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[OT - only slightly] Do you own other retro equipment


pjduplooy

Other retro equipment  

32 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you own other retro equipment?

    • Yes (If yes please tell us in a post in this topic)
    • No
  2. 2. What is your level of expertise with this equipment?

    • Noob
    • Less than average
      0
    • Average
    • Better than average
    • I am a god with this
  3. 3. Do you use it daily?

  4. 4. Do you use it more or less than your TI?

  5. 5. Do you prefer this equipment more or less than your TI?

  6. 6. If you own other equipment, are you active in their communities?


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Sort of comparable to Vorticon here, though I gave up on selling stuff because I always seem to just buy it again later ;)

 

My biggest non-TI involvement is the Atari Jaguar - I helped with the creation of the Skunkboard development board and managed three releases of it, that's about it though, I never got far on any of my software projects. (Though I released a full-screen rotation demo (that is - letting the system render the screen /then/ rotating that, per scanline), and a GPU-based sprite decompression demo).

 

Second is probably the ColecoVision where I've released a couple of games through CollectorVision.

 

Next interest is the Apple 2 (I have a 2E Enhanced next to my TI), not positive where that interest will take me yet, but I used to do a ton with it in high school. So far I've released a version of my image converter for it's HGR mode.

 

After that I have and have interest in coding for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.

 

In the past I was active in the Dreamcast community (KOS and Cool Herders) and the Playstation homebrew community (numerous little intros, Takatron port from DOS, and Tetrasex (an adult Tetris clone for a group in Russia ;) )).

 

Does PC count? I did a few little PC DOS games too - Takatron, Yiff!, Super Sales Acer, Super Sled Acer (port of TI version ;) ). Those are all on my webpage.

 

Finally on the wish list for development "someday", I also own a NES, Neo Geo arcade cabinet (4 slot) and Vectrex (which I once did a little test code for).

 

That's just off the top of my head, but I can't double check as I'm not home at the moment, heh. ;) Likely the most important.

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The Timex in my pics on the previous page truly is crude beyond the norm and looks the part, I have to laugh at my construction of it every time I view the pics. But it effectively dealt with most all of the TS-1000's reliability issues. The power wires were soldered and taken to a switch. I also soldered on the RAM pack so it never wobbled. Mounted inside the case, there was nothing to bump into. The heat issues required more heatsinking, which along with the open-air bottom let it run for hours without a crash. Hacking on a TI keyboard and typing in FAST mode really sped up code entry and eliminated ribbon connector or keyswitch problems. For loading tapes, I added a meter marked with the proper volume level. Video involved getting the cable positioned just right and fine tuning of the TV set. I'm guessing the foil inside the case must have helped a little, but with the open bottom, who knows?

-Ed

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  • 8 months later...

Now I have all the Retro computers I had in my childhood and adolescence.

Starting in ca. 1978: (12 years old)

· Phillips G7000

· TI-99/4A

· Commodore 64

· Commodore 128

· Commodore VIC-20

 

Solely PC pause from 1989 to 1996. Boring :)

 

Actively collecting those from 1996 to 2005, but still using them daily for playing games, watching demos, listening SID music, hacking hardware, programming a little bit, having fun and most of all reading about them.

 

Last but not least the TI joined the collection in 2015.

 

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My main collection consists primarily of replica kits of the Elf, Apple I, Kim 1, Altair, P110 and Challenger II computers, most thanks to Briel computers. I find it most satisfying to build these relatively primitive machines and figuring out what makes them tick. Oh I do have a Kaypro IV and an Amiga 1200, but they do not hold the same attraction. Go figure...

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I'm in a similar boat as Vorticon, although my interest includes coin-op video games, which tend to be just a *bit* larger than a retro computer. I like to fix them, especially if they have problems with their computer. Once they are working I tend to lose interest and sell them. The most coin-op games I had at one time was about 20.

 

As for retro computers, right now I have various 99/4A systems, an Apple ][c, Toshiba MSX1, Sony HitBit MSX2, and Atari 800, and an IBM PC-XT "portable". I gave away a very complete C64 system not too long ago, and a lot of other misc retro stuff. I like retro systems, but since I never had any other than the 99/4A back in the day, I don't have any nostalgic attachment to any other than the 99/4A.

 

I also like the mini and mainframe systems from the 70's and 80's. Computers back then were all different and interesting, and if is fun to dig into them and see what they could do.

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Some pretty amazing stuff here. But this is why we collect right? So we can show it all off??? Okay, maybe not.. we love the stuff.

 

Anyway, I really got into retro video gaming a few years ago when I found some of my old NES stuff in the basement and my wife was threatening to throw it out. Since then it has been like a disease....must...get...more....games...

