My rather messy game/computer collection

[bluejay]

I have a relatively big room to lay all my video game stuff in, but I don't have a nice glass shelf neatly display my stuff. So I resort to stacking my boxes inside closets and storing my games in shoeboxes. I plan on completely re-doing everything once I move back to Korea, with the nice locking glass case and big table and everything.

So here's my desk. I have my Apple //e and Mac 512Ke set up, and a stack of Compaq laptops which are currently useless to me(an accident occurred which led to me wiping both my hard drives) a Tandy 200, a small pile of 90s Need for Speed CDROMs, a stack of textbooks and computer manuals, and my laptop which is mostly used for online classes via Zoom.

Inside the drawer next to my table, my handheld stuff is stored. A Nintendo DS lite, a new 3DS XL, Flashback Portable, a Nintendo Switch(I bought it in late 2017 a few weeks after launch and I mostly take it in long distance trips), a Gameboy Color, and although you can't see it very much a Gameboy Advance. The small cubby in front contains various crap including some chargers, batteries, and a violin tuner.

This little bottom section of a small shelf I have contains various manuals(CoCo, Apple, Commodore, Windows 3, Honda Civic, etc.), some interesting books, and a few textbooks.

Here's my main video game corner, which is rather messy. It wasn't as messy before I got my 128, before I got my VIC-20 working, and before I was designing my Atari 5200 controller. Now it has all 3 of those on the floor along with a 1571 floppy drive, a C2N Datasette drive, a box of floppies, some cassettes, a notebook(used for designing graphics on my VIC-20) along with the other stuff. The wooden table I got from Goodwill a while back for $2.50, and I'm making good use of it. My CoCo 2 and PS1 sits on the lower part of the table and my CCR-81 recorder and 9" Toshiba TV sits on the top. I also have my Genesis 2(which I got from Goodwill for $5) on top of the TV. On the black table there's my 1702 Monitor(which came with the front cover thing) with my Colecovision on top(also used for Atari 2600 games using the Expansion Module; I couldn't fit my 2600 in my little corner) my NES, SNES, N64, PS2, and my iPad. All my Nintendo stuff is hooked up to the 1702(I don't have those switch thingies so I have to plug and unplug every time I want to play a different system) and my Playstations and anything that uses RF is hooked up to the Toshiba. Needless to say, the Commodore stuff is hooked up to the 1702. I actually have a 1902a monitor I got for use with my 128(and boy, what a setup it would have been; a C128, 1571, and 1902a!) but the CRT arrived a wee bit too shattered for use.

What's in the shoeboxes, you ask? One's filled with 40 2600 cartridges, one is filled with some more 2600 cartridges, a few Colecovision cartridges, a few NES, SNES, and N64 cartridges. One's filled with various Atari and N64 controllers, and one has the rest of the junk I couldn't fit in the other boxes. It's not the most elegant way of storing things but it's better than nothing.

I also have a little cabinet inside my bathroom which holds the stuff I don't need at the moment. My videotapes sit in here, because I don't have a VCR(I regret not buying that Sharp VCR from goodwill; it was a really nice one for $15), along with a few PS2 games, various video game boxes, my soldering iron, a bunch of video cables, and an old Casio pocket electronic diary thing. It's useless, but hey, it was only $5.

This is where all my boxes go. some Commdore stuff to the right(that's an Okimate 10 printer between the C128 and 1571 box) along with a normal brown cardboard box containing my Super Comboy and Hanimex Pong clone, and to the left is a CoCo 2, Colecovision, and Atari Flashback 8 box stacked on top of each other. The cardboard box to the left of the box stack that you can kinda see contains both my Atari 2600s(one's a heavy sixer; the other's a Sears 4 switch)

I also have this box of crap with a lot of proprietary video cables(Commodore/Amiga stuff that came with my 1902a), a Hayes ISA modem, a bunch of printer and modem cables, and a SimCity copy protection sheet, to name a few.

My Compaq Portable IIs just sit on the floor. The pile of stuff on the left are the floppy and hard drives pulled from the machines; they're all broken and heavy so removed them(and there's nowhere to put them). I mainly use the one working Compaq for file transfers to my 1571 floppy using a XM1541 cable(thanks OLDCS1!) but the serial port is broken. I guess these beasts are falling apart.

