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Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:54 pm
by Strider
3 hours ago, evlthecat said:
Can we add a more modern hybrid into the competition? I have had to fix this computer twice, since I bought it for my son to work on.
1. I guess when they developed the idea of the sliding keyboard they did not take into account the number of times someone would open and close it.
The mini 8 pin ribbon cable which connects the keyboard to the driver board, over time fractures from the stress, and becomes an intermittent fault.
2. I also had to add a fan, which circulates air when the keyboard is closed, since their giant heat sink is starting to effect the plastic of the keyboard.
Again, I guess they assumed someone would not keep it running for days at a time.
3. And finally, the holes which are suppose to secure and align the raspberry pi for its connection to the power/driver board are not spaced properly.
Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories! I was beginning to think I would not find a group of people who had some of the same experiences as myself growing up.
Nice to see so many enthusiasts out there. Have a great day!
Sure! Odd, rare, and just plain bad computers are not confined to any specific decade.
? I have never even heard of a "Pi-Top" until now, seems like a neat idea, but sounds like it has some "issues".
I run 5 different Pi's, but none in a laptop case, and I enjoy them a lot. lol
Hey, we like having enthusiasts as well as the "just curious", or new!
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Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:51 am
by evlthecat
2 hours ago, Strider said:
Sure! Odd, rare, and just plain bad computers are not confined to any specific decade. ?
I have never even heard of a "Pi-Top" until now, seems like a neat idea, but sounds like it has some "issues".
I run 5 different Pi's, but none in a laptop case, and I enjoy them a lot. lol
Hey, we like having enthusiasts as well as the "just curious", or new! ?
I think the color alone might qualify it for all three categories. I remember the first time my wife saw it; instantly dubbed it the Incredible Hulk.
I was thinking about making it even uglier by wrapping the top in wood grain laminate.
? I run several pi's too. I think my favorite to play with is the OpenWRT, however, the one I put the x16emu is what I have been spending time with lately.
Thanks for the reply! Have a great evening!
Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:46 am
by Strider
44 minutes ago, evlthecat said:
I think the color alone might qualify it for all three categories. I remember the first time my wife saw it; instantly dubbed it the Incredible Hulk.
I was thinking about making it even uglier by wrapping the top in wood grain laminate. ?
I run several pi's too. I think my favorite to play with is the OpenWRT, however, the one I put the x16emu is what I have been spending time with lately.
Thanks for the reply! Have a great evening!
You can never go wrong with wood grain! LGR would love it! lol
Yeah, OpenWRT is nice, as is Pi-Hole. Currently, most of mine are being used for emulation purposes though. Two of those are Pi 3B+ units running RetroPie (in Sega Genesis and NES inspired cases), and a single Pi Zero W sitting in a GPi Handheld Case also running RetroPie (Yeah, I really like RetroPie... lol).
I have a Pi 4 8GB sitting in an Argon M.2 Case running off an M.2 128GB SSD, that's my "just for fun" and learning unit. Seeing what I can get it to do, mainly running Pi OS.
My old Pi 1B+ is being used to assist with some Arduino projects. So they are getting used in one form or another.
For me, "tinkering" is what I do to relax and have fun when at home. One of the reasons I started this thread was I got to thinking about that old ADAM computer and kinda wished I still had it to mess with, even with it's laundry list of issues.
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Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:22 pm
by evlthecat
11 hours ago, Strider said:
For me, "tinkering" is what I do to relax and have fun when at home. One of the reasons I started this thread was I got to thinking about that old ADAM computer and kinda wished I still had it to mess with, even with it's laundry list of issues.
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I can understand this feeling. I had a ton of equipment when I was younger and in college, but then I "grew up" and it all "disappeared". Now I am, little by little, getting things here and there, but missing my old stuff.
I acquired a couple of TRS-80 CoCo 2's, one had a bad joystick port. I know lots of people dump on this system, but I always thought it was a blast. Love the old Loadrunner so got it up and playing. Created a joystick using a
ATTiny85 and some leftover arcade parts.
Trying for a Toshiba T1000 now. Really miss the 8088/8086 processor. I don't think I will get much more that this though. Other than the Commander x16 when it arrives!!
? About 10-20 years ago you could pretty much get anything you wanted for a decent price, but today I see mangled systems going for 100's. Sign of the times I guess.
Have a great day everyone!
Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:38 pm
by Strider
I sold mine off over the years as well. Regret it now, but I also just don't have the space for it all.
I didn't like CoCo's when the first came out, it wasn't until many years later that I rediscovered them. I wish I had given them more of a chance, they are indeed really nice systems. ?
Yeah, prices these days are crazy.... was a time not long ago nobody wanted these old computers and they were dirt cheap, now they are in such high demand... Makes me wonder how many made it into trash bins... Kind of sad really.
That's why I am excited about the X16, new "old" hardware! ?
Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 4:53 pm
by pzembrod
On 2/24/2021 at 3:07 PM, Lucky Phil said:
Strider, I still have a boxed Commodore Plus/4 in storage... perhaps one day I'll fish it out and explore further? It had a really nice form factor and tactile nature, that much I can remember. Despite its shortcomings, I really don't think that the Plus/4 had its day in the sun... probably because of no other reason than it wasn't compatible with its older 64K sibling! Apparently, many of its original developers subsequently worked on the Commodore 128 - so I guess that the Plus/4 project wasn't exactly an unmitigated disaster, after all...?
Hi Phil, in case you're interested: Both VolksForth and my cc64 Small C compiler run on the Plus4, too. The 59 kB of contiguous Basic RAM there are great for both; cc64 was, in fact, easier to port to the Plus4 than to the X16.
Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 5:32 pm
by pzembrod
I got hold of a surplus VIC20 main board and a C16 keyboard at a local electronics outlet in Freiburg, southern Germany, around 1990. I mated the two and patched the keyboard table so the layout matched. Alas, I don't have it anymore, but I guess this would qualify as odd and rare to some degree ... ?
And one of my more priced possessions is a Sharp PC1260 complete with CE-125 docking station with micro cassette recorder, printer and extra battery.
Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:37 pm
by Strider
Talking about all this "retro" hardware gave me an idea for a project I want to do for myself. I just need to find all the parts.
I want to build a simple display, preferably encased in resin, that basically contains the two processors what shaped my childhood and love of these machines. The catch is, I would prefer to have non-working processors since the process of putting them in resin will end their functionality anyway.
But of course, they are both rare, and finding dead ones... not sure how I am going to do that. haha
I need the Texas Instruments TMS9900 out of the TI-99/4A, my very first computer. Without it I may not have even developed a liking for computers in general.
Then I need the daddy of them all, an MOS 6502. I can buy modern reproductions of both, but I really would like an original of each, in a non-functional state. I don't want to ruin good vintage processors. If I have to get reproductions, I will, but if anyone happens to know were I can find a either one of these two processors, non-working, that would be great!
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Odd, rare, or just bad computers you've owned?
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:07 am
by Strider
Funny thing... I was playing around on the "Wayback Machine" and stumbled across a photo list I had made about my ADAM computer, right after I got it. I had it posted on a blog I no longer have. Long before I had given up on it. lol
Kind of wish I still had it to restore and play with, it was already in good physical condition, just too much to keep going with that PSU in the printer....
Figured I would share it!