 

The TI-99/4a was my first computer, console, game system, etc. I had one of these before my family owned a VCR. I love it and had to have one once I got back into retro gaming.

 

Hooked up right now:

 

n64, top loading nes, snes model 2, Saturn, genesis model 2, sega cd model 2. All hooked up to a 40" zenith CRT. I had a 50" Mitsubishi, but the light gun accuracy was balls so I gave it away.

 

400ish NES games, several boxed consoles, 50ish snes, 64, 100+ genesis, some sega cd and some okay Saturn (guardian heroes and house of the dead being the best of the Saturn) ...

 

Yes I have a bunch of overflow crap.... always trying to organize more. Here are some pics of the game room.

 

Game room 1

Overflow

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Texas Instruments

  • Black/silver TI-99/4A
  • Black/silver TI-99/4A (F18A-enhanced) with CF7+
  • Beige TI-99/4A (non-v2.2) with PEB: WHT SCSI and 100MB HDD, BwG Floppy controller, Myarc 512k, TI RS232/PIO
  • Spare PEB with TI cards (32k, floppy, RS232/PIO)
  • TI-74 BASICalc
  • TI-95 Procalc

 

Commodore 64/128

  • Commodore 128 with JiffyDOS, 1764 REU (upgraded to 512k), second SID
  • Commodore 128D with JiffyDOS, 1750 REU
  • Commodore 64C (soon to have clear case, woot!)
  • Two Commodore SX-64s (one barely working)
  • Spare C64s (brown bread-box)
  • A few 1541s (for fun, mostly)
  • Commodore 64 CP/M cartridge
  • Two MSD-IIs
  • Mix of 1581s, 1571s, 1541-IIs, Enhancer 2000s (some with JiffyDOS)
  • MPS-1200 printer
  • MPS-803 printer
  • Commodore 1520 plotter (main gear stripped)
  • Two MiniModem C24s, a VIC RS232 and home-built interface for 9600 bps on the 128s

 

Commodore Amiga

  • Amiga 4000D, CyberStorm MKIII, 144MB, DVD-RW, 18GB SCSI HDD, Picasso IV, Deneb USB2.0 (sound, fast Ethernet, multi-card reader, keyboard/mouse)
  • Amiga 1200, Blizzard 1260, 192MB, 1230 SCSI, 8GB DoM, FZ-357A HD floppy, Wacom tablet, some external FF/SD, Cocolino PS/2 mouse adapter
  • Amiga 2000, Blizzard 2060, 128MB, SCSI: Plextor CD-RW and 4GB HDD, FZ-357A HD floppy, Spectrum 28/24, AGA-2000 FF/SD, Cocolino PS/2 mouse adapter
  • Amiga 1000, FastPALs, other expansions in the waiting
  • Amiga 500, Derringer 030 50Mhz, 128MB, AdIDE, FZ-357A HD floppy, internal FF/SD, other expansions in the waiting
  • GVP A530 Turbo, 8MB, needs fixing
  • GVP A500+, 8MB

 

Atari 8-bit

  • Atari 800XL (not working properly)
  • Atari 130XE
  • Two 1050 drives (not Happy, yet)

 

Between the 4000 and 1200, I use my Amigas frequently. The TIs get used very often. The Commodores are being re-assembled and I will more than likely limit usage to the 128D. I got the Atari 800XL 22 years ago and had to put it away when I moved, the 130XE I got recently because the 800XL stopped working; I do not use these very often and I plan to use them mostly for gaming. I have programming experience on all but the Atari 8-bits, though I did a lot of GFA BASIC on the Atari ST then the Amiga.

 

I amassed spares of most of my machines over concerns of failures. I am less concerned about that these days and will likely eliminate much of my stash, leaving a select number of items behind. For instance, I am likely to get rid of a Commodore 64 system with a 1541 and MPS-803. I think I even have a 1702 monitor to go with it.

 

Anyway, enough of that.

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Wow, I've seen some amazing collections tonight. You guy's have totally blown me away with these collections.

I currently only have one other little piece or retro equipment, a lame little Magnavox Odyssey II.

gallery_35324_1027_59369.jpg

 

Some day, if the price is right, I might consider giving a good home to a TRS-80 Model III.

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That Odyssey II is a surprisingly capable machine.

 

Very jealous of Greg's Pin*Bot machine. I freaking LOVE that game. I had Tempest back when I lived in New Mexico. I restored it as best as I could, with a new back door, speaker, and light in the marquee. Had to leave it behind because it would have put us over our move limit.

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Yes I have a bunch of overflow crap.... always trying to organize more. Here are some pics of the game room.

 

I need to organize what I have, now. A bunch of Sega Genesis carts and Sega CD, NES, Atari 2600, 7800, and 5200, and several CD32 games. I have a PlayStation just for CyberSled and Ballblazer: Champions. That and around 190 TI cartridges. Hardly any boxes for anything other than the CDs. If I can find a good enough media shelf I think I will be fine, but then I also need to set up the consoles. Ugh. Having it all set up is its own reward.

