My "Command Centre"

[mr_a500]

Now that I have a digital camera, I can show my "Command Centre". Unfortunately, I don't have a wide-angle or fish-eye lens, so I have to show it in pieces.
Here is 1/4 of it - "green screen 8-bit lane":


Anybody want to see more?

[prowler]

What do you think? This is the Retrogaming General Discussion area, after all!

[Firthy2002]

More please!

[mr_a500]

Here's part 2 - "The Ultimate 8-bits": 800XL - the best 8-bit Atari (in my opinion anyway), C128 - the best 8-bit Commodore (not counting the C65, of course) and Colour Computer 3 - the best CoCo (which isn't really saying much)... and an A4000 I'm working on (not an 8-bit, but I needed desk space). The desk, by the way, was made by Commodore and has the Commodore logo on it.



(I'm getting to the Amigas next... just be patient.)

[andy]

Nearly four hours and no update?! Tsk tsk!

<taps watch>

C'mon*!

Buh, I'm not wearing a watch! What the...?!

Back on your planet (Earth, right?), thanks for sharing. It's always good to see even images of old hardware again and I'm every time pleased when anyone takes the time to share. They look like some fine examples of each unit too. Ah bless you, 128 - I knew thee well.

Perhaps you can add model names to all of the images, mr_a500? I'd imagine that not everyone will know everything in your collection and it'll give the shots a bit of meaning, perhaps even cause people to further look into each system. All good stuff, anyway.



[N.B. * ]

[kriz]

Nice pix man! Keep it up.

[Paul_s]

what kind of apple mac is that in the top pic?

Nice gear anywho chap

[cane]

Originally Posted by Paul_s

what kind of apple mac is that in the top pic?

If I'm not mistaken its Apple IIc.

@mr_a500:
Great stuff, but we want to see all off it, more pics pretty please

[Shoonay]

Looking good mr_a500, like someone turned back time...

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by andy

Perhaps you can add model names to all of the images, mr_a500? I'd imagine that not everyone will know everything in your collection and it'll give the shots a bit of meaning, perhaps even cause people to further look into each system.

I assumed everybody would know all these computers. (...I mean, who wouldn't? ) But I'll describe them: first picture from top left - Commodore Vic 20 sitting on Atari 1200XL on top of a Kaypro II (a CP/M portable... try putting that thing on your lap). It's beside a Kaypro "New 2" (not to be confused with a 2X or a "New II"... love that Kaypro naming) which has an Apple IIc on it. On the floor is a TRS-80 Model III with a TI-99/4A on it.

The Vic 20, 1200XL and TI-99/4A aren't hooked up because I've got another TI-99/4A downstairs hooked up to my TV and an 800XL hooked up as seen in the second picture. I don't have the monitor adapter for the Vic 20. The rest are hooked up and ready to go.

The Kaypros have thick metal cases and keyboards. They're the computers I'd want in front of me if I was under heavy machine-gun fire. They have crisp green-screens with persistent phosphors (after erasing characters, you still see the glow for a second) and the keys give a satisfying little beep when pressed.

I've got a text-based Pac Man for it (anybody ever play text-based Pac Man? ...not exactly fun) and there's a text-based Lode Runner-like game called Ladder which was interesting enough for me to get the Amiga version.

(Amiga picture coming... I've just got to move the NeXTstation out of the way)

[Paul_s]

Originally Posted by cane

If I'm not mistaken its Apple IIc.

@mr_a500:
Great stuff, but we want to see all off it, more pics pretty please

ta I love the design they use on the apple iic.

Although I hate apples immensly I'd just rip the insides out and put A600 in there

[mr_a500]

I need to reorganise my NeXT/Mac area before I can take the Amiga picture, so meanwhile here is the relatively boring part 3: "Portable PC Corner". These things were free and they're from the 80's so I decided to keep them. The IBM 5155 is the first IBM portable "PC" (but not first portable IBM - which was non-PC... if you know what I mean). It has a very nice clicky keyboard (but badly arranged keys) and amber screen. Like the original PC, there's no hard drive.

The Compaq Portable III is one of the first with a plasma screen (sickly orange). It also has 5 1/4" drive and a (non-IDE) harddrive with Windows 3.0. I used 3.0 Hyperterminal on it to connect to Win XP on a modern PC and copied disk images for the Kaypro to write on the 5 1/4" drive. (unfortunately Kaypro couldn't read it - Compaq drive uses wrong density/speed)

[Firthy2002]

That's a rather large BeOS Bible!

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by Paul_s

ta I love the design they use on the apple iic.

