A portion of my collection- Many pictures

[GearTechWolf]

In the easily-accessible parts of my collection I have: An ATARI 600XL (functional last I knew), TRS-80 Color Computer 2 (functional), Commodore C64E (untested), Commodore VIC-20 2-pin power-plug type (worked last I knew), Macintosh 'Pizza-Box' Performa 475 (chimes when turned on, needs recap, battery is removed), Macintosh 'All-in-one' Performa 575 (functional last I knew, battery is removed, needs caps checked), Macintosh Plus 1MB (battery removed, needs recap), Macintosh Classic II (battery removed, needs recapped), the main-board from some kind of WANG Z80-based terminal (no idea where to even start testing it), and an EP-1132 parallel-port EPROM programmer, sitting atop my currently-indisposed slot-7 P2/P3 Win98 tower.
And now, pictures!
The Performa 575 and my currently-gutted Slot-7 tower on the workbench-turned-storage-space in what was once my closet.
The Mac Plus and Classic II, with an external SCSI HDD enclosure between them. (a second hides behind them, one for each system)
The small, personal color TV that my parents used in their bedroom. It's older than I am and is one of my earliest successful repairs.
Still works to this day!
A black-and-white TV that was my personal/bedroom TV until my parents replaced the Emerson with a slightly-larger Magnevox.
The ATARI 600XL that I played many a game of 'Breakout!' on, and was also my first exposure to computer programming in Basic.
I picked up this C64E at a local flea-market or thrift-store for cheap and haven't dug out a power-supply to test it yet, I hope it works.
Aside from replacing one key-cap and stem with one from one of my three dead bread-bin C64s, it's very clean and well-preserved.
My very-yellowed Performa 475, another thrift-shop buy. Tried to test it with an old Apple RF-modulator dongle, but no video output.
I think the dongle may be faulty, or simply incompatible, but I'll have to clean/repair my only Mac monitor to find out.
It does have some case-damage and may have been dropped at least once, but it seems mostly functional as far as I can tell so far.
My COCO 2, yet another flea-market find. Very clean and seemingly fully functional, although the RF output could use tuning/recapping.
A game cartridge, Project Nebula, that I had floating around unidentified in my collection long before I got the COCO 2. Works well!
Ah, and I can only attach ten images per post. Alright, that'll make this post 1-of-3 then. To be continued!

 

[GearTechWolf]

Part 2-of-3, even more pictures!
The unidentified WANG terminal main-board, complete with original bodge-wires in a cheery yellow color!
Another angle, with a bit better lighting thanks to the flash going off on my phone.
The only identifying marks on the board, partially hand-engraved and partly silk-screened/solder-masked.
The keyboard, '+', and screen(?) ports on the rear panel. Further identification appreciated.
The twin BNC data-ports, for connecting to the terminal's network, presumably.
The venerable Zilog Z80 processor, a possible indicator that this terminal could be modded into a stand-alone Z80-based computer of some flavor, with a few upgrades to memory/storage. Although, honestly, I'd just like to know if this board works at all!
An Intel P8031AH Microcontroller. MCU 8-bit 8051 CISC ROMLess 5V 40-Pin PDIP. Neat!
Big ol' WANG-branded chip of uncertain purpose.
Old laptop my dad used to program motor-controllers back in the day, forget if it's 286 or 386 and DOS or Win3.11...
Old tray-loading iMac I got from a fundraising sale at my church, was once used at my summer-camp apparently.
First Mac I ever took online (I think?) and made a fun music/movie-player for a while. Was fun making it talk to my cats, too!
(and yes, that is I in the reflection on the CRT, blame the high balding forehead at 34 on my dad's genes)
To be concluded!

