

Plus, for the right deal, I'll throw in an authentic NEC Ultralite setup from the DAK buyout days. Pretty complete setup as I recall. Awful display, of course. Battery life measured in minutes. But nearly as slim as a current MacBook air.

@ Mad-Mike : I think you wanted to write that the "Tandy" haves a 3 MB, not a 3 GB hard disc. :scratch2:

Nope, it's a 3GB drive, I pulled it from the NEC Ready 9522 I listed (that one has an 80GB drive). It does not need a DDO because it has a XT-IDE card in it (rev 2.0, back when the VIntage Computer Forums were selling those cards). Almost all of my vintage computers have super-huge hard disks in them as I pretty much load them with everything I want to run on them so I never have to resort to Floppies. Actually, most data xfer is done via network or pulling the drives and connecting via USB. I use LianLi RH37 and RH17 "5.25" Mobile Racks" - aka, HDD caddies to make the majority of these tool-less (except the 286 which is traditionally setup, and the laptops.

Actually, right now I'm waiting on a 44pin IDE to mSATA converter because I'm slapping a mSATA 128GB HDD in my NEC Versa M/75 486 DX4 for FreeDOS (going to try some experiments in quasi-modern usage). Right now that one is using a Seagate 80GB ATA-133.

My first new laptop was a NEC Versa 6230 which was purchased for me to use in technical school, which ran Dragon Naturally Speaking 1.1. Lasted 8 years of heavy road warrior duty, a reliable PC, the worst issue was CCFL backlights dying (which today I could fix easily).

The Ultralite, V/E/M stuff don't seem to have that problem so much, I've found LED upgrade kits on e-bay for fairly cheap. Actually, an odd thing is finding new LCD panels, or at least good condition used ones, is fairly easy. Seems NEC continued selling the NL6440AC30 9.4" Active Matrix TFT Panels sometime at least into the early 00's. The M/75, a cool part with that is it came with a 3M MicroTouch Digitizer pre-attached, making it essentially an early convertible with a touch screen. the 40E/50E series was the first series to have that - the 40/50EP (pen/touch), and 40/50ECP (color, pen/touch) came with that feature from the factory in 1993-1994. It also appears the 800x600 version appeared on the AT&T Safari/Globalyst branded Pentium and 486 DX4 models.

My M/75 was actually a part of a WordsPlus AAC (Augmentative Speech) system that cost around $6000 new, and came from Louisiana University Hospital in Shreveport (still has the asset sticker on the Words + unit which is built like some kind of prototype thing made out of parts from Fry's save for the pro labeling). The touch screen is used with a program called "Talking Screen" which is aimed towards kids with speech disabilities to communicate, really cool. I heard Stephen Hawking had some involvement with WordsPlus in the early days. I'm planning to experiment with the WordsPlus through Autotune (I'm a musician as well).

NEC you say? Have I got a deal for you...

I have a boatload/plethora of NEC Versa Pentium I systems. Like maybe 4-5 laptops, accessories out the proverbial wazoo, and 6-8 of the VCR-style auto-eject docking stations, that let you add full-size PC cards, extra hard drives, extra floppies, etc. to the base laptop. Plus, I'm getting ready to move, so I'm somewhat motivated.

PM me if you decide life isn't complete without owning a few of these retro battlestations.

Plus, for the right deal, I'll throw in an authentic NEC Ultralite setup from the DAK buyout days. Pretty complete setup as I recall. Awful display, of course. Battery life measured in minutes. But nearly as slim as a current MacBook air.

I'll shoot you a PM

I have an Atari 400 I got at a thrift store long ago. The only cartridge I have for it is Atari Basic, and some of the keys on it don't work. I never saw many old ones around here. Once I saw a TI- something at a garage sale but it didn't have any parts with it. There was one at a thrift store also years ago which again had nothing else with it.

