Kudzu Kid
Member
A few questions: I’m pondering hunting down a Cromemco Z2-D (the cheaper $ the better, I'm old, fixed income, massive medical bills from heart surgery and cancer, but I'm still kickin', LOL, etc.). It’s only been ~48 years since I last used one. So I have a few questions. Yes, I confess, I could probably Google some of this, read numerous sites / pages with varying degrees of relevance. Or I could spare myself that fire walk and hedge my bet and ask here - guys that actually have / use the beast.
Question: What configuration(s) would be good / best to run a flavor of BASIC (were there multiple possible dialects of BASIC that could be run? Was there only one “official” one? Pros & cons of some?). What board #’s - revs & functions would I need to have a working system (floppy controller, BASIC, printer, RAM - anything else?). What diskettes are ESSENTIAL? Which are desirable? What RAM (capacity) is 'recommended' for a good BASIC environment? When I used one eons ago, I didn’t have access to the innards (it was rack mounted) so I never did see inside the beast. But I remember to this day that I REALLY liked it! I understand there is a Cromemco user group somewhere (Google groups? Here somewhere?) - but I hear it’s “invitation only” or you have to apply or something? Does anyone know what I’m talking about (I don’t! LOL)?
Another question: What do folks here think of eBay vintage pricing? Personally, I think it can easily get out of hand. I’m on a fixed income and can’t bid against Steve Balmer and spend $4K on a cherry IMSAI or whatever!! Are swap meets / ham fests, etc. better bets? I’m in the mid-west (Tulsa area). So I think Dallas would be the closest area?
Any hints, tips, kinks would be appreciated! Anything to watch out for? Good rev boards? Bad rev boards?
Above all, I appreciate your patience with me, Likely your answers will beget more questions, but eventually I will (probably!) shut up!
Thanks in advance!
Question: What configuration(s) would be good / best to run a flavor of BASIC (were there multiple possible dialects of BASIC that could be run? Was there only one “official” one? Pros & cons of some?). What board #’s - revs & functions would I need to have a working system (floppy controller, BASIC, printer, RAM - anything else?). What diskettes are ESSENTIAL? Which are desirable? What RAM (capacity) is 'recommended' for a good BASIC environment? When I used one eons ago, I didn’t have access to the innards (it was rack mounted) so I never did see inside the beast. But I remember to this day that I REALLY liked it! I understand there is a Cromemco user group somewhere (Google groups? Here somewhere?) - but I hear it’s “invitation only” or you have to apply or something? Does anyone know what I’m talking about (I don’t! LOL)?
Another question: What do folks here think of eBay vintage pricing? Personally, I think it can easily get out of hand. I’m on a fixed income and can’t bid against Steve Balmer and spend $4K on a cherry IMSAI or whatever!! Are swap meets / ham fests, etc. better bets? I’m in the mid-west (Tulsa area). So I think Dallas would be the closest area?
Any hints, tips, kinks would be appreciated! Anything to watch out for? Good rev boards? Bad rev boards?
Above all, I appreciate your patience with me, Likely your answers will beget more questions, but eventually I will (probably!) shut up!
Thanks in advance!