I'm starting the rather tedious process of cataloging my computer collection for future reference and just to be able to keep track of what I have. You're welcome to browse the items I've added so far at my CatalogIt page.
hub.catalogit.app/retrotechres...
Come Talk Vintage Tech!
The next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on September 21st, 2025 from 1pm to 4pm again at the Making Awesome community maker space.
www.facebook.com/groups/talla...
The Intel CPU in your current computer can trace its history back 50 years to this computer. The Altair 8800 started the home computer revolution. Read more about the first personal computer in the Retro Tech Restoration article linked below.
retrotechrestoration.com/altair-and-5...
Happy 50th Birthday to the Altair 8800!
The next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on August 23rd, 2025 from 1pm to 4pm again at the Making Awesome community maker space. I will be demonstrating a real Altair 8800!
www.facebook.com/share/19WDQ1...
Snow can be beautiful, but not here in Florida. I grew up in the North, but no one here even has an ice scraper and the city has no plan for clearing the roads. :(
The next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on Febuary 15th, 2025 from 1pm to 4pm again at the Making Awesome community maker space.
Everyone is welcome. Our number one goal is to have fun, share stories and talk tech.
www.facebook.com/share/1AkGyu...
DUKE LETO
I told my father I didn’t want this either. I wanted to be a pilot.
PAUL
You never told me that.
DUKE LETO
My father said, A good man doesn’t seek to lead. He’s called to it, and he answers. If your answer is no, you’ll still be the only thing I’ve ever needed you to be -- my son.
The next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on December 14th, 2024 from 1pm to 4pm again at the Making Awesome community maker space.
Everyone is welcome. Our number one goal is to have fun, share stories and talk tech.
www.facebook.com/share/1AkGyu...
When's the last time you used a computer that wasn't connected to the Internet?
I recently repaired a classic Commodore 64 with a few bad RAM chips, replaced the foam and foil keypads in a Compaq Portable Plus and got said Compaq fully back up and running with a new power supply. Very exciting!
I just rescued a huge pile of vintage boards from going to e-waste...286, 386, 486, Pentium, Celeron... and a number of ISA cards including several Sound Blasters.
If anyone is downsizing and has old computer stuff, please have them contact me. I will rescue anything more than 30 years old.
The next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on November 23rd, 2024 from 1 to 4pm at the Making Awesome space.
Everyone is welcome. Our number one goal is to have fun, share stories and talk tech. l
This meeting will again have a side table reserved for consignment or free items.
I'm happy to announce that the next Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club meeting will be on September 28th, 2024 from 1pm to 4pm again at the Making Awesome community maker space.
Our goal is to have fun and talk tech. This week it's all about disks!
Had to re-upload to fix the audio. Here's the new link.
youtu.be/VjCMODzITxI?...
Floppy Disk Read Error? Clean Those Heads!
The most common reason for a previous working floppy disk drive to suddenly stop reading disks from magnetic material sloughing off of failing diskettes. A cleaning disk is the quickest and most reliable way to fix this problem.
youtu.be/VMpkY0NSIIY?...
Simpson 260 Multimeter Corrosion Rescue
We all know leaking alkaline batteries can wreak havoc on everything in electronic devices. But did you know different plastics react very differently to corrosive battery material?
retrotechrestoration.com/simpson-260-...
Oh, Amazon...no comment.
I've replaced quite a few laptop and tablet screens, but they often cost as much as the entire machine is worth on eBay. (Tho you also mentioned it was blue screening too...which is prolly memory or the motherboard.)
That's a fun failure pattern. Looks like an XScreensaver thingamabob. Is it from liquid ingress or excessive heat?
Hard drive waves HI!
Testing a new inexpensive power meter with apparent power correction and four channel power supply. Works great so far, supports up to 60 volts and 12 amps (in series and parallel modes).
youtube.com/shorts/SNbH4...
The late 1980s saw the explosive rise of the desktop computer, and everyone wanted a piece.
Both Acer and Franklin built clones, but had very different approaches. Find out who thrived and who withered as I explore the Acer 500+ II and the Franklin PC-8000.
retrotechrestoration.com/a-tale-of-tw...
Poo-covered Commodore 128 Barn Rescue
The Commodore 128 was the successor to the wildly popular C64 and the final 8-bit home computer to be released by Commodore.
Read the full story below to find out how much I was able to salvage.
retrotechrestoration.com/poo-covered-...
I recently found a nice 1987 Sony Watchman FD-10A for a reasonable price at a local thrift store. These days, it is pretty useless unless we can mod it to take composite input. So let's get to work!
Read the full story here: retrotechrestoration.com/1987-sony-wa...
Good afternoon! 🍔 Kerne here...I started a vintage tech repair business last year. 🐺 Hope you're well!
If you’ve ever seen any of the incredibly cheap and poorly made Crosley brand suitcase style audio players at Walmart or another big box store, this is the original design they were trying to imitate. Read the full story here: retrotechrestoration.com/early-1960s-...
It's great to see all these hams on Bluesky. I'm not very RF active at the moment, but my callsign is K3RNE. :)
The festive holiday scene is an 8-bit Christmas greeting card showing a Christmas tree in the left foreground with twinkling lights, a fireplace with a roaring fire and stockings hung from the mantle. Atop sits a clock with a swinging pendulum and two flickering candles.
Sierra Christmas Card 1986: A Computer Christmas archive.org/details/sier...
The VIC-20 was Commodore's second 8-bit home computer, produced after the less popular Pet, but before the vastly more popular C-64.
This VIC-20 only needed small repairs, but it came with a rare Microlog Air-1 ham radio card
Read the FULL story here - retrotechrestoration.com/a-1982-commo...
In or near Tallahassee, FL? Check out the newly establish Tallahassee Vintage Computer Club. We're currently looking for new members and a good public meeting venue! www.meetup.com/tallahassee-...
* What services do you provide? *
-- Electrical troubleshooting, component and circuit board repair
-- Chip testing
-- 3.5″ & 5.25″ floppy disk recovery
-- Repair and replacement of mechanical parts
-- Gentle cleaning.and retrobrighting
-- Custom design and 3D printing of replacement parts
This gem of a mid-century modern styled CRT TV turned out to be a simple e-waste rescue, cleaning and restoration. However, this is a good opportunity to review CRT high-voltage safety and some of the limitations of restoration projects in general. retrorenovations.net/2023/09/1976...