Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

New user? Tell us about yourself!
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 3:01 pm
rubber_jonnie wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 2:00 pm I've now got to the stage of buying dead or untested machine to fix them
You have to do that today with any computers over 25 years old because there are no bargains anymore. The rarer items are commanding crazy money.

10 years ago you could pick up an Amstrad 386 MegaPC for pocket change, free to collect, now they are crazy money if you see them at all. But they self destruct so you can bag a bargain if you can fix it.
I agree.

And I think the pandemic has caused prices to go up too, people finding things to do whilst being stuck at home.

There was a time when a 600XL might set you back under £50 working, now it's double that for a dead one!
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

mrbombermillzy wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 3:06 pm Being at least partly responsible for feeding this habit of yours @rubber_jonnie , I should probably chip in! :lol:

Ironically, I started off working professionally building SMT and thru hole circuits for a local company. However, over the years, I went and did other things. I gradually lost touch with soldering and nowadays do not have the eyesight or co-ordination for such things anymore. There was also a shift to software, which, although not professionally, was developed at an early age (my uncle was a software engineer for ..um..ICL/Unisys??) and I used to read his book collection of early 80s programming tomes (after I had plundered his Omni magazine collection that is!). Suffice to say, by 13 I was coding and by 15-16 I was writing my own 6510 assembly from mnemonic values in BASIC being poked into memory (a very hard way of writing asm for sure, but I didnt initially have the money for an Assembler). I later went on to college to learn OOP in C++, but thats another story.

So now, my main thing is not just the machines I grew up with, but I also try to grab some of the ecosystem surrounding them; i.e. magazines, original software, period pheripherals, etc. But I do also have a guilty pleasure for the newer boosters/mods/enhancements, which were not made back in the day.

Rather than just sit back and bask in all the retro goodness, I have tried to get some cool projects off the ground, but, alas, with small kids around ATM, my work has ground to an almost complete stop in this area, which is a shame. :( Im hoping to get some time back in around 6 months time to continue at a better pace.

This current situation has also led to me 'shaving down' some of the machines I own, which should also help focus efforts, rather than, (paraphrasing Bilbo Baggins here) 'spreading not enough butter over too much bread'. :D
Nice to hear peoples different stories. If I could go back I'd do computing instead of going in the RAF, sadly I don't have a time machine, though I might have enough computers to build one!!

I'd probably have to learn many different variation of assembler too to get it off the ground!!
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

mrbombermillzy wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 3:07 pm @alexh Definitely food for thought there.

I would be gutted if I lost my gear (lots of harder to find C= stuff mainly, with some Atari bits; TT/F030), but my main killer would be my game source code (which was started in 1999-2000!) and am very close to finishing now.
Get that source code backed up in at least two places!!
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 3:08 pm
Yeah, I've done a bit of that, but most of my machines have been rescues and donations.

P.S. If I do buy a machine it's with the intention that it'll be interesting to take to retro-events where people can play games etc. on them... Well, other than the Apricots. :-) I've not found any games for those yet.
It was nice to see the stuff you brought to Cambridge last year :)
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Steve wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 3:18 pm I am looking forward to the day when I can have a place with a large enough room to have all my machines set-up and always ready for use. I also want to create an A4 perspex sign for each machine detailing all the internals/modifications/upgrades etc.

I want a section for game consoles, Atari micros, Others & professional Unix workstations.
It's taken me 20+ years to end up with a suitable space to have a workshop and retro 'play' area. I said I was lucky, and I really am, and I really do hope you can get to what you want.

I can't have all of my machines out at once, maybe 3 or 4, but I am at least able to have an area I can rotate things in.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
derkom
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1208
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:45 pm

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by derkom »

alexh wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 2:44 pm My hardware collection has a "street value" of maybe £60k, but if I was to be in a fatal accident I was sure it would suffer a similar fate. Non of my relatives really understood its value, it would be either sold in bulk "house sale" at a fraction of its value or worse still simply skipped/binned.
I've got a clause in my will that leaves all my computer gear to a good friend who knows what most if it is, and knows enough to figure out the rest. Obviously if I'm dead, I don't care about the monetary value, but I do want to make sure someone is involved who can see that everything finds a good home, be it his own or some other people who would appreciate what they received.
atari030
Posts: 315
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by atari030 »

