Shepherdboy
New member
Hello from Georgia in the USA!
I've been longing for my retro computers as of late and am looking to get back into them as soon as I can. I discovered Amibay in browsing retro-related computer websites and had to join.
I started out in the early '80s with a Timex/Sinclair 1000. When I think back on that it seems so limited--even compared to my later 8-bit computers. I used this with the 16k RAM pack and a cassette recorder. That membrane keyboard was hard to deal with, even when the unit was new.
I moved up to a VIC-20 in '83 and used that for a year or so. I enjoyed learning to really program on this machine and had a voice synthesizer cartridge for it. The cartridges for the VIC were so hard to get in and out due to the long connector, but I really had fun with this computer. Tape deck only with this one.
In late'84 or maybe early '85 I moved up to the computer I had really been wanting--the Commodore 64. What a great machine! I bought a 1541 drive for this one, which seemed crazy expensive at the time. I used the 64 through high school and college. Unfortunately, my original "bread bin" 64 was cooked by a lightning strike and I replaced it with a 64C in '88. Also during college I got into BBSing and spent many an hour logged in to Commodore BBS systems.
Toward the end of college I began to experiment with a PC clone as some of my computer science classes made use of them. I used the PC mostly for class work and still continued my regular computing, BBSing, and gaming on my Commodore 64.
As I got out of college, started life, got a job, got married, etc., my Commodore equipment slid to the side. I was an avid eBayer in the late 90s (when I could still enjoy selling on eBay) and played a bit with my Commodore systems. I bought out a gentleman who I think had been a Commodore repair guy back in the day and acquired a large collection of Commodore equipment. Shortly after that, and before I fully explored all I had bought, we moved and everything got packed up. It's still packed up now some 15+ years later and I'm anxiously awaiting my opportunity to begin going through my retro collection.
Although, I really want to get into those boxes and see what condition everything is in and how much of it still works, I've got to make some room in the house for that first. I'm hoping that in the next month or so I can clear out some room in the house and then it will be like Christmas!
I've been longing for my retro computers as of late and am looking to get back into them as soon as I can. I discovered Amibay in browsing retro-related computer websites and had to join.
I started out in the early '80s with a Timex/Sinclair 1000. When I think back on that it seems so limited--even compared to my later 8-bit computers. I used this with the 16k RAM pack and a cassette recorder. That membrane keyboard was hard to deal with, even when the unit was new.
I moved up to a VIC-20 in '83 and used that for a year or so. I enjoyed learning to really program on this machine and had a voice synthesizer cartridge for it. The cartridges for the VIC were so hard to get in and out due to the long connector, but I really had fun with this computer. Tape deck only with this one.
In late'84 or maybe early '85 I moved up to the computer I had really been wanting--the Commodore 64. What a great machine! I bought a 1541 drive for this one, which seemed crazy expensive at the time. I used the 64 through high school and college. Unfortunately, my original "bread bin" 64 was cooked by a lightning strike and I replaced it with a 64C in '88. Also during college I got into BBSing and spent many an hour logged in to Commodore BBS systems.
Toward the end of college I began to experiment with a PC clone as some of my computer science classes made use of them. I used the PC mostly for class work and still continued my regular computing, BBSing, and gaming on my Commodore 64.
As I got out of college, started life, got a job, got married, etc., my Commodore equipment slid to the side. I was an avid eBayer in the late 90s (when I could still enjoy selling on eBay) and played a bit with my Commodore systems. I bought out a gentleman who I think had been a Commodore repair guy back in the day and acquired a large collection of Commodore equipment. Shortly after that, and before I fully explored all I had bought, we moved and everything got packed up. It's still packed up now some 15+ years later and I'm anxiously awaiting my opportunity to begin going through my retro collection.
Although, I really want to get into those boxes and see what condition everything is in and how much of it still works, I've got to make some room in the house for that first. I'm hoping that in the next month or so I can clear out some room in the house and then it will be like Christmas!
