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stephen_usher
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General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Given the slow but steady increase in retro stuff I seem to be acquiring, plus bringing a lot of old model railway stuff from my Dad's loft I've had to hire a storage unit in "Storage King".

Over the last couple of weekends I've been starting to move stuff in there, one car load at a time. It's quite a slow job but the unit is starting to fill.

storage.jpg
storage.jpg (144.48 KiB) Viewed 34319 times

Other than the model railway stuff in the corner there are the two Apricots, four Sun workstations, a couple of DEC terminals, a couple of Mac Plus and various other stuff. This isn't even a quarter of what I have. There are lots of trips to go yet!
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Tried to use my old Psion 5MX as a terminal this morning but before I could do this it basically fell apart in my hands when I picked it up! :-(

The core plastic part had become so weak and brittle that merely picking the machine up caused the plastic to shatter.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:28 am Tried to use my old Psion 5MX as a terminal this morning but before I could do this it basically fell apart in my hands when I picked it up! :-(

The core plastic part had become so weak and brittle that merely picking the machine up caused the plastic to shatter.
Damn, thats rubbish. Trouble is with old plastics they do start to go with age.

Once I get settled in the new place I need to try my Amstrad NC100 as a terminal.
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...
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Yeah, it basically crumbled! I've never seen plastic, other than old Bakelite, just crumble like this, especially as it's only just over 20 years old.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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JezC
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by JezC »

rubber_jonnie wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:30 am
stephen_usher wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:28 am Tried to use my old Psion 5MX as a terminal this morning but before I could do this it basically fell apart in my hands when I picked it up! :-(

The core plastic part had become so weak and brittle that merely picking the machine up caused the plastic to shatter.
Damn, thats rubbish. Trouble is with old plastics they do start to go with age.

Once I get settled in the new place I need to try my Amstrad NC100 as a terminal.
Hoping my old Psion 3A/3C won't suffer the same fate.

I've still to try and repair the keyboard on my NC100... :roll: ...that retro job list keeps getting longer... :(
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by rubber_jonnie »

JezC wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:40 am
I've still to try and repair the keyboard on my NC100... :roll: ...that retro job list keeps getting longer... :(
I hear ya...
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...
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PeckPeekPoke
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by PeckPeekPoke »

Looks like a nice treasure trove you are building. You've probably got 100 cubic feet of unused space though. I suggest you put some shelves in the storage unit to facilitate random access of your computational booty.
FOR GREAT JUSTICE. TAKE OUT EVERY ZIG
800xl+U1mb, STfm, STe, 030
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

That’s just stuff that has previously been in my loft, and it’s only about a quarter of it.

As for shelving, the only shelving units I can fit in my car are too narrow to be useful for computer stuff other than the keyboards and printers/Macs so they wouldn’t help a great deal.

Oh, and after I posted this on my timeline on FB some friends have tried to fill this for me by asking if I want stuff. I got given a Sun Ultra 80 yesterday!
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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Icky
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by Icky »

@stephen_usher I think I still have a Zero 1 train controller in my loft. They were well ahead of their time.
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Icky wrote: Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:28 am @stephen_usher I think I still have a Zero 1 train controller in my loft. They were well ahead of their time.
They were, but the way it generates power for the motor isn't great (pulses of full voltage, not good for the motor) and it really needs some sort of "keep alive" power to help with point frogs etc. Potentially putting a large capacitor between the two motor brushes would help a great deal, but finding a large (capacity) non-polarised capacitor which is also small physically is a problem.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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