Although I hate apples immensly I'd just rip the insides out and put A600 in there

The keyboard sucks hard - it jams and it's ugly too. What I'm most impressed with though is the built in 5 1/4" drive. If it just had a better keyboard - like the TI-99/4A, it would be awesome... but yeah, unfortunately still an Apple.

Edit: Speaking of keyboards, all the keyboards in that shot (except the Apple of course) have great keyboards. They all have sculpted keys made of thick plastic. I love the feel of the Model III and my older TI-99/4A. (slightly newer TI-99/4A feels cheaper - damn cost cutting!) I was surprised about the Vic 20 keyboard. It has the best feel of any Commodore.

[Firthy2002]

I also noticed that you have a lot of portable computers, but no SX64!

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by Firthy2002

That's a rather large BeOS Bible!

It is a Bible, after all.

(...oh thank you Lord, for this wondrous operating system. I shall sacrifice my Windows partition for it and praise thee.)

[Shoonay]

Originally Posted by mr_a500

(...oh thank you Lord, for this wondrous operating system. I shall sacrifice my Windows partition for it and praise thee.)

Thou shall haz only one god above you!
And a goddess under you...

[mr_a500]

Here is part 4 (of 6) - "Amigazone" :A3000, 2Mb chip,16Mb fast RAM (otherwise stock 16Mhz); A1000 with 1Mb, external floppy and matching 1080 monitor; A500 with Viper 520 (33Mhz 020/68882, 8Mb fast RAM, 3.0 ROMs), 2Mb chip, ECS Denise, 40Gb 2.5" IDE, CF, DCTV, etc. As you can see on the 1080, the A500 is viewing this very EAB page. (...but I dialed an unreliable free dialup in California, which disconnected me moments before taking the picture... see the modem lights below the desk)

The speakers are connected to the A500 (to hear Amiga music in full glory), positioned for maximum stereo effect. The speaker on the left is balanced on top of an Atari cartridge of possibly the worst game in history: ET Phone Home. The one on the right is sitting on a bottle of XO cognac.

The picture is a bit dark, but the sun was too bright. (My camera batteries just died or I'd take another.) Tomorrow... part 5: NeXT & "Stackintosh".

[mr_a500]

Here's part 5: "Apples & NeXT"

Mac SE in the corner running OS 6: (the black monolith is my "new" IBM server running BeOS and there's an awesome clicky 1984 IBM AT keyboard... more of that in part 6)


My latest acquisition - a free loaded Apple II Plus with floppy drive & joystick, internal modem, 80-column, lowercase text (wow...that's an addon??) with matching ugly Zenith monochrome; and a Mac Classic II (last of the B&W Macs) running OS 7.5.5. (...my A500 emulates 8.1, by the way)


Here's the NeXTstation, once proudly displayed, now "hiding in shame" under the Commodore desk. The harddrive died exactly one day after I managed to reset the login password and actually use it. Also under the desk "in shame" is a badly yellowed A4000 keyboard.


Edit: Before I rearranged things, I didn't have enough space so I stacked one Mac on top of the other... which I called my "Stackintosh". Thankfully, with my new arrangement, I no longer have to stack. (...which reminds me of a Monty Python sketch about "The Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things")

[Firthy2002]

Wow it must have taken you ages to come up with such a collection!

[illy5603]

What an amazing, AMAZING collection! I always wanted a NeXTstation but I wouldn't know what to do with it! hehe

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by Firthy2002

Wow it must have taken you ages to come up with such a collection!

Surprisingly not. Up to 2004 I had only the A500 and CoCo 3 - no PC or anything else (my first computer was a CoCo 2, but that's long lost). I then went Amiga crazy and started collecting lots of Amiga stuff. Then I expanded to Atari. (I always wanted an 800XL - it was "the Amiga of the early 80's")

In 2008, I went to a computer museum and really liked the Kaypro there. I searched Craigslist for Kaypros and eventually found a collector selling one with his motherlode of old computers. I nearly cleaned him out. The rest of my stuff came this year from people who had run out of space and were ready to trash the computers. I saved quite a few from certain death. The computers were cheap or free, but in poor shape. I fixed them up nicely and they live again. (... to one day seek vengeance and DESTROY THE UNIVERSE! ....but.. now I've said too much... )

Originally Posted by illy5603

I always wanted a NeXTstation but I wouldn't know what to do with it! hehe

Yeah, well now that the NeXTstation drive is dead, I don't know what to do with it either. I had planned on getting it on the internet (just because the WWW was invented on a NeXT), but now I'm screwed. The NeXTstation, like my SGI Indy, has no convenient method for installing the damn OS. You basically have to already have the OS on the harddrive. I think you can get an external SCSI CD-ROM, but I don't think you can boot from it to install. What the hell were the designers thinking? (probably planned that way so the company can sell you that service... and the drives)


Coming up... part 6: "All The Rest"

[mr_a500]

I'm having problems putting my G3 back together for the next shot, so meanwhile here's a closeup of my A500:


(the CF is not connected in this shot, so please no questions about how it works without being plugged in )

[Photon]

Hm, what IDE card is that?

