hafner Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 I just picked up a Coleco Adam and a Vectrex, so those are now squared away. In terms of remaining irrational wants ... hmm. - An Apple Lisa (not much software, and hideously expensive, but so gorgeous) - An Apple III (the same as above, only a bit less so) - A Transwarp GS (accelerator for the Apple IIGS) - A Commodore C128D (irrational because I already have a C64 system that meets all my C= needs) - A Compaq 386 Portable - A Sega Master System Just in general, I'd really love one, organized online store with all the cables, hardware, and hobbyist boards (XT-IDE, CFFA3000, all the various multicarts), repro Vectrex overlays, floppy drive parts, all available in one spot, with lots of inventory available, reviews from vintage computer fans, compatibility figured out (for example, buy THIS CF card for use with the CFFA3000!), and offering services like recapping of old Macs, retiming old floppy drives, and retrobriting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 (edited) Fresh pick-ups and testings : Lvov-PC-01, or Львів ПК-01, made in Ukraine around 1988. Classic (and rather weak at the time) 8088 based system, 64Ko of RAM, a video chip offering 4 colors on screen from a palette of 8. A sorta cross between a Spectrum and an IBM XT. Game looks fun and inventive. And nothing beats in coolness a booting screen with the name of the computer that appears in pixelated 3D. The picture is bad because I tested it quick with the composite output. A stange issue with the video output of this computer is that the RGB values are reversed; if displayed on a SCART or CGA monitor, the green, red and Blue will be "reversed" (think about applying a "negative" filter) so I need to find a simple circuit to reverse the values of the video. And an Orel BC-08, or Орель БК-08 Unlike the Lvov, the video output is a standard SCART compatible, so it was an easy enough job to do. Unlike most other Soviet clones which have been "russified" and reworked for internal use, this one was modified in a way that left it (mostly) compatible with original Spectrum software. Tho it's not perfect. Error, not sure if that's the loading (I was laoding the MP3 from a site, and it's possible that the file stopped loading mere seconds before the end) or an incompatibility issue. Of course I can't tell because the error message is in Russian. But that give me a nice picture to make anyway. Well, that's one less irrational want down, a Spectrum clone is mine! Edited April 19, 2016 by CatPix 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpiguy9907 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Another irrational want of mine is a Commodore Amiga 2232 serial card - not to run terminals, but to remove the socketed 65CE02 and put it on a breadboard to play around with the extra Z register and 16-bit operations! I very nearly bought one at VCF East for $25 dollars (picture attached below), but the chances of me ever building my own computer from scratch is pretty much nil at this point. So I just drooled over it for several minutes, LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Epson HX20 is an interesting little beast, I have one fully working, though I did need to rebuild the battery pack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82-T/A Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 I spent $500 bucks on a BRAND NEW (literally) Kay Pro PC-10 8088 computer that had originally been purchased by the Department of Defense, and was then stored away in some warehouse where it sat (air conditioned) for several decades, only to end up on eBay. I haggled the guy down from the $1,000 that he wanted. There was no reason why I needed this... but my original one (which I still had), the battery had failed and ate part of the motherboard. This one was brand new... I had to get it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Sharp MZ-800 Sharp X-1 Sharp X68000 Sinclair Jupiter Ace Sinclair QL Acorn BBC B Enterprise 64 or 128 NEC - PC-6001 NEC PC-8001 NEC - PC8801 NEC - PC98 Fujitsu FM-7 Thomson MO6 Sord M5 Acorn Electron Dragon 64 Oric Atmos TRS-80 Model 1 and Model 3 Apple I Kim - 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnuphis Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 A TI-99/8. What I would do with it, I have no idea but I want one. I remember reading about them back in 1983 and getting excited and then TI pulled out of the market The other one would be an Acorn A5000. I had one (again back in the day) and loved it and would love to have one again. I actually Sold it and bought a DX2-66 PC (Damn you DOOM). Even though I know it would be a real hassle to get it working here in the USA with the voltage(240v) and it's strange display requirements (15khz or get the **** out) I would do it just to have one more go on 'Chocks Away'. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airshack Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 For me it was an Exidy Sorcerer, but I finally got one this year. So now it's an Intellivision Keyboard unit. There are no real games for it (crosswords is the closest) and they're ungodly rare, but I've always wanted one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airshack Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 I have a painful memory of tossing mine out in the trash some years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_x Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 every external modem ever made - with an emphasis on acoustic couplers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_x Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 And..... Every piece of phreaking software ever written for 8 or 16 bit computers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 A Cray 2. Not going to happen though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpiguy9907 Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 A TI-99/8. What I would do with it, I have no idea but I want one. I remember reading about them back in 1983 and getting excited and then TI pulled out of the market The other one would be an Acorn A5000. I had one (again back in the day) and loved it and would love to have one again. I actually Sold it and bought a DX2-66 PC (Damn you DOOM). Even though I know it would be a real hassle to get it working here in the USA with the voltage(240v) and it's strange display requirements (15khz or get the **** out) I would do it just to have one more go on 'Chocks Away'. I never heard of a 99/8 so I looked it up. They are a fortune on eBay! https://www.ebay.com/itm/131831647887 Crazy!