Search results

I think some of you may know that my family and I do a thing we call The Retro Roadshow, in which we put on free public presentations and hands-on exhibitions of vintage technology from our collection. I’m delighted to share that we’re going to be doing an event with the Mountain View Public...

My collection of vintage computers, video games, software, and accessories has grown to a considerable degree since I started as a kid in the '90s. Given the booming popularity of this hobby, I'm shocked by how much the resale value of many formerly-commonplace items (or just obscure things that...

I was recently contacted via my Retro Roadshow website by a lovely older gent in my area. He's recently downsized from living in a houseboat to living in a small apartment, and decided that it was time to "re home" his Commodore stuff. I'm grateful that he picked me to reach out to! I went and...

After a lucky thrift shop find a while back, I've got a beautiful TRS-80 Color Computer Model 1 in my collection. I had one just like this as a kid back in the early '90s, so this is a very happy and nostalgic machine for me, in spite of (or maybe because of) the terrible "chiclet" keyboard...

Hi all! I'm working on a cover story for an upcoming issue of Pixel Addict Magazine, and it will be all about the history of Tandy and Radio Shack. I've had articles in every issue they've published since the magazine launched (that's my Palm VII in the little photo-box at the bottom of the...

Hi all, My trusty old Vectrex is in need of some repair / adjustment work which I believe is beyond the limits of my own modest soldering and repair skills. To be more specific: the system works fine, but the image on the screen collapses horizontally so that it's about 1-2" wide. Here's a...

Hi all, I've got an Amiga 2000 with a 1084 monitor, which is usually plugged into the 23-pin RGB port on the back of the Amiga. However, I recently uncovered an old Amiga A2300 Genlock card and got that installed into the video port inside the A2000. It looks very cool! I also recently bought a...

Hi all, Several years ago I received an RS/6000 43p in a trade for some vintage Apple stuff. I’ve never used a non-Apple PowerPC system before so I’m pretty excited to dive in and see what AIX is like. This machine is a 250MHz model and was missing its hard drive when I got it, so I recently...

Hi all! A couple years ago I found an IBM RS/6000 43p-150 desktop workstation (type: 7304-150). It's the 250MHz model with a PowerPC 604e CPU, according to the sticker on the faceplate. Other than needing a deep-cleaning, it appears to be in good physical shape, and I'm quite fond of its black...

Hi all, I'm trying to bring a 486 I pulled from a dumpster back to life, and the repeated "HDD Controller Failure" messages I'm seeing flicker on the screen before it fails to boot has me suspecting the the IDE + Serial + Joystick combo card has failed, although I'm not ruling out other issues...

That wild feeling when you pop into a local junk store and spot a computer you weren’t sure you’d ever see in person, let alone own… After some successful haggling, I’m now the delighted owner of a Dynalogic Hyperion! The shopkeeper said that it didn’t power on, and I noticed what might be some...

A couple years back I found a 486DX PC in a dumpster near my home. It's been collecting dust in my storage locker ever since, but I've recently gotten the itch to clean it up and build it out for some DOS gaming with my son. Here are a few pics of the machine! That said, I have a couple...

As the proud owner of a newly-acquired PCjr and a recently-rediscovered PCjr from my childhood, I'm hoping to find a working IBM Model 4863 monitor. While I'm open to buying one remote and having it shipped, it seems like it would be much less risky to buy one in person - these old electronics...

A quick Apple III question: does anyone know what the approximate internal temperature of an Apple III would be during one of its infamous "overheating" scenarios? It's widely accepted that early Apple III's would overheat after some period of usage, but I can't find any indication of just how...

As noted in the title, I'm trying to figure out if a Tandy CM-5 CRT display is a good/workable monitor for an IBM PCjr. I found a copy of the CM-5 manual online, but all it says is that it can be used with "compatible systems" but it never says which systems are compatible! Thanks in advance...

As mentioned in a previous thread, I'm working to get my three Osborne 1's up and running. All three power on currently, but one of them (the one with the oddball "MICRO CZEK" ROM noted in my previous thread) is now being super weird: If I power it up while a keyboard is connected, the machine...

Hi all, I have a trio of Osborne 1's (two "originals" and one "1a" revision), and I'm in need of some software for them. Specifically, I'm looking for: Games of any kind: I know these weren't gaming-oriented machines, but I understand that there are some CP/M games like Zork, Pac-Man clones...

Hi everyone! My family and I are prepping for an awesome retrocomputing exhibition this summer with Golden Gate University (I’ll post more details once they’re finalized!), and I really wanted to include an Osborne system. Fortunately I had three in the dark recesses of my storage locker and I...

I recently traded some large vintage gear for a few small(er) vintage items, which is how I ended up with this gorgeous Toshiba T3200SXC. The machine is in incredible shape overall, but sadly it won't power on - when I flip the switch, the Power LED flickers for just a moment, and then nothing...

I bought this beautiful, very-clean Compaq Portable 386/20 about a year ago, but as of now I've never gotten to actually use it. Like most of these early Compaq machines, this one cannot boot if the BIOS settings are wiped, which they always are because the ancient motherboard battery is long...