 

The computers are easy enough: desk space (or, in my case, desk and rack space.)

 

(Not to mention I have a nice inventory spreadsheet and pictures of everything for insurance purposes. Got burglarized twice in 2013, and fires just happen.)

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Yes, one could interpret such thread as this one, as a brag opportunity, but the interesting stuff people have and do, their drive and dedication, become pretty clear this way :) For instance, the very first single board computers were mentioned here, I never had one of those, but in 2013 they fascinated me so much, that I decided to build a computer from scratch. That was a very intense and fascinating process.

 

OTOH, right before I got my first PC, I had an Amiga 500. I don’t know why, but for me that was probably the most uninteresting time I had with computers. Later on, I figured that if I build a complete A1200 with all whistles and bells, it’d be more interesting, but after finishing it, it just collected dust. :( The games of course are very cool and sophisticated. Perhaps the Amiga is not hardware oriented enough for me.

 

Never the less, I love the “junk” we all have, while the rest of the world thinks we’re crazy. ;)

 

 

And yeah, organizing and space is a pain.

 

 

Got burglarized twice in 2013, and fires just happen.

Nightmare... :mad:

Edited by Dexter
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The only old computer I still have that was purchased new is my Amiga 500, but has been upgraded with a dual kickstart and CF-IDE with 8mb ram.

Considering that it was my only computer from 1989 -1994 it doesn't get used much.

 

The first computer I owned, that was a Christmas present in 1983 was a ti99/4a. It dropped dead somewhere in 1986 as the characters on screen all

got scrambled whilst loading aTunnels of Doom save from cassette.

It got chucked in the pre-internet 90's as I never thought ahead to a day where I might be able to repair it or get parts.

 

About 2 years ago a Family friend asked me what a Commodore 64 was worth. I ended up with it as it was dead, and did some computer work

as a trade. That was where it all started though, as I became a bit obsessed about fixing it.

 

I have become completely blown away by what parts I have been able to source from China. The most amazing thing is that there are warehouses with 30+

year old chips still for sale, and as a result I have most spares.

 

To sum up i have

 

3 x c64's, 2 breadboxes and a c64c. Accessories Jiffydos rom, SD2IEC, Easyflash 3

3 x Ti99/4a's, accessories nanoPEB, F18A, 2x UberGROM carts, 11 Jon Guidry boards, 6 to be converted to 512k gamecarts., 3 already done.

3x Commodore Plus/4's, 2 work.

1x Commodore Amiga 500 as mentioned.

3x Atari 2600's, 2 Pal Juniors, 1 NTSC vader model, Harmony Encore cart

1x Commodore Vic-20 with Arfon Micro Expansion and 3k and 32k expansion carts.

 

I do regret giving away my PC 486 as well as Socket 7 system, but did rescue my 15yr old AMD Duron PC from a friends Daughter before it was

going to be dumped. I have found it very useful not just as a Dos and Win95/98 3dfx gaming rig, but due to the Parallel port I have burned a few

rom chips from my Willem programmer, as well as using a homemade programmer for the Atmega 1284p for the UberGROM boards.

Edited by Imperious
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3 TI-99/4A's

1 Geneve

1 SGCPU + full suite of Michael Becker cards (HSGPL etc)

1 Commodore Plus/4

1 Atari ST

1 48K ZX Spectrum (the rubber key model)

1 ZX81 (very very early issue 1, possibly valuable)

HaHa HaHaHa HaHaHa, Commodore Plus4, HaHaHa, what kind of a sad b*****d would have a Commodore Plus4?, oh yes-that's right--------------ME :(

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HaHa HaHaHa HaHaHa, Commodore Plus4, HaHaHa, what kind of a sad b*****d would have a Commodore Plus4?, oh yes-that's right--------------ME :(

I really don't know why but it was my favourite commodore 8 bit. That and the 128D which was a lovely machine. The plus/4 had a superb basic language. They fixed a lot of shit with the C16 and plus/4. For example: disk drives worked properly! But they dropped the SID and no hardware sprites. Mistake.

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I really don't know why but it was my favourite commodore 8 bit. That and the 128D which was a lovely machine. The plus/4 had a superb basic language. They fixed a lot of shit with the C16 and plus/4. For example: disk drives worked properly! But they dropped the SID and no hardware sprites. Mistake.

 

Yeah. A lot of third-party releases to update the Commodore 64's BASIC 2.0 to 3.5 (Plus/4) or some combination of 3.5 and 7 (128.) Before my 128, give me a Plus/4 with a SID and VIC-II, I would have been happy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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