I used to want to collect vintage computers but kind of lost interest in them. That said if I found one for cheap somewhere I'd get it. Much newer but wouldn't mind having a '90s era Macintosh or an iMac though to play the old games on. I wish we still had our '94 Performa, I loved that computer. Once I saw a tangerine iMac at the flea market for $30 and wanted to get it but next day the person wasn't set up and I never went back the next weekend to see if it was still there. That was about 10 years ago.

A few of the old computers I've picked up since I last posted in this thread, in rough alphabetical order:
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/estateflea0819/appleiiplus_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mac128k/mac128k_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/hamfest0220/macse1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/macii/macii_1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest26/z88_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/moskim1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest26/pet2001_front1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest24/plus4_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0919/amiga500_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/amiga2000/amiga2000_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mitswap0919/cpp_front2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/boxboro18/cp3_5.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest25/vaxstation3100_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mitswap1019/pc40_front2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mitswap1018/franklin1200_1.jpg
(to be continued...)

Yet more of the computers I've managed to acquire in the past seven years:
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/6800trainer/et3400_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0919/hyundai2a.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/omnibook300/omnibook300_front2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest25/apollo400t_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/hamfest0220/ibm5140_front1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mitswap1018/kaypro2_1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/kaypro10/kaypro10_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mitswap0619/mex68kecb_1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/luggable/nixdorf_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/luggable/osborne1_front.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/microcomputer65/microcomputer65_3.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/trs80model1_system.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/mc10_1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0519/trs804p_2.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/tandy1200/tandy1200_running.jpg
There's at least a few I've left out, but this is about enough for now...
-Adam

Now that's a collection. I like very much some models (I will make a list of them).

@ Mad Mike : you can put a 3 G.B. Hard Disk on an '80's computer?

I was going to say you must have deep pockets after I saw the KIM but I kept scrolling and oh MAN!

I was going to say you must have deep pockets after I saw the KIM but I kept scrolling and oh MAN!

What can I say? :D Thankfully, I didn't pay eBay prices for most of that stuff. I've spent the past 20+ years scouring yard sales, flea markets, swapmeets, thrift stores and the like looking for vintage electronic junk, and have lucked into some amazing stuff over the years for far less than some people are willing to pay for it. Pretty sure the most I've paid for any of those computers was $150, and it wasn't for the KIM-1 (highlight below for the answer).
-Adam

It was for the IBM 5140 "PC Convertible". The KIM-1 was actually a freebie from a friend, and probably needs a lot of work.

As a hardcore PS/2 25 and 30 enthusiast, and being one of the few experts on them, the latest 8-bit guy video REALLY hurt to watch. On far too many levels for a variety of reasons.

Those PS/2's are home to me and are my entire childhood. Watching him shove a paperclip in the PSU and wreck the case, was horrifying. I unsubscribed because this isn't the first time he's done this paperclip PSU thing either. He did it to his Compaq a while back and I wasn't comfortable with that either.

As a hardcore PS/2 25 and 30 enthusiast, and being one of the few experts on them, the latest 8-bit guy video REALLY hurt to watch. On far too many levels for a variety of reasons.

Those PS/2's are home to me and are my entire childhood. Watching him shove a paperclip in the PSU and wreck the case, was horrifying. I unsubscribed because this isn't the first time he's done this paperclip PSU thing either. He did it to his Compaq a while back and I wasn't comfortable with that either.

Maybe you can tell me how to fix the bad power supply in my PS/2 Model 56!

Maybe you can tell me how to fix the bad power supply in my PS/2 Model 56!

I'm not very familiar with models other than the 25 or 30, but I can see if I can find a tech ref manual for it online tomorrow if you'd like.

Not an antique , but this Intel i5 machine I'm using is ten years old, in 2010 a ten year old PC was just about useless, but the obsolescence seems to have slowed down a bit.

Still using both of these daily. Both circa 1994.

HP100LX palmtop MS-DOS 5.0

AST adavntage nb 486/33

https://i.ibb.co/F3tXJVK/Screenshot-2020-09-26-11-49-33-1.png

I'm not very familiar with models other than the 25 or 30, but I can see if I can find a tech ref manual for it online tomorrow if you'd like.