[T_hairy_bootson]

looks like an accelerator with IDE on board. possibly the viper 520 CD?

[coze]

Originally Posted by mr_a500

Here is part 4 (of 6) - "Amigazone" : A500 with Viper 520 (33Mhz 020/68882, 8Mb fast RAM, 3.0 ROMs), ...

you guys should get some glasses

(or read the posts properly before posting)

[mr_a500]

Here is part 6: "All the rest":



The black IBM server is the first PC I ever bought in my life (though I previously had a few free ones). I bought it two weeks ago and it cost me $30. I felt bad about paying for a PC, but it has SCSI and is compatible with BeOS (BeOS can be seen on the monitor). It also matches my IBM AT keyboard and 20" IBM monitor (which was free) - so I have some "purity" there (pre-Lenovo too). Let me tell you, if you haven't tried a 1984 clicky IBM AT keyboard, you haven't really lived. It kicks ass! I also own two IBM Model M keyboards - 1986 and 1991 - but they're not as good.

Under the monitor is an SGI Indy with matching SGI keyboard. SGI mouse is on the desk. My SGI Indycam was sitting on the monitor, but I just noticed now that it fell off (and I don't feel like picking it up and taking another picture). I've got two Indycams. It all cost me $20.

Under that is a PowerMac G3 ($20). It did have OSX on it, but a damn Quicktime update killed it. I also have 9.2.2 on it and it was working nicely until two days ago when that got screwed up too. I'm really starting to hate Macs.

At the bottom is an A2000 - the ugliest Amiga ever made. It's actually an A2000HD so it has the SCSI card. It also has 1Mb chip and 2Mb fast. I upgraded it to 3.1. It's interesting that 3.1 works fine on a 68000. Lots of other software crashes though because programmers must assume that if you have 3.1, you've at least got an 020.

Well, that's it. I've got two more A500s, another 800XL and an Apple IIc with French keyboard, but that's all of it.

[mr_a500]

...and some better shots of Amigas and 8-bits:


You couldn't see the drives in the other shot - see the Commodore 1571 and two Atari 1050s:

[TheCyberDruid]

First of all : Very nice collection you got there mr_a500
Oh and I envy your 'pimped' A500 man

[mr_a500]

Oh, I forgot... I also have a brown C64, but it's in the closet. (who needs a C64 when you've got a C128?)

Under the Commodore desk is a brown (and yellow.. how the hell does a brown case yellow??) 1541 drive, which I connect to the A500 to copy programs to and from the C128 - using the GO64 serial box. I also have a non-working beige 1541 II in the closet, and an Atari 1020 printer, Atari 410 cassette, Commodore 1250 printer, extra A3000 keyboard... but that's it for hardware. (...I think...)

For most computers, I have the original boxes and manuals. I've got a huge pile of programming manuals, Amiga magazines, Byte magazines and about 1400 DD floppies. I'm sure I've got more stuff, but I'm too scared to search my closet. I don't want to get killed in an avalanche.

[mr_a500]

Anybody want to see the inside of a 1993 SGI Indy? Probably not, but I had to open it anyway to take out the drive so I took a picture. I removed the massive heatsink so you can see the MIPS R4000 processor.


I need to edit the password file on the Indy drive. I connected it to the PC and tried to use Ubuntu 9.04 with XFS programs to read it. It shows up on the menu list of "Places", but when I try to mount it, it says "Not yet implemented". Gparted doesn't mount it either. Anybody know an easy way to mount it? (not involving obscure and tedious methods... like most Linux crap)

Anybody want to see the inside of a NeXTstation?

[andy]

The answer from myself to a question like that will always be yes! Go right ahead, and make me smile some more! I'm a member of a few forums and this has been the thread that I've most enjoyed this week. It's brilliant seeing old gear again and getting the opportunity to see hardware that though familiar with it, I was never fortunate enough to be able to see anything away from simple case or publicity shots on the printed page or video.

As for the tech question, I believe I know someone that has a nice collection of SGI hardware, so I will try to get in touch with him and see if he has any advice. It could take a few days but I'll pop back if I have an update and see if you still need any help with accessing the drive.

[mr_a500]

Thanks Andy and thanks for trying to help with the Indy. I found out I need to use a Linux kernel with SGI disklabel support compiled in (typical hassle with things in Linux not working as I expect them to). I'm tired of screwing around with it, so I'll just keep it as it is.

