Greetings, and welcome to retro-link.com. I'll start with myself. My name is Paul Quirk, and I founded retro-link.com on the basis of my favourite hobby; that being, retro computing. My first computer was a Vic 20, and presently I own a Vic 20, Commodore 64, 128, Macintosh Plus, Amiga 500, Amiga 2000, Tandy TRS-80 Model 100, Amiga CD-32, Commodore 16, Atari 2600, Atari Flashback, Super Nintendo, and an IBM PS/1. Whew. I decided there had to be a place where people of all different retro computing interests could get together, and that place would be retro-link.com.
Please tell us about yourself.
I am another retro computer fan using such machines since they was new. My main interests in retrocomputers is BBS & communications also both Commodore & Atari computers. I have the following:
Amiga 500
Commodore 64 (x3 working a couple being fixed up)
Commodore 16 (x3 all upgraded to 64k)
Commodore Plus/4
Atari 2600 (4 switch) original owner since end of 1982
Atari 600XL (upgraded 64k & Ben Poehland video mod)
Atari 800 with SWR8000
Atari 130XE (also original owner)
Atari TT030 (CaTTamaran upgrade)
Atari 4160STe (x2)
Atari Mega ST4 (x2)
Atari 520ST (x3)
Atari Jaguar (original owner since end of 1995)
Atari 65XE (bought april 4, 2009)
Plus various peripherals and software for the above. The above are not listed in any perticular order other than brand as I don't play favourites all that much and I don't put any brands of retro down other than not liking wintel architecture all that much.
Hi everyone,
I'm Ken Harbit, I'm interested in all old computer things. Everything from ENIAC modern day stuff, with emphasis on about 1995 and earlier. Hardware, software, manuals, books, newsletters, magazines. I'm also interested in early Internet, AOL, Dephi, and all the other early providers.
I have a small collection of vintage computers that include:
Atari 800
Atari 1200
various Atari 800 peripherals
COSMAC ELF
Commodore 64
Commodore 64C
Commodore 128
Various Commodore peripherals
ZX81
TS2068
QL
various Timex-Sinclair peripherals
Manuals, books, magazines
In the late '70s and early '80s I was a government contractor working on ARPANET and a few others such as MILNET. In 1980 I started working on hardware changes to existing ARPA equipment to make it into Internet equipment.
I've been working with computers and networks since the 1960s...back when they had tubes.
I have two favorite Personal Computers Timex-Sinclair ZX81 and COSMAC ELF.
I'm not much of a tech any more, most of my knowledge comes from the 60s and 70s, I'm more of a historian now.
Nice to see you here, Ken. :)
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
Hey Ken,
I see we both have some favourites in common commodore & atari and also TS1000 in my case which is pretty close to the ZX81. Do tell more about the Cosmac Elf. Thats one fewer of us had heard of.
The ELF used an 1802 processor, the same one that the Voyager, Viking and Galileo space probes used. It was one of those "Popular Electronics" magazine build it yourself computers. I think it was August 1977, as I read about it I found I could scrounge up most of the parts from work (I was in the Navy at the time). The only thing I had to buy was the processor. I still have it, but it doesn't work. I need some time to open it up and check things out. There is a COSMAC webpage at http://www.cosmacelf.com. It's a real simple machine, the one I built has only 256 bytes of memory.
Hi Robert,
I met Robert 5 or 6 years ago at the Fresno Commodore user group. I'm still amazed at how much the C64 and 128 are still being used. I've seen references to an Ethernet interface, VGA converter box and even a stripped down version of Linux that can be used on the C64. Folks have figured out how to make it work with Internet. ... I just use mine for games. I still love the old games.
BTW, the Linux on C64 is one of the things that interest me about the Commodore line. I've used it exclusively on PCs for the past 3 years. It would be neat to be able to talk IBM PC to C64.
Ken Harbit
Hey there,
There is a couple linux like substances for 64. LUnix and ACE are 2 I have downloaded. There is also contiki which I've not used too much but it does have networking programs included. Aside from the still somewhat uncommon ethernet theres also good old RS232 adapters too. I so far have built 3 and 1 of those is now owned by DigitalQuirk and I have parts to make a fourth.
Quote from: harbitk on March 17, 2009, 01:54:32 PMI met Robert 5 or 6 years ago at the Fresno Commodore user group.
Has it been that long already, Ken? Well, we are still plugging away with our monthly meetings. The next one will be a rare weeknight meeting (because all my April weekends are booked!). :)
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
Hi im Nicholas124 and I have a commodore 64 system and I like the older computers because they are interesting :)
Hi, Nicholas. Welcome to the forum! :)
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
I'm arkhan...
Im 20, and a programmer. I do most of my work on the 360, the PC Engine and the MSX.
I like the C64 for its SID chip mostly, and dislike it for its disk drives and their lack of reliability. :)
Hello all,
Dave Ellingsworth here.
And yes, I'm guilty also of relishing the days when 64k was a lot of ram and having 2 disk drives that held 140k each was like heaven. Started out with an Apple II+ back when disco was still on the way. Loved that little machine and wasted oodles of time sitting at it, pecking away. I can remember spending hours entering, then debugging, code from mags like Nibble, and Hardcore Computist. That machine taught me more about programming than I learned in college!
Moved into Macs a few years later, but I still tinker with the old Apples now and then. Right now I have the original II+ that I had to start with, a Platinum //e, and a couple of the //c.
I'd mention the MS-DOS machines but they don't really count, do they?
When I was first getting paid for programming, way back when, I did some contract work on Commodore systems. Boy, you're right about unreliable disk drives!
Dave
Quote from: northsongs on March 22, 2009, 08:56:54 AM...I did some contract work on Commodore systems. Boy, you're right about unreliable disk drives!
I wouldn't call them unreliable... just not very durable for long stretches. Case in point, when reading/converting/writing disks with Big Blue Reader, our club treasurer found out that the 1541 or 1571 would give out after about 90 disks. This was hour after hour of the disk drive continually working... no stopping at all other than to insert or remove the disk.
However, if the drives are not put to such grueling work, they are perfectly fine, especially the cooler-running and/or speed-locked 1571s and 1541-IIs.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
Hi,
Carl here, from Stockholm in Sweden.
I'm a true retro computer fan who began using them back in 1980 when my father bought a Commodore PET 3032. I've always been into programming and began by learning BASIC on the PET and later on ML on the C64 and C128. Today I work with program development professionally but occasionally also for fun on the C128 :)
I have the following:
Commodore 64 "Breadbin" x2
Commodore 64C
Commodore 128 x4
Commodore 128D plastic x3
Commodore 128DCR
Plus various peripherals and software for the above. I also like all the peripherals that have been developed for the C64 in recent years. Like MMC64 and MMC Replay (reading and writing SD-cards with the C64). I also have one of those neat video to VGA splitters so that I can use the Commodore with my 19" TFT-monitor. And even a CGA to VGA converter so I can use the 80-column RGBI output of the C128 with my VGA-monitor :)
The latest addition is the SD2IEC, a 1541 emulator that uses SD-cards for storage media and can be used with both the C64 and the C128.
I also collect books, mostly for the C128, but also for the C64 and like to convert the more rarer books to PDF's (scan-OCR-PDF). It slow work though so it takes time.
One reflection from the 80's. When I was a teenager, I had all the time in the world to work with my Commodores, but I had very little money. Now, that I have the money, I've got so little time...
Quote from: SmallCleverDinosaur on March 25, 2009, 05:33:48 AMWhen I was a teenager, I had all the time in the world to work with my Commodores, but I had very little money. Now, that I have the money, I've got so little time...