The little shelf behind my bed contains a few things. The lower of the long shelves contain whatever book I may be reading in bed(currently Origin by Dan Brown; it's a really great book). The upper contains an old B&W Sony Watchman(it was $7 from Goodwill. It works but it's useless so I use it as a display piece), a couple BTTF DeLorean scale models(one based off the one from the first movie; the other from the third), a handmade wooden toy car(a gift from a friend from his trip to Cuba) and a couple NDS games for no particular reason whatsoever. The right shelf has a bunch of books that's not really of much interest, except for the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records: Gamers Edition. I got it (again) from Goodwill, and it was interesting until I found out that the previous owner drew a dick on a picture of Nina Williams. On top of the shelf is a large Game Boy art thing I got from a clearance bin from a shop I can't remember, because I thought it'd go well with my actual Game Boy. I also have an old floppy Mavica(Thanks joeatari1!) and an old Polaroid 600 series which I (yet again) got from Goodwill.

This isn't really related but I also have two large boxes full of diecast cars. The top one is a rather messy bunch of Tomica(it's a line of *very* popular matchbox size toy cars made by Takara Tomy, but it was never sold in the US since the 80s), and the lower box is more neatly arranged, but it's equally full of Tomica Limited Vintage stuff(a much more expensive version, mainly focusing on 50s-90s Japanese cars, but features some European cars as well).

And about these Limited Vintages, they're tiny, 1/64 scale models(which means kei cars are the size of a large human thumbnail, and buses are as big as pencil cases) but they're incredibly detailed. I can't get it to show on camera, but that old Mitsubishi Galant has all the badges and stuff printed onto the paint; if you take a look at it with a magnifying glass, you see that it's exactly the same as on the real car. The interiors are also equally detailed for a car the size of a Hot Wheel. You can see the tiny eraser crumb sized gear lever and everything. I've put a paper clip next to it for comparison, but you won't see how small and detailed it is until you see it in person. And yes, they're very expensive at anywhere between $15 to $200 apiece, depending on whether it's an old Audi sedan or a huge bus.

 

That's it for my video game, computer, and diecast car collection. I mean, technically I have a few more stuff that I couldn't be bothered to take a picture of, such as my Flashback 8 and my 1:18 scale 1967 Toyota 2000GT Race Car(which was also ridiculously expensive yet very detailed), but I mean, I don't want to have to stand on a stack of toilet paper to take it out from a shelf that's very high up to take it out. I don't imagine my collection would be increasing anytime soon, but as soon as I'm back from Korea(I'm leaving temporarily this Sunday for visa reasons) I plan on trading a few of my unneeded stuff for some stuff that I need/want more. Also, I might see some profit from selling my SD2IEC/35k RAM board! Anyways, I'll update this list once I find some more stuff to post.

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by bluejay
That shelf is actually behind my bed not above it

[Shawn]

Cool collection. I think I had a bigger bed than that when I was in prison though

 

[bluejay]

Just now, Shawn said:

Cool collection. I think I had a bigger bed than that when I was in prison though

 

Thanks!

You don't know the true size of my bed... It's actually quite huge: Thas actually a real Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette ?

[bluejay]

I ordered a cheapo 44pin-IDE adapter off eBay so I can make use of those Compaq laptops. eBay says it will arrive between Nov. 25 and Jan. 26. Hope it's closer to the former.

 

In other news, be notified that there *might* be some new interesting stuff added to my collection within the next couple of weeks!

[doctorclu]

That is a cool collection.  Liked the classic Mac.   Got me pining for the 7 inch screen. 

[bluejay]

Well, here's a quick update. A kind soul sent me a couple Pokemon games for free. These are in Japanese so I'm practicing reading kana with them. I don't know what the stuff means, but I mean, better than not being able to read anything at all.

I also found this phone at my grandma's place. The rubber bits, including the antenna, as you can see, is falling apart, but I still have the pieces so I'll try to glue it back together. It's missing the charger and the battery's long dead so that's a problem, but regardless, I thought it was a really nice looking phone. Maybe I'll see if I can still use it.