That would be pretty handy, it's the 486SLC2 model if that's necessary.

@ TubeTv : for what purposes do you use them?

Not an antique , but this Intel i5 machine I'm using is ten years old, in 2010 a ten year old PC was just about useless, but the obsolescence seems to have slowed down a bit.

I'm using a Core 2 Duo, so...

Pretty much anything I can.
Word processing, notes, appointments, calculations, ect.
I just find that it's far more convenient using DOS for this kind of stuff. DOS is always stable, reliable and the startup time is way faster than Windows, and it's free from online ads, data mining, backdoors in the security.
On the palmtop, dos is accessable at the touch of a button and it's always booted and ready to go. Programs can be loaded through the file menu, through a filer program that's much like Norton Commander, or on the command line.
I'm not to fond of writing anything lengthy on a touch screen, but the palmtop is easy to type on and can type at almost the same speed as a full size keyboard.
Files can be transfered back to a full size computer through the serial port and the built in filer program.
It runs on a pair of AA batteries and the last about 3 months.
The last few months I've been running rechargable batteries charged by solar and have had good results.

Not an antique , but this Intel i5 machine I'm using is ten years old, in 2010 a ten year old PC was just about useless, but the obsolescence seems to have slowed down a bit.
Yeah, I've been known for 'nursing' older Macs along as long as I can. I made use of a Power Mac G5 (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/specs/powermac_g5_2.0_dp_2.html) tower until it was about 15 years old; surfing the 'net with a older PowerPC Mac takes some jiggery-pokery, but it served me well up until it developed an issue with one or more of the memory slots. :( In its place is a 11 year old Mac Mini (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-2-duo-2.66-late-2009-specs.html) with an Intel processor, and it should be useful for my needs for a long time to come.
Still using both of these daily. Both circa 1994.

HP100LX palmtop MS-DOS 5.0

AST adavntage nb 486/33

https://i.ibb.co/F3tXJVK/Screenshot-2020-09-26-11-49-33-1.png
Very nice! In addition to the Omnibook 300 (http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=123) shown earlier, I have a number of HP palmtops, including a few 200LX (http://www.200lx.net/whatis.htm)s (upgraded version of the 100LX), a 360LX (http://oldcomputer.info/portables/360lx/index.htm) (Windows CE, monochrome screen) and a 660LX (https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-palmtop-pc-660-lx-handheld-windows-ce-2-0/) (similar to the 360LX, but with a color screen). Here's a photo of one of my 200LXs next to the 360LX:
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearfest26/palmtops.jpg
And for good measure, some side-by-side photos of the OmniBook 300 and one of my 200LXs, showing how similar they are design-wise:
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/omnibook300/omnibook300_200lx1.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/omnibook300/omnibook300_200lx2.jpg

Anyway, I have another old computer find to report, and once again, I managed to get a damn good deal by avoiding eBay. :rolleyes: A pair of Apple IIes, a standard ('enhanced (https://apple2history.org/hishttp://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_platinum1.jpgtory/ah07/#07)') model, as well as a later 'Platinum (https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=977)' version with a keypad. The latter has a special place in my heart, as one of my first experiences with a computer was when I started fourth grade in the early '90s, and discovered that the school's computer lab was stocked with Platinum IIes (plus a IIgs (http://oldcomputers.net/appleiigs.html) at the teacher's position, along with a IIc (http://oldcomputers.net/appleiic.html) which briefly sat near one of the lab doors). We had a hand-me-down original IIe at home at the time, so I was able to put what I'd learned at home to good use at school, and vice-versa. Here are some photos of the pair (plus a DuoDisk dual 5.25" drive), which I picked up at a swapmeet for all of $50:
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_pair.jpg
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_enhanced1.jpg (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_enhanced2.jpg)
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_platinum1.jpg (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_platinum2.jpg)
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_duodisk.jpg (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/nearc0920/appleiie_enhanced1a.jpg)
(some of the photos can be clicked on for an alternate view)

God that early Apple IIe brings back memories. It was the first computer I used at school. They had the double disk drives and matching monitors with the power switch on the top right side of the cabinets. In around 1990 they were replaced with around 25 Mac Plus's tied into a server. (another Mac Plus with a hard drive).
It was SLOW.