How true that is, Carl. :)
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
I'm Stephen Jones and I don't consider myself a 'retro-computer-user' as I never really stopped using my old computer equipment. My first computer experience was in 1977 on a Teletype Model 37 which my dad brought home from his office (Bell Labs). I already knew our home telephone number but the second number I learned was the Lab's modem bank and we'd dial in (at about 150 baud) to a PDP-11 running UNIX. My dad's login was 'sjones' and his password was 'xyzzy'. Its funny the things you remember.
We later had a Teletype Model 43 which could do 300 and 1200 baud. I stayed at 1200 bps through out the 80s and upgraded to 9600 in 1992.
Robert Bernardo invited me here.
I too had a chance to use a PDP-11 in my high school years in the 80's on a couple of those computers. Instead of unix they had RSX-11M+ and RSM-11 if my memory has not failed me. Also was not xyzzy a reference to the original zork series?
My name is Ruud Baltissen. I started with a C64 in 1985. Why? It had the most interesting hackable hardware compared to other systems :) When I started to work for a firm that assembled PC's and I got good access to all kind of PC hardware, I lost a great deal of interest for my C64. But that returned about 1992 when PC's got less hackable because of their SMD IC's and PCI slots.
From then on I also got more interested in other older computers as well. On my site you can find more info about me, my computers and projects: http://www.Baltissen.org . Have fun !!!
Hi! I'm Pete from Durham, UK.
I got my first computer for xmas '83 and it was a Commodore 64 which is still in use today. The first computer I ever used was a VIC-20 which I thought was amazing, even more so after I used a Spectrum 16k :D
I now have the following:
C64 "Breadbin" x 2
C64c x 1
VIC-20 x 1
Plus/4 x 1
128D x 1
PET 2001 x 1 (current repair project)
BBC B with CF adapter x 1
Spectrum 48k x 2
Spectrum +2 (Grey) x 1
Macintosh SE FDHD x 1 (picked up for £10)
Amiga 600 x 1
Amiga 1200 x 1
Atari 800XL (new acquisition)
I also have various tape decks/disk drives for the Commodore machines and use the 1541U+ on the VIC-20/C64/Plus/4 machines. Fantastic device!
I hate Windows with a passion, my main computer is an iMac.
I'm also the chairman of the Commodore Computer Club. Any Commodore owners who are interested, pop along to www.commodorecomputerclub.co.uk, we're a friendly bunch and don't bite too often ;D
I think that'll do for now.
Pete.
Good to see you here, Pete. Now I have to get this amateur film ready for Blockparty. The film is due in 4 hours, and I still have to film one scene, edit the video one more time, and drop in the music.
Almost all C= problems solved here,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 happening now!
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
Howdy,
Hans here. The only vintage computers I got are the VIC-20 and the VIC-64. But unfortunately the VIC-20 doesn't start at all.
I started programming on an Apple IIe, and later bought my own VIC-20 as a teenager. I've gone through so many different languages and systems that I lost count. A few years back, my second son wanted to learn to program, and he struggled with C++ and other languages, but couldn't really get the basic grip of things. So I let him borrow my 64, and the very simple intro books. He got through them in a week or less, and had very little problem after that. I realized it can be quite intimidating to learn to program on today's system, and those old systems have a certain charm... I don't know what it is.
Anyway, I'm here now. Hi everyone. :)
Welcome aboard, HanSolo! Maybe we can help you get that old Vic 20 up and running; they're a specialty of mine. What does it do?
Does your 64 computer actually say Vic-64? If so, you may have a real valuable vintage computer on your hands worth lots of money! Can you get a picture of it, and post it in the Commodore 64 forum?
Quote from: HanSolo on August 10, 2009, 03:03:45 PMThe only vintage computers I got are the VIC-20 and the VIC-64. But unfortunately the VIC-20 doesn't start at all.
And if worse comes to worse, you could always buy a VIC-20 from our group or have it repaired by Ray Carlsen. :)
Depending on where you are,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Southern California Commodore/Amiga Network
http://www.sccaners.org/