 

[GearTechWolf]

Part 3-of-3, the finale! (for now)
Simple little joystick I got from some thrift store. Was filthy, beat-up, and bleeding metal particles around the shaft when I picked it up. Took it all apart for a deep-clean, lubed/polished the shaft, tested the button-switches, and reassembled.
Quite simple inside, even the joy-stick movements are translated through four equally-placed button around its base, pressed down by a metal disc/washer mounted loosely on the shaft. Can't recall if I've tested it with any system yet.
What I assume is either the power-connector or some other internal connection on the WANG board.
Some sort of data-connector on the WANG board, perhaps to a daughter-board?
Cable I ran across while digging out everything else for pictures, not sure if Mac or PC. Ideas?
Another view, showing the two-way arrows marking on the small end. Mac printer-cable perhaps?
This is probably a... quarter of my collection?
I have an old Tandy (non-PC-compatible) PC, an IBM desktop, an AST PC, various 286 through Pentium units, a huge square motherboard from some kind of industrial machinery (that I didn't feel like digging out at this time), an Apple IIc (with monitor), a IIci I found in a junkyard, a G4 tower, most of an EMac and a couple later iMacs that I took apart to mod/upgrade/overclock and never got back to, an antique semi-modular TV chassis, the guts from some other terminal-built-into-a-monitor thing that I've lost track of, one of those all-white inch-or-more thick Apple laptops (dead from sitting disassembled for too long after the HDD died), the aforementioned three dead bread-bin C64s (not enough good chips between the three to build even one, all damaged by bad power-supplies), a C128 that died when my jury-rigged power coupling was hit by falling clutter and shorted out, a weird (possibly PC-compatible?) Macintosh clone tower (that sits near my slot-7 tower but is too buried to take a picture of, also a thrift-shop buy), and don't even get me started on all my gaming consoles. (plus a rare few hand-held gaming systems, only some working)
That's it! At least for tonight.
Comments, thoughts, advice, identification, and random useful information welcome!
Enjoy.

 

[seaken]

My first thought on the cable was an ADP to Parallel printer cable.

I would like to get one of those colored iMACs for my collection. Blue, or orange maybe.

The Macintosh clone may be a PowerTower from Power Computing. I have one, You can see on this page:

SMK_Pics_Apple

That laptop of your dad's is what we called a "luggable". Too damn heavy for the lap. It was portable though and could be lugged around like a suitcase.

Thanks for sharing your stuff.

Seaken

 

[Jaginus]

Thanks for sharing. Nice collection. Envy is what I feel right now

 

[GearTechWolf]

My first thought on the cable was an ADP to Parallel printer cable.

I would like to get one of those colored iMACs for my collection. Blue, or orange maybe.

The Macintosh clone may be a PowerTower from Power Computing. I have one, You can see on this page:

SMK_Pics_Apple

That laptop of your dad's is what we called a "luggable". Too damn heavy for the lap. It was portable though and could be lugged around like a suitcase.

Thanks for sharing your stuff.

Seaken

That was my thought, too.

They're relatively easy to pick up, here and there.

Similar, but I think it may be a different flavor of compatible. I'll see if I can get a peek at the model some time.

Yup! I think it might even have a handle, not sure. Still smaller than an earlier one that was the size of a bread-box!

You're welcome, thanks for the look at yours!

 

[GearTechWolf]

Thanks for sharing. Nice collection. Envy is what I feel right now

You're welcome! Don't be too envious, it needs a fair bit of work and is mostly inaccessible due to clutter!

 

[seaken]

I'm also envious of the PET. I know they are popular and fairly expensive. Where did you get yours? How much should I expect to pay? I want a working PET 2001, with the chicklet keyboard, if possible. I've looked on ebay a couple of times and the prices were always over $300.

Edit - just checked and there is a PET 2001 for over $2500. An non-working for over $800. Too steep for me. I hope to find in a garage sale one day.

Seaken

 

[bzotto]

I've looked on ebay a couple of times and the prices were always over $300. Edit - just checked and there is a PET 2001 for over $2500. An non-working for over $800. Too steep for me. I hope to find in a garage sale one day.