Love that Omnibook. I'd like to get one of those some time.
HP sure was building quality stuff back then.

next

OK... hows about these 3 REALLY vintage compys we have...
Just a bit before any Apples: so who's old enough to be familiar with these?
I was an IBM programmer back then in the ol' punched card batch processing days of yore.
Ah, those halcyon times of VS/MVS, JCL, Fortran IV, Cobol, Pascal.
But here's a hint - these are NOT IBM! I like switches and blinking lights! LOL
More likely to be found in the science labs of grad schools in those days.

When I was a IBM assembler programmer for the City of Tucson Arizona around 1976 the city was using the PDP-8s for the police and fire department. They were also installing PDP-8s to run a new traffic light management system being installed. A couple friends and I were assembling a microcomputer (digital group) from a mail order kit and one of my friends invited the head traffic light engineer to help assist us. I took a comparative assembly language course at University Arizona (IBM assembler, CDC compass and DEC assembler). The University of Arizona at the time had a DEC 10 front-ending CDC Cyber 64. The CDC Cyber had what was called a pipeline process at the time including PPUs (Peripheral Processing Units) and CPUs. It didn't do time sharing well so the UofA placed a DEC10 on he front for submitting jobs to the CDC and running plotters, scanners and printers. It was at the University of Arizona that I first found out about the concept of computer hacking. Students would print out blank computer cards instead of buying them at the student union. There was the cookie monster hack where the CDC would ask for a cookie "I want a cookie". If the CDC computer operator didn't reply an answer to the cookie request the cookie monster would type out on the console and print out all the printers "gooble, gooble, gooble" and simutaneouly eat all the memory while copying itself to disks and tapes. There was another version of this code which would type "don't touch me" when the operator type on the master console then type a message and eat memory. I learned of the CDC hacks from a U of UofA computer operator who got hired by the City of Tucson as a programmer. In the CDC portion of the assembly class we learned to write code that would build dynamic code on the fly and do a hard jump and execute of the code being written.

OK... hows about these 3 REALLY vintage compys we have...
Just a bit before any Apples: so who's old enough to be familiar with these?
I was an IBM programmer back then in the ol' punched card batch processing days of yore.
Ah, those halcyon times of VS/MVS, JCL, Fortran IV, Cobol, Pascal.
But here's a hint - these are NOT IBM! I like switches and blinking lights! LOL
More likely to be found in the science labs of grad schools in those days.

Very nice! :thmbsp: I'd love to own one of the DEC minis, but even the later PDP-8s go for absolutely silly amounts of money these days. Closest thing I have to one is the front panel board from a PDP-8m (http://www.dvq.com/oldcomp/dec/pdp8m.html). I do have some DEC hardware, notably the VAXstation pictured above and the parts from a VT-180 "Robin" (https://www.vintage-computer.com/decrobin.shtml), but their equipment seems to be oddly hard to find even though I live within (relative) spitting distance of where DEC got its start. :dunno:
-Adam

OK... hows about these 3 REALLY vintage compys we have...
Just a bit before any Apples: so who's old enough to be familiar with these?
I was an IBM programmer back then in the ol' punched card batch processing days of yore.
Ah, those halcyon times of VS/MVS, JCL, Fortran IV, Cobol, Pascal.
But here's a hint - these are NOT IBM! I like switches and blinking lights! LOL
More likely to be found in the science labs of grad schools in those days.

DEC PDP8 I have experience with. What I learned computing on to be exact. RSTS and DecTape. Later got upgraded to a PDP 11/70 with DecTape and disk drives. Have some experience with Vaxen too.

I've a few classic computers.

TI-99/4a assembled on a breadboard
Sinclair ZX-81 in a custom cabinet with a rematrixed TI-99/4a keyboard
Commodore Vic-20
Atari 400
1996 Macintosh Power 4400