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Time to wake up

Gary C

Veteran Member
Joined
May 26, 2018
Messages
2,256
Location
Lancashire, UK
Vintage computers Eh!

Its been a mad winter with very little computer action but I did get a new kitchen which took over the whole workshop and prevented access for months.
But it did spur me on to build some new racking at the back of the garage to store machines not currently being used which has freed so much work space that I can now see the wood for the trees.

My intel Multibus machine has had its new high flow fan fitted and the 286/10 card is running cooler but I still need to make some ducting as too much is escaping around the sides (the card frame is for an older 8086 I think and the spacing between boards is much smaller than at work and this is reducing airflow). It is quite loud now and looking very homebrew which I like.

Dropping off the old fridge at the tip, I spied a Apple Performa 6200, which I have given a new home to. Made up a DB15 to VGA lead and what do you know, it works ! Even the hard drive is functional. Its was was really dirty but a trip through the sink and it actually looks like new with no yellowing.
This spurred me on to power up the iicx thats been sitting on the shelf for a year. No such luck with this one. Powering on is random and when it does, no chime, no video. However probing the memories and the video card is showing activity so its not completely dead and may just need new capacitors which are cheap enough, though I am suspicious about the video card, its being addressed but doesn't show anything, not even a raster.

I have always wanted an Apricot as I remember seeing an ACT Sirius 1 displaying such sharp high res graphics on an amber monitor that it stuck in my memory for the last 40 years. A victor/Sirius is rare this side of the pond and expensive but I managed to find a really cheap Apricot PC including the keyboard and monitor but thats another machine on the rack awaiting assessment :)

Must get round to powering up the PDP11/73 when the house is empty (just in case it trips the MCB), now that might be fun.
 
My intel machine is a home made mix of parts :)

Card frame is from an unknown source but has a much tighter spacing than the machines we use at work.
 
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