Those numbers are high and although I'm wary of suggesting that they're objectively "too high" (who knows), I did pick up one of the middle-era PETs from ebay a couple years back for just a few hundred bucks. It was not a pristine example, but the repair need and imperfection was part of the appeal for me (repair/restore thread here). I do think if you want the O.G. model you're likely to pay a bit more for the historic value but don't be discouraged-- keep a saved search out and more examples and varying prices (or auction listings) will turn up eventually. If you're willing to compromise on the keyboard style you're probably going to pay less and also have it be more functional

 

[GearTechWolf]

I'm also envious of the PET. I know they are popular and fairly expensive. Where did you get yours? How much should I expect to pay? I want a working PET 2001, with the chicklet keyboard, if possible. I've looked on ebay a couple of times and the prices were always over $300.

Edit - just checked and there is a PET 2001 for over $2500. An non-working for over $800. Too steep for me. I hope to find in a garage sale one day.

Seaken

Who are you asking about the PET? I don't have one, just the VIC-20s, C64s, and a C128.

 

[seaken]

HaHa, yeah you're right. I had the wrong picture in my head. Senior moment. I was looking at so many picture threads I got confused!

Ok, it's the C128 I'm envious of

Seaken

 

[VERAULT]

Ahh the brittle 90's mac collection. You may want to give yourself some proper shelves as that stuff will crumble on your. A Sears SR3000 TV?! I just did a thread on a Sears SR3000 RGB monitor, very cool yours is the only other one I have seen. https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?t...b-monitor-clone-is-this-a-1084-clone.1238585/

 

[GearTechWolf]

Seaken: No worries, we all have moments like that at times. Especially with the ability to browse many threads at once!
Sadly, my C128 needs repair after an accident with a jury-rigged power-adapter connection got bumped/shorted.
Presuming my C64E works, I'll use that to test what chips I can swap between the two, someday.

Verault: Yeah, someday when I finally get a handle on my clutter and organize my spaces I'll have to do that.
It's from Sears? Cool! It's a black-and-white set, possibly partially tube-based, as it takes a long time to warm up. Thanks for the link!

 

[seaken]

Sorry for getting off thread on the PET.

The C128 always interested me because I first learned on a Z80 CP/M machine and I wanted to see if I could run CP/M on the C128. But so far all I have is a C64.

How did you do the inline pictures the way you did that? My pics seem to come out very big. Is that the attachment mode you are using?

Seaken

 

[GearTechWolf]

No problem, it wasn't a major tangent by any means.

Adrian's Digital Basement on Youtube might be a good source for finding out if that's possible.

Yes, it is! In the little drop-down menu that shows up on your uploaded image you have two options, 'Thumbnail' or 'Full image'.
I chose thumbnail in hopes that having so many images wouldn't make this thread load slowly on older browsers and/or hardware.

 

[GearTechWolf]

No picture for this at the moment as it's stored away near the ceiling in the corner of the dining room, but I pulled it out enough to check the label.
I have the monitor/power-supply, the main system unit, and the keyboard of a Sinclair PC500SD.
Searches years ago lead me to believe it was a clone of an Amstrad computer (of what model, I don't recall) but now I'm not so sure.
The main unit and keyboard are fine (aside from having to hack-together a new cord for the keyboard) but the monitor, which doubles as the power-supply is in very poor shape after it was smashed/stripped for recyclable parts by an employee of the PC-repair shop it was dropped off at.
Functionality of the main unit is unknown since I lack a power-supply and a compatible screen.
(something to do with horizontal and vertical sync being combined on the same signal/pin)
The monitor/power-supply is missing a CRT (smashed/necked, but I still have the yoke, I think) and its primary circuit-board is missing chunks after the largest heat-sinks were crudely ripped off, taking components and hunks of PCB with them.
Other than that and the gaping holes in the badly-yellowed case, it's in fine shape!
I have schematics for the Amstrad unit it was supposedly cloned from (...somewhere, on another computer) but was stymied back then by the difficulty of locating the old/rare/obsolete multi-function voltage-regulator (finding only 1 source) and not being able to spare the coin to get it.
Any/all data anybody can point me towards would be great.