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnuphis Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Yes the last one on Ebay sold for over $3k and made the news http://www.cnet.com/news/this-lovely-10mhz-home-computer-yours-for-only-3240/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 A 65 XEM with a working AMY and software to use it with. I was entranced when I first read about it in Antic. Someday I will also acquire a Commodore 65, although it would likely (very likely) just be an expensive paperweight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I had a Science of Cambridge Mk14, which is effectively a very early Sinclair. Sadly I had to sell, but I made up for it by getting a couple of QLs further down the line I'm also lucky to own an ICL One per Desk, a relative of the QLs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telengard Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 For me it would be an IBM PC Jr. I have no idea what I would do with it. I think I only want one because it was always in the issues of Compute! I got as a kid. I wanted everything I saw back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 After getting a Vectrex and a BBC Micro I'd say it's a DAI Personal Computer and maybe a Jupiter Ace. I only ever saw the DAI during a vacation in the window of a closed shop in a town I don't remember and found the specs on the sheet next to it as well as the design interesting. With the Jupiter Ace it's the sheer "being-other-ness" that intrigued me. (An internal 80col-card for my Atari 800 is probably as irrational as they seem to have vanished from the face of the earth - probably all tucked away by collectors but at least I could pretend I "need" it or actually use it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeBo Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The topic is irrational wants, right? Well, I want to travel back in time with all these cool and groovy modern gadgets that can now be connected to vintage rigs, and get a chance to enjoy them "back-in-the-day". Imagine going back with a lotharek drive (and a healthy supply of pre-filled SD's - since they'd be a tad difficult to find in 1982) Of course being in my 20's again would be an added bonus. Unfortunately, I know for a fact (don't ask me how) that the time travel card (that will connect to a TI 99/4A's expansion port) won't be released until 2027. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I thought DAI was a run of the mill Apple ][ clone, but perhaps I'm mixing something up. Still, it could be a worthwhile irrational want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 (edited) I would really like a full-blown ADAM setup. Like, that giant BOX full o' stuff from back in the day, with a pristine white original setup. Not the Expansion Module 3, mind you, although I'd take that in a pinch, lol, but the good ol' monster that brought down Coleco. I wouldn't use it for anything, I doubt I'd play games on it and I'd have to find a period specific CRT to go with it, but I'd like to add that to my CV collection. I've always wanted one, and the closest was around 25 or so years ago when you could buy the pieces of the system separately out of the back pages of computer mag advertisers. Totally stupid want, but an irrational want nonetheless! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/142018855187?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true ...well...egad. Edited June 12, 2016 by atarilovesyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I have close to 70 vintage computers and 30 vintage consoles yet I want more. My short list of things I want but cannot buy (can't justify cost for a hobby): Apple Lisa Apple III Commodore 65 (yes, 65) Atari Falcon Spectrum 128 (shipping is killer) MSX 1/2/3 (any brand) Apple IIc Apple II+ ORIC-1 BBC Micro Amstrad (can't remember model) Many more.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Obviously a C65 would set you back more than all the others would combined... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKarith Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I want modern upgrades for my retro machines to cost what the Arduino and similar things cost. Those are made for a much larger audience, and they tend to use small boards with few components, so it's easy to make them $5-50 each or less in quantity, depending on what they do. But even a small board with half a dozen chips for retro machines cost in the neighborhood of $60-200 or even $300, even if the chips themselves are often nowadays the same ones you see in other low-cost devices. I understand the economies of scale, but still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Obviously a C65 would set you back more than all the others would combined... Oh yeah. I saw one on eBay about 8 years ago or so. I think it went for several grand even then. Before the eBay scalpers moved in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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