Anyway, here's the inside of the NeXTstation:


The CPU - 25Mhz 68040 is the chip with the heatsink near the bottom (beside the NeXT ROM and floppy). I think the big impressive chip in the middle handles the display. Above that is the DSP.

The NeXTstation is the only "pizza box" computer I've seen that actually looks like a pizza box... except from a borg ship. (Yes, the borg deliver pizza. It's great because you don't have to tip them. The only downside is that you usually end up getting assimilated and having your limbs replaced with cyborg implants.)


And here's a shot of the Kaypro II in action... glow, green-screen, glow!

[cv643d]

Whats the difference between 84 AT IBM keyboard and Model-M 86?

I thought it was the same clicky mechanism in both?

[mr_a500]

They're both buckling spring, but the Model M uses membrane-sheet switches, while the earlier IBM keyboards (AT,XT) have capacitive contact switches. They're "clickier".

I think it feels more precise.

Nice setups!!

Seeing this, I had to post pics of my "Byte Cellar" (basement computer room). :-)

http://bytecellar.com/qtvr.html

http://www.bytecellar.com/photo_pano.html

Pic taken a couple years ago -- not including my recent A1000 addition and a few other items.

( http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakesp...7621596272210/ )



blakespot

[Hewitson]

I need to edit the password file on the Indy drive. I connected it to the PC and tried to use Ubuntu 9.04 with XFS programs to read it. It shows up on the menu list of "Places", but when I try to mount it, it says "Not yet implemented". Gparted doesn't mount it either. Anybody know an easy way to mount it? (not involving obscure and tedious methods... like most Linux crap)

What's wrong with mounting the partition normally?

mount <device> <mountpoint>

Doesn't get any easier than that.

[ck1200]

Superb collection there!!

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by blakespot

Nice setups!!

Seeing this, I had to post pics of my "Byte Cellar" (basement computer room). :-)

http://bytecellar.com/qtvr.html

http://www.bytecellar.com/photo_pano.html

Pic taken a couple years ago -- not including my recent A1000 addition and a few other items.

( http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakesp...7621596272210/ )



blakespot

I've seen your awesome collection before. Nice panorama photo. I can't really take a panorama photo like that without bashing my head through a wall... but I did take a couple "out of body experience" photos from above:




I've added lots of stuff since I started this thread, including:

"New, but not-exactly-new" in box Atari 800XL
SD card reader for Atari 800XL
"New, but not-exactly-new" in box TRS-80 Model 100
SD card reader for TRS-80 Model 100
1Mb Flash RAM chip for TRS-80 Model 100
a two-floppy drive Mac SE with Apple Extended Keyboard (very clean!)
2 Apple Extended Keyboards
2 Apple Extended II Keyboards
New TAC-2 joystick
New Atari Trak-Ball
a bunch of 80's IBM and Apple mice and trackballs (new or "nearly new")
Deneb USB 2.0 card for Amiga 3000

The Deneb USB (although a real pain in the ass to get working, and still buggy as hell) allows me to:
1. Finally get the Amiga networked & on broadband internet (using 99¢ USB Ethernet adapter!)
2. Copy to and from the TRS-80 Model 100 and Atari 800XL (SD/microSD cards)
3. Finally use the Amiga to copy MP3s to and from my portable player - Sansa Clip+ (and I made a Sansa icon (disk.info) that pops up on the desktop when the player is connected)




I can type stuff on my 1983 portable Model 100, then easily transfer it to my Amiga - to edit or post. (story seen is a work in progress )



I've even organised my closet. I really need a "fish eye" lens. You can't see the bookshelf with tons of manuals or the shelf below with other computers and keyboards neatly displayed.

[mr_a500]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

What's wrong with mounting the partition normally?

mount <device> <mountpoint>

Doesn't get any easier than that.

If you don't have a Linux kernel with SGI disklabel support compiled in (which I don't), then that won't work anyway. It's not just that. There are a bunch of other problems.
Quote from an IRIX thread:

There is the XFSv1 and the XFSv2 on-disk layout. Linux XFS understands only v2. IRIX knows both, and since 6.5.14 (I think) it has been the default for new filesystems. But if you install a disk with 6.5-base and then upgrade to e.g. 6.5.22 it's still XFSv1 and it doesn't work with Linux.

Then there are hassles with GRUB. There are many threads by experienced IRIX users having major problems mounting IRIX drives. So, no, it's not easy.

On top of that, after many attempts to read my IRIX drive with Linux, it now doesn't boot in the Indy. Probably it got corrupted somehow. Just thinking about it makes me violently angry and makes me want to smash any computer I see running Linux.

So, to stay sane, I'll just leave it as it is and happily use my Amigas and BeOS.