 

[GearTechWolf]

...ah, heck with it.
Pictures of the keyboard and screen/power-supply at least! (too much stuff atop the main unit)
Yellowed keyboard with hacked-together cord (and joystick port):
Monitor/power-supply main-board:
That picture of the silkscreen part-number on the underside explains why I called it an Amstrad clone.
Few more pictures yet-

 

[GearTechWolf]

Last few pictures of the monitor/power-supply:
And yes, I used a piece of large wire to reinforce the cracked PCB in an earlier picture.
I believe, after a bit of searching, that it's a clone of an Amstrad PC1512.
Ah, yeah, quote from Wikipedia: "The PC1512 was also sold as the Sinclair PC500."
So, weird little system, not even sure if it functions at all.
It has one 5-1/4 floppy drive in it and is apparently DOS-compatible, so the two issues with testing it are a power-supply and a compatible monitor or something to adapt it to VGA. It was originally a monochrome monitor, going by the S~MM model designation.
Anybody know how to adapt the output?
-edit, rediscovered the schematics and got them downloaded. Really should print out a physical copy some time.

 

[GearTechWolf]

Hooked up a Power General FLU2-40-1 power supply to the power-cord from my dead Commodore 251053-02 and used the +5 supply to power up my C64C and it works!
At least, I'm pretty sure it does, the output from the RF modulator is horrible and full of static, but I could see the outlines of the Basic boot-up screen and a couple lines of (illegible) text!
Gotta repair my composite output cord so I can try that instead.
In other news, got the dead Commodore power-supply fully depotted and extracted 90% of the components intact.
(broke the voltage-regulator years ago during my first depotting attempt and the electrolytic cap got a couple dents during recent work)
Circuit-board stuck to the potting compound and got a bit broken, but I stuck it back together with super-glue and baking-soda. (still looks ugly)
Uncertain on whether I'll re-use the board or make a replacement with entirely new components instead. (aside from reusing the transformer)
For now, have some pictures of the depotting carnage!


I don't know what that potting compound is made of, but it sure sticks really well to everything!
Even took the plastic wrapper off the electrolytic capacitor, and the solder-mask off the board!
I'll get pics of the reassembled/(kinda-)cleaned board and the cleaned/salvaged components later.

 

[Jaginus]

Hooked up a Power General FLU2-40-1 power supply to the power-cord from my dead Commodore 251053-02 and used the +5 supply to power up my C64C and it works!
At least, I'm pretty sure it does, the output from the RF modulator is horrible and full of static, but I could see the outlines of the Basic boot-up screen and a couple lines of (illegible) text!
Gotta repair my composite output cord so I can try that instead.
In other news, got the dead Commodore power-supply fully depotted and extracted 90% of the components intact.
(broke the voltage-regulator years ago during my first depotting attempt and the electrolytic cap got a couple dents during recent work)
Circuit-board stuck to the potting compound and got a bit broken, but I stuck it back together with super-glue and baking-soda. (still looks ugly)
Uncertain on whether I'll re-use the board or make a replacement with entirely new components instead. (aside from reusing the transformer)
For now, have some pictures of the depotting carnage!
View attachment 1244893View attachment 1244894View attachment 1244895View attachment 1244896View attachment 1244897
View attachment 1244898View attachment 1244899View attachment 1244901View attachment 1244902View attachment 1244903
I don't know what that potting compound is made of, but it sure sticks really well to everything!
Even took the plastic wrapper off the electrolytic capacitor, and the solder-mask off the board!
I'll get pics of the reassembled/(kinda-)cleaned board and the cleaned/salvaged components later.

Very nice "disassembling". I would suggest using the transformer with new electronics. Please take a look at Kojro's video (and the following ones 9.1, 9.2) relating to the same power source: