New member from Auckland

Introduce yourself. Tell people why you are interested in vintage computers and what (if anything) you've got.

New member from Auckland

Postby pablo on Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:39 pm

Hi,

Just joined. Have been a computer hobbyist since the early 80s. First used a ZX80 as a kid, then various other 8 and 16 bit computers throughout the eighties. Did the whole machine coder/electronics hobbyist thing that some people did in the 80s and later. Some of my computers ended up in cupboards or the shed at my parents house.

I hadn’t really had much interest in these old systems until earlier this year. I had to clear out a lot of old stuff from my parents house, so I rescued my old Atari 800XL and Amiga 500 as well as some old homebrew systems I made back in the day (eg. a homebrew 9929 video board and some Z80 thing with a 6847 for video). I had a bit of fun trying to get the 800XL and A500 going, and I have a four year old … and I’m always looking for better ways to educate him about computers … and the old systems are much more ‘hands on’ than anything made this century. We get to pull them apart and put them back together a lot. I always seem to be fixing something.

Anyway, I’ve expanded my collection this year. Now have an Acorn Electron (I always wanted one!), ZX Spectrum 48K, another Amiga 500, an Amiga 600 and a 1200. Also have a few ‘projects’ ongoing as you do; a dead Atari 2600 that is baffling me no matter how much I stare at logic analyser output, another Acorn Electron with I think a dead ULA, and a Colecovision with dead static RAM that I recently got going! Also just bought a ZXMore, which is a solder-it-yourself kit of a ZX80/81 type replica. Haven’t finished that one (takes time with a 4 yr old helping).

Anyway, having fun with all this old stuff, and always on the lookout for other interesting machines and ‘projects’.
pablo
 
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Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:29 pm

Re: New member from Auckland

Postby tezza on Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:17 pm

Welcome to the forums. I've always wondered about those Acorn Electrons. I've got a BBC or two, so I've never really felt the need to get one, but maybe one day (:
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Re: New member from Auckland

Postby pablo on Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:02 pm

I probably should have tried to get a BBC. But my brother had an Electron, and I was always quite envious. I did a lot of hand coded assembly as a kid and the Electron with BBC Basic and the built in assembler seemed like a dream way back then. Performance-wise it is a bit hobbled though. The 4 bit wide memory does not help.

There's a good series of videos about the games for the Electron. Search for 'Acorn Electron five games five minutes'. They are quite entertaining ... and short.
pablo
 
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Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:29 pm


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