 

By the way, it turns out there won't be any cool updates. My visit to the flea markets of Korea turned out to be a bit lackluster.

Edited November 12, 2020 by bluejay

[bluejay]

Here are the few Genesis titles I didn't post originally, along with a copy of qberts qubes. I picked those two Genesis games for $20, and I had no idea how expensive virtua racing was (relatively) 

until much later.

Here's a Laser PC4 bundle I bought from the 8 bit guy. It's the exact computer featured in this video:

It's a moderately awful computer, and I almost never use it. But I mean, he was selling it for $45 bucks so I decided why not.

[Shawn]

16 hours ago, bluejay said:

Here are the few Genesis titles I didn't post originally, along with a copy of qberts qubes.

 

That Qubes is fake right?

[bluejay]

44 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

That Qubes is fake right?

Box is one of those generic plastic cases designed to fit every cartridge known to man. No manual. Just the cartridge is authentic.

[Shawn]

58 minutes ago, bluejay said:

Box is one of those generic plastic cases designed to fit every cartridge known to man. No manual. Just the cartridge is authentic.

 

Cool. At least the cart is legit. 

 

[bluejay]

9 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

Cool. At least the cart is legit. 

 

I got it for my birthday a while back, and spent a fair bit of time playing it. Not a terrible game, that.

Holy shit, just checked ebay, and prices have been doubled, and then some! Didn't know they were this expensive nowadays.

By the way:

Edited November 20, 2020 by bluejay

[eightbit]

Hey, I completely understand having a lack of space...but I also make due with a very VERY tight area. I am a closet gamer...literally. Everything I have is connected and set up inside of a gutted closet. Not the best scenario and it is a real pain when I need to swap a cable (a real project!) but again...I make it work like you are with your setup. I should post pics of mine soon.

[bluejay]

54 minutes ago, eightbit said:

Hey, I completely understand having a lack of space...but I also make due with a very VERY tight area. I am a closet gamer...literally. Everything I have is connected and set up inside of a gutted closet. Not the best scenario and it is a real pain when I need to swap a cable (a real project!) but again...I make it work like you are with your setup. I should post pics of mine soon.

I think the space I have is big enough. I'll have tons of space when I move back to Korea though, which is good since I plan on buying a PET at some point if I can afford one. Maybe I'll display all my game and computer boxes in some glass case so they aren't just piled up inside a closet being neglected.

I thought you used to have a bunch of AV switches... why didn't you make use of them?

[eightbit]

2 minutes ago, bluejay said:

I think the space I have is big enough. I'll have tons of space when I move back to Korea though, which is good since I plan on buying a PET at some point if I can afford one. Maybe I'll display all my game and computer boxes in some glass case so they aren't just piled up inside a closet being neglected.

I thought you used to have a bunch of AV switches... why didn't you make use of them?

 

I do have a bunch of AV switches, as well as a AV receiver with a bunch more AV inputs. And I am using all of them That doesn't change the fact that I have very little floor space though. In any case, for what I DO have, I have made it work quite well. One rule of thumb though that I personally have is that I never put a console on the floor. You have to get some more tables dude!

[bluejay]

2 minutes ago, eightbit said:

 

I do have a bunch of AV switches, as well as a AV receiver with a bunch more AV inputs. And I am using all of them That doesn't change the fact that I have very little floor space though. In any case, for what I DO have, I have made it work quite well. One rule of thumb though that I personally have is that I never put a console on the floor. You have to get some more tables dude!

Maybe. I'll get a huge table and lay all my stuff set up neatly side to side using 7 separate TVs and monitors... just kidding but not really...

[bluejay]

My Wii finally arrived! It's the Gamecube compatible RVL-001 model which came with a rather nifty 3rd party stand that doubles as a Wiimote charger. Yeah, they came with rechargeable batteries too. They don't last an eternity anymore but still, a neat little thing.

The Wii came with a copy of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I'm not into lego games nor star wars, but I can't just reject a free game   The Skyward Sword I bought because I wanted to play and because it comes with a soundtrack CD. I like Zelda music and I'm a musician so I needed one.

I also bought a Motion Plus attachment and a nunchuck to play Skyward Sword along with the countless other games that support one or the other or both. I don't have the "jacket" but who needs them anyways.

I finally bought a copy of OoT for N64. Not entirely sure if I like it or not... yet.

My Epyx Fastload clone PCB and parts arrived today so I assembled one, and I'm super duper happy to say that it works perfectly! Didn't expect my design to work on the first try!

That's it for now, at least I think. Stick around for the next update that will most likely feature a GC controller and memory card along with the VIC-20 35k/SD2IEC.

[Shawn]

arcadeshopper.com does PCB fabrication? Didn't know that.

[bluejay]

36 minutes ago, Shawn said:

arcadeshopper.com does PCB fabrication? Didn't know that.

No, the fabrication was done by JLCPCB. arcadeshopper.com simply ordered a few of my stuff so I slapped the arcadeshopper.com logo on the PCB for him.

[Shawn]

4 hours ago, bluejay said:

No, the fabrication was done by JLCPCB. arcadeshopper.com simply ordered a few of my stuff so I slapped the arcadeshopper.com logo on the PCB for him.

 

gotcha.

[Dopy25]

Holy crap that puts my collection to shame. I too have a drawer of handhelds though. Haha.

 

Pandemic has me buying faulty toys and repairing them for my collection. Yours looks like a sweet setup!

[bluejay]

21 minutes ago, Dopy25 said:

Holy crap that puts my collection to shame. I too have a drawer of handhelds though. Haha.

 

Pandemic has me buying faulty toys and repairing them for my collection. Yours looks like a sweet setup!

Thanks

Pandemic has me doing... nothing very interesting other than plowing my way through Zelda games.

[Dopy25]

8 minutes ago, bluejay said:

Thanks

Pandemic has me doing... nothing very interesting other than plowing my way through Zelda games.

Zelda games are the way to go in a pandemic! Excellent choice. I'm only on collecting and repairing because my wife is on the TV watching Naruto (Boruto now).

[bluejay]

Here it is, what will hopefully be the last computer in my collection. I wanted a Z80 based TRS-80, a TI-99/4a, an Atari 8 bit machine, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, a Commodore Plus/4, a PC 5150, an Amstrad CPC, and many more at one point or another but at this point I don't need or want any. If I'm missing out on something so be it.

It currently sits next to the Mac, because it proved to be much too difficult to move the 2 Apples and place the PET on the far left. Besides, it's easier to work with when it's right in the middle of my desk.

BASIC 4.0, 16k RAM. I'm still getting used to typing on the keyboard; the layout is very confusing.

I can indeed confirm that the PET does open like the cab of a semi truck except it opens the wrong way; semi trucks usually have the hinges in the front so the engine can be accessed even when it has a trailer hitched. In other news, the motherboard is gigantic, almost as big as an entire Commodore 128. I'm pretty sure someone could condense everything down to a single ASIC with today's technology.

 

Anyhow, I plan on getting or making an SD based floppy drive solution at some point in the near future, along with a user port speaker and DB9 serial port adapter thing, so I can have some kind of sound and access some BBSes with the thing. I'll also upgrade it to 32K RAM, although I don't think it will be easy at all, what with Commodore having punched holes through 4 of the 8 blank RAM slots to prevent users from upgrading the RAM themselves. I'll have to use some extra cabling to reconnect the missing traces.

[Keatah]

Gotta goddamned prop-rod!

[bluejay]

The newest additions to my collection... Traded these for an Xbox Series X with @eightbit, which is funny, since it'll take like 12 of him to make up for all the bits included in the photo. Do the math!

 

Now I have something fun to play that isn't a stock trading game on a Commodore PET!

 

I have 2 Geneses (Genesises Genesii whatever) now; A Model 2 and a Non-TMSS Model 1. Most likely the former will be played and the latter will be displayed on a nice glass case I plan on getting.

 

I noticed you can barely see the boxed game in the photo; it's a CIB Checkered Flag. Really nice condition too!

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by bluejay