I got my first computer in the early 80's, an 800XL. Ten years later got a 520ST and ever since I've accumulated machines. Much like magnetic mines to a ships hull. :-) Now I've probably got 30 - 40 Atari's and a few Amiga's not to mention some pretty rare consoles. Atari is the love though. Now I work as a server and storage engineer. That bores me these days but Atari doesn't. That kick when a dead machine boots is amazing. It was that 800XL that got me working in IT. Although these days I'd like to go back to farming.
My eyesight has gone to crap to and can no longer fine solder without wearing two pairs of glasses. Getting old sucks. It has slowed me done a lot in the last five years.
I have had a lot of people drop Amiga's and Atari's in my lap to repair or upgrade over the years and I have been happy to do it gratis just so those machines don't wind up in the tip. Repairing stuff is very much in my DNA. I out that down to the Kiwi farmer mentality. :D
Places like this are great, its well out of my pay grade what most folks do here, but I'm learning more every time I log in. So keep it up, RJ.
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

derkom wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 7:09 pm
alexh wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 2:44 pm My hardware collection has a "street value" of maybe £60k, but if I was to be in a fatal accident I was sure it would suffer a similar fate. Non of my relatives really understood its value, it would be either sold in bulk "house sale" at a fraction of its value or worse still simply skipped/binned.
I've got a clause in my will that leaves all my computer gear to a good friend who knows what most if it is, and knows enough to figure out the rest. Obviously if I'm dead, I don't care about the monetary value, but I do want to make sure someone is involved who can see that everything finds a good home, be it his own or some other people who would appreciate what they received.
Sounds sensible to me :)
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

atari030 wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 10:44 pm I got my first computer in the early 80's, an 800XL. Ten years later got a 520ST and ever since I've accumulated machines. Much like magnetic mines to a ships hull. :-) Now I've probably got 30 - 40 Atari's and a few Amiga's not to mention some pretty rare consoles. Atari is the love though. Now I work as a server and storage engineer. That bores me these days but Atari doesn't. That kick when a dead machine boots is amazing. It was that 800XL that got me working in IT. Although these days I'd like to go back to farming.
My eyesight has gone to crap to and can no longer fine solder without wearing two pairs of glasses. Getting old sucks. It has slowed me done a lot in the last five years.
I have had a lot of people drop Amiga's and Atari's in my lap to repair or upgrade over the years and I have been happy to do it gratis just so those machines don't wind up in the tip. Repairing stuff is very much in my DNA. I out that down to the Kiwi farmer mentality. :D
Places like this are great, its well out of my pay grade what most folks do here, but I'm learning more every time I log in. So keep it up, RJ.
Don't worry, I'll keep it up, and may start to offer repairs when I retire to keep my brain going :)

I started slightly earlier with the ZX81 and then Spectrum, followed by a 600XL, replaced by an 800XL in fairly short order. What amuses me is that my upgraded 600XL is now my primary A8, so I seem to have come full circle!!

Repairing stuff is in my DNA too, having worked first at a bodyshop doing car repairs in my early teens, plus helping my Dad with his cars, and then into the air force to work on jet fighters and even some REDACTED planes :)

Whilst mechanical stuff has always been a thing, electronic repairs always seemed like something I'd never grasp, but thanks to the internet and forums like this I've been able to expand my capabilities. I doubt I could have fixed Bretts STE4-5 years ago, but constantly trying and working at it has got my mind into the right place for it and I love it!! My uncle was a TV repairman in the days of CRTs and vacuum tubes, and what he did was always a wonder to me, I just wish he was here to see that I got there in the end :)
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
Danoo
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2020 1:25 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Why do I collect and repair Retro Computers?

Post by Danoo »

I have been collecting for about 20 years. Could not put a value on what is boxed up in the shed as the prices have just sky rocketed in the last few years. I probably have approximately 30 working machines and about half that number in various states of repair.

Why did I start hmm, well I purchased an Amiga 2000 back in the early 90s and I took it out of storage in early 2000 to show my young sons what the Amiga was like to play games. Unfortunately the battery had leaked and it was dead, so I decided to have a go at fixing it and the addiction begun. :lol: There is something very satisfying about getting one of these old machines up and running again, finding the problem then finding the parts to repair it, all part of the journey.

As an example of how much the prices have changed in the last 20 years. I picked up a black Amiga 1200 (it had been painted and had black keys from a CDTV keyboard) with an Apollo 1240 inside, a CDTV keyboard (now with white keys) thrown in as well for 100Aud (approx. 50 GBP) in 2002. Try to purchase those three items now, would probably set you back approximately 2 grand (approx. 1000 GBP). In the end the collection has become an investment, as there are very few asset classes that can out perform certain items in retro computers ATM.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated - Confucius
Post Reply

Return to “INTRODUCE YOURSELF”