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Another Aussie

R

radventure

Member
Joined
May 26, 2022
Messages
42
Hi Everyone

I've finally started posting here, but don't have any major expertise to share with my limited knowledge and skill set.

Minor repair and restoration of old micros and consoles has been an interesting hobby with some platforms being more enjoyable to me than others. I'd like to say up front that the resource provided by forums such as VCF has been a huge benefit for finding answers and learning from - so a big thanks to everyone providing expertise or even just different ways to think about problems or approaches.

I seem to have settled around the classical Sinclair Spectrum, VIC-20, CPC and recently the Atari ST(heresy I know!) as my preferred platforms to spend time on. However the Commodore PET has me completely intrigued given the constraints of the system, with it's "almost understand-ability" as an enthusiastic novice and it's been the search for information that has got me spending a little time here (and listening to the few podcasts I can regarding the PET - shoutout to ARG Presents for their unique take on some PET gaming). Australia (particularly the further north you go)probably isn't the most PET-saturated continent, but I guess that's part of the fun and I have other devices to fill the ever-shrinking spare time.

Anyway - Hi again and thanks in advance for anyone giving up their time for the benefit of the hobby.
 
1944GPW said:
G'day and cheers from Brisbane. The PET always reminds me of Pete Shelley's track 'Homosapien', wow that was a while ago now.
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Honestly, had to check youtube for that. Not a song I'm familiar with, but after a handful of seconds, there it was... a PET positioned amongst other intentionally cool things! Very stylish haha
 
daver2 said:
Yes, welcome...

Yes, the Commodore PET is a very nice machine...

Dave
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... but there's a dark side? That's why I'm here, almost everyone in my life just think it and its contemporaries are the ravings of a (slight) madman haha. To be fair I've won a couple of people over with the old 48k speccy.
 
VERAULT said:
Welcome!

The Atari ST is heresy? Nah its a fine machine!
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I was an Amiga user in my teens, along with the PCs and compact Macintosh gear at high school(preferred the Mac of those two). I only knew one person that had an ST and am now glad I've started to explore that machine. But it feels like dark magic compared to some of the 8bit stuff 😄
 
ClassicHasClass said:
Welcome from a house with a VZ200 and 300 in the States, though my wife and I go back and forth.
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Good old Dick Smith - I remember seeing the machines in catalogs, but didn't know anyone who owned one when they were new on shelves. Interesting that people in other countries have adopted them into collections. I've done the same with the Sinclair stuff, there was almost zero exposure here as far as I know.
 
Hello and welcome to the forums!
I have to the ZX-Spectrum.
 
radventure said:
I was an Amiga user in my teens, along with the PCs and compact Macintosh gear at high school(preferred the Mac of those two). I only knew one person that had an ST and am now glad I've started to explore that machine. But it feels like dark magic compared to some of the 8bit stuff 😄
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I feel the same way. I didnt have it or know anyone who had an ST so its like uncovering some lost civilization messing with them.
 
VERAULT said:
I feel the same way. I didnt have it or know anyone who had an ST so its like uncovering some lost civilization messing with them.
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And there's periods in time, or just other geographical locations where platforms other than the ones we are more accustomed to, are the norm.... I feel that's what's missing from modern computing, despite all the advances, convenience and improvements in accessibility..... everything seems to be missing that wonder, some rawness, soul perhaps. Sorry, a bit philosophical 😄.
 
I did miss the days of deluxe paint and sim city, so the ST seemed a good fit.

I'm working towards a PET for the PETSCII and (hopefully) that green glow experience, I mean, this is awesome and an example of creativity with contraints

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No pets allowed - Orb

I already own a copy of Petscii Robots, so it's a sign.....
Right ? 😬
 
I havent run this demo yet on my 2001-8 PET as I read somewhere it wont work.. I hope it does or at the very least someone makes a new demo it can run. I have two pets both are the 2001-8 it would be nice to see this demo in person.
 
I had heard there were issues with compatibility between models, CRTC / sans CRTC etc etc. It's likely I'll eventually have a FrankenPET given availability and cost around initial purchase and shipping. I think @johnq was working on a repro universal board which could be an avenue, but I'm not sure about 6545 availability etc. Creating PETSCII is still cool though :)
 
There are alternatives to the 6545 CRTC, so that device is generally not an issue.

I would have to check the thread for the alternative that works though.

Dave
 
daver2 said:
There are alternatives to the 6545 CRTC, so that device is generally not an issue.

I would have to check the thread for the alternative that works though.

Dave
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I don't have a bunch of expertise on any of this, but I've learned to suss out the supply chain for parts when looking at projects. Usually has kept me grounded (sometimes I still make the wrong call!). This sounds like a checkmark in the Pro column :)
 
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