Another rescue to do!

[RobertB]

     Just came back from a computer rescue.  On Saturday I visited Thomas Langhans in the South Bay (San Francisco area).  This was no ordinary Commodore rescue.  Tom used his VIC-20 and later his C64 connected to a 14-inch Celestron telescope in order to gather astronomical data!  You should have seen ihis observatory!

          A full report to come,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
          July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     It looks as if I'm going to be rescuing another load of C= and Ami items, this time in Maple Falls, Washington, just south of the Canadian border.  The items are a flat C128, a C128DCR, and two Amiga 500's.  So, when I'm in the Pacific Northwest in early August, I'll be traveling farther north than I usually travel (my usual area is Portland and southern Washington).

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
          July 26-27 Commodore Vegas Expo v10 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     On Thursday I did another pick-up of Commodore and Amiga equipment, this time from Gerald Oborn in South San Francisco.  He was giving up almost all of his collection and had spoken to me last year about this matter.  The time had come, because he was moving to a new home.
     I fought through all the rush-hour traffic and got to his place at 6:30 p.m..  He greeting me at the door and remarked that I looked about the same (the last time I saw him was years ago).  I replied he looked the same, too.  He then led me to the basement garage, and I found that all of the items had been neatly boxed, ready to go.  His brother Ken and sister Christima were helping him pack up, too.  He described how each box had been organized and which boxes I could take and which were his personal items.
     I started hauling out the C= boxes onto the driveway, and there were many, more than what my car could hold.  I assured Gerald that I would have help arriving soon.  Duncan M. of The Other Group of Amigoids was supposed to arrive at 7.  My car trunk was full, but the car interior was clear, and so, I decided to grab the software - commercial boxes, disk boxes, miscellaneous boxes full of software, cables, cartridges, and joysticks.
     By the time Duncan arrived, I had packed almost all the software into the car, only one or two large boxes of software were left and all of the hardware - C64's, C128's, Amiga 500's, monitors, and disk drives.  He helped me pack more software into my car, and then he took the hardware and put in the cab and bed of his Ford Ranger truck.
     It was dark by the time we left.  Gerald and Ken had said their good-byes to us earlier.  The brisk San Francisco winds chilled me to the bone, and I had eaten little that day.  Duncan and I agreed to go to the nearest, inexpensive but popular restaurant - the Taqueria Celaya.  There I had a pollo asado dinner while Duncan had a veggie burrito.  Because Duncan had little storage space at his home, we agreed that he could take the truckload of C= items temporarily, and I would come the next day to pick up the remainder.
     Friday I drove the 90 minutes to Duncan's house.  We examined the items - he wanted to keep the regular C128 and C64C (short board) and 1702 monitor.  The Amiga 500 Plus, the Amiga 500 with 2.04 chip, the C128 with Super Chip, the C64 early version A computer, the boxed and minty 1571, the Amiga 1080 monitor, the MSD SD-1 and SD-2 drives, and the boxed 1581 were mine to bring back.

          Back home past midnight,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

     In late December, I received a message from Tony Chai, woner of Computer Station in Long Beach, California.  He said that he was finally closing the storefront and had to move everything out.  He told me that I could pick up the Commodore and Amiga goods, and suggested I bring several trucks.  Well, I rented one big van for $306, not quite knowing much I was going to get from him.
     When I arrived on December 28, he basically wanted to keep the Commodore set-ups he had up on the shelves, saying that they were going to others who had claimed them.  I had to go item by item (I didn't know I was going to sort) and ask him if he still wanted them for eBay sales or for himself.  That took longer than I expected.  I was perched on a tall ladder near the 15-foot ceiling to get some of the goods.  All this time, filmmakers Rory Muir and Jerold Kress were there, filming me and Tony.
     After 3 hours, everything was in the van.  I said my good-bye to Tony, and Jerold, Rory, and I drove to the nearby Thai restaurant for beverages and appetizers.  There we recollected about the afternoon and discussed what I would be doing in the coming months.
     Friday I put nearly all of the goods into the mini-storage, though it was sprinkling rain.  That only took 2 hours.
     To see photos of my adventure, go to

          http://blog.retro-link.com/2017/01/picking-up-haul-from-computer-station.html

               Writing from Miami, Florida,
               Robert Bernardo
               Fresno Commodore User Group
               http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

     Not reported here but back in May, 2016, I picked up a C64 hardware and software load from a retired teacher in Stockton.  Well, he has contacted me again, asking me to pick up more software that he has found in his house.  It looks as if I'll be heading that way in a few weeks.

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
          June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex

[RobertB]

     Oy!  Another rescue to do!  This time I had to go to Los Angeles and pick up C64 and Amiga hardware... more Amiga than C=.  There was an Amiga 3000, an A1010 floppy drive, a high-density floppy drive mech for an A2000/3000/4000, boxed GVP Spectrum video card, boxed Amiga 500, giant external Amiga power supply which seemed homemade, boxed C64, 1541 disk drive, and six LCD VGA monitors (one of which was a multi-scan Dell).

         To be distributed at the July SCCAN meeting and November Commodore L.A. Super Show,
         Robert Bernardo
         Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
         Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

[RobertB]

     Aw, the A3000 had bad battery leakage and corroded at least 3 traces on the motherboard.  It wouldn't even come up with a screen.    So it will need further work from a pro repairperson.  The boxed C64 had a smashed C64 inside of it; I had never seen a plastic case just broken apart like that.  And the board inside of it didn't power up.  Fortunately, there was a loose C64 that came with the haul, and that one worked well.  The homebuilt Amiga power supply probably came from a server and puts out a gigantic 30 amps @ 5 volts!  I haven't tested the Spectrum card, A1010, A500, and Ariadne II card yet (forgot to mention the Ariadne in the last post).

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
          Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan