jdgabbard Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 So, I figured a good thread would deal with what you've done, or you are doing, for your vintage computers today. Personally, I formatted, and removed the labels from about a hundred 3.5" floppy disks. I still have about another hundred to go before I'm done today. But what about everyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I just ordered a roll of some heavy-duty 4" X 1.5" thermal labels for my 5.25" floppy disks. I formatted and populated a fresh box of Atari 800 program and data disks over the summer, but I wasn't happy with the Avery peel-and-stick labels that I used: they didn't stick to the disks well enough, the toner flakes off if they're printed with a laser printer, and the ink smudges (and is very expensive) if they're printed with an inkjet. I've got a Zebra LP2844 thermal printer, and I think that will finally give me the print quality and durability that I want. I'll just have to redo my templates and reprint all my labels. (By the way, the "Flip 'N' File" floppy box shown in the picture is the same as the ones I use! I inherited a couple of them from some relatives, along with a box full of 720K 3.5" disks that I need to clean off and reformat.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I installed USB Overdrive on my Power Mac G4 running OS 9 so I can see if I can use a "newer" Logitech mouse with it. It worked! Mostly. The mouse wheel tilt left/right buttons weren't recognized but I'm okay with that. It's one of the older wireless mice that has the larger USB dongle, not like the newer, flakier "Unity" ones. Logitech makes some shitty mice nowadays and they have some shitty support. I really need to find another manufacturer. And I haven't liked Apple's stock mice since the ADB days so those options are out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 Jaybird, that's where these disks came from. Stepmother was utilizing my son to clean out the garage. He came home carrying a cardboard box with that flip top, a smaller single row flip top, and about 200 floppy disks. Unfortunately, they were only 1.44s. But, I don't have anything at the moment that strictly needs the single density disks. Most of my stuff loads from tape. But my two 90s builds use floppy drives so I always accept them. Emehr, I hadn't had a problem with newer mice on my PC compatibles. Heck, I've got a G3 that uses USB mice just fine itself. Although I think it does run OS9...dunno... Only fire it up to show it off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Today I bought at Goodwill a pair of 8 Ohm Speakers for my Echo+ Sound Card... I also just received 2-3 Megabytes of 64K and 256K DRAM.. I am populating my Applied Engineering RAMWORKS Cards for the Apple ][e and the ][gs RAM Cards, for the GS of course... MarkO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 Good stuff Mark. Post a picture when you get done, if you will! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Good stuff Mark. Post a picture when you get done, if you will! I have quite a few already..... Here are my Pictures posted here at AtariAge. Here is my Own Web Site. And here are my Photos on Facebook. MarkO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I reseated all the chips on my Sorcerer board (see posts below) and plugged it in. Joy of joys, it worked! All afternoon I ran RAM tests, because I have no software for it. I tried it with both a modern LCD and an old green CRT. I hand assembled and ENtered a small program to test the horizontal blank input bit. I posted about it in the VCForum. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/240316-exidy-sorcerer/?do=findComment&comment=3288445 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) Built a new desk. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242959-the-project/?do=findComment&comment=3336939 Edited October 4, 2015 by Opry99er 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Not exaxtly a "computer" but it IS a 'Video COMPUTER System'... Bought this case for $7.00 at a thrift store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algus Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I need to do something like that. Gotta rearrange my desk and move some of my audio gear underneath. I really want to hook up at least my launch-era Powermac G3 next to my current system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) I received a SCART cable for my C128 D yesterday. I got today to fiddle with. Picture come as clear as composite can get, but the sound is bollocks. I though that there was a grounding issue in the cable, but after resoldering, checking, double ckecking, and finally resolving to use the UHF output, I found out that the high hissing come fro mthe computer, so I've been peeking under the hood after that. Didn't solve that issue yet. It sounds like poor grounding to me, I hope that the sound chip isn't busted. Edited October 4, 2015 by CatPix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I decided to replace my old CRT that is hooked up to my 800 with an LCD. I found this for $75 with free shipping on eBay. Hopefully it works well via svideo. Sanyo Vizon CLT2054. Hopefully it will work well with my 2600 as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Well, I'll tell you what my son did for our vintage computers today... He brought home another one! It's a run of the mill Gateway 2000 Pentium I @90mhz with 32mb Ram and a 800ish Mb HDD. Couldn't be prouder of my 12yr old. Btw, Opry, I see you got that TI working 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I did... And as soon as I get my db9 F->F null cable, I'll be HDXing it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Yeah, I've got a NanoPEB, but I don't think I've ever tried to mess with its serial adapter. I'm pretty sure that it uses a 16C550, but if I'm not mistaken there are some issues with how it is identified by the computer, effectively making it almost useless with most software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I believe you are correct in that the rs232 port is not up to snuff. Vorticon archived his own woes with it in his "Interfacing" thread, I believe it was... Shame... Such potential there... Anyway, once the HDX is operational, my fun lwvel will go through the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Yeah, communication is still available, I think. But it has to be done on a round-a-bout way. Most software could likely be disassembled and changed to suit the hardware. But that kinda defeats the purpose of it for the average joe. However, I will say the data storage is nice. Although finicky sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I turned it on today, stroked it's keys and gave it some love and attention, then I let it call another classic computer over the Internet and let them chat for a bit. After I did that, I carefully dusted it off and then updated MY BLOG dedicated to my baby and deleted a couple of rarely read entries. My Baby (Click on image to expand view) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Yesterday I volunteered two 8-bit systems for display and play in the Houston Arcade Expo, and today that offering was parlayed into three systems. This means the Apple IIe and Atari 800XL will actually see some use this year, and the C-64 will get at least two uses this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgabbard Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Ok, this is too crazy not to post a picture of... So I mentioned above that my son brought home an old Gateway. Well, it was pretty dirty and needed to be cleaned, badly. As well as a new paint job on the case. Well, in the middle of cleaning it up I notice something inside the power supply. So I carefully open it up and take a look. Here is what I found. Strangely enough, this thing booted up, although buggy. And it ran long enough for me to format, partition and scan the HDD twice. Then I installed Dos 6.22. Heck, it was working when I tore it down! I'm hoping that none of the components got too hot. AT PSUs are getting hard to find! Btw, yes those were live wasp larva... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Wow! I guess that proves that DOS will run on anything, no matter how compromised the hardware. I've got pictures somewhere of some Pentium III desktop computers that looked almost as bad inside. They were pulled from the floor of a knife factory, and the mainboard and fans were covered with a carpet-thick layer of dust made mostly of wood and metallic particulates, held together by grease and spider webs and dead bugs. I'm amazed the poor machines didn't catch fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Be glad it wasn't a cockroach nest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I revived my Atari 8bit and Commodore 128 DP Room of Doom pages: http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=451482 http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=359562 and set up both power houses in my gaming corner 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 AT PSUs are getting hard to find! I have an old SS7 motherboard which only takes AT. I got an ATX-to-AT adapter and it works well. Going to move it to a PicoPSU soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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