What's new Pussycat too?

I'll probably be down in the next week or so, will take a few photos and send them to you Andy, no problem.

 

Cheers, Al.
Many thanks in advance.

 

Keeping in the 8-bit sphere I’ve just picked up a Sega Master System and a couple of games ( Psycho Fox and Hang-On )
Nice little system on first impressions.

 

Nice. Always had a soft spot for the Master System. Hang On is pretty good and I can also recommend Enduro Racer. Is it the MK1 or MK2 console you got?

 

I picked the MK1 model with the RGB output that is the same as the MK1 Megadrive ( I want one of those as well eventually ) looks great on my SCART->HDMI upscaler. I have a 600 in 1 Everdrive Cart for it on it's way so I'll have every game released for the SMS on one Cart.

 

What upscaler do you have Richie?

 

It just says HD Video Converter. A small little black box. It cost around £26 off Aliexpress. Ian Priddey’s RGB SCART cables sales and website has pictures of the one I use.

 

Ta Richie, had forgotten I'd asked..Will have a look..Ta for the info...

Found it for 16 quid on ali...Well looks like the unbranded one on his page.

I have a 25 quid Paypal voucher but I bet it's like coupons in Supermarkets, if you only use some of the value you lose the rest?

 

My visit to the North West Computer Museum a couple of weeks and its collection of 80/90's beige PC's with chunky IBM keyboards and mice made me yearn a bit for the old days.... so a couple of weeks later and I have added a couple of new bits to my PC at home.



The keyboard is from Periboard, one I've had my eye on for a while and heard good reports about. As well as nailing the aesthetic it has a good clicky sounding key action. Mouse is from a brand you may or may not know, Cherry. It's fully optical but also old school enough that it comes with a usb to ps/2 adaptor

Also on the way but not quite here yet are a set of Creative speakers to finish the look. What do you guys think?

My lovely Trust Mechanical gaming keyboard and mouse are sitting spare at the moment but will make a great swap-in for when I feel like a change agaiin.

 

Yeah, that little set-up has got Old School writ large all ovver it, Al - nice work, fella!
Yes, Cherry are well known for their keyboards but never heard of a Cherry mouse before but one had to come along some time soon

TRUST you to nail both, mate.

Well done.

Show us the full kaboodle, when yer ready, Al - like you, I love the old solid and clicky key sound feedback - when keyboards where PROPER keyboards (and blokes knew where they were and the gals were glad of it!!).

Eeeeh, I'll just dig mesen a deeper hole before I get me coat and sod off owt of it!



I'm thinking of summat like this for Al's PC workstation, resplendent running Win 3.1 with a good ol clunky CRT too - if not, I'll be seriously disappointed

 

I was thinking of maybe something like that Andy. Got an old 14" CRT svga monitor in storage so all I'd need is a beige tower and I would be in clover. What I'd really like though is a proper old style IBM PC XT base unit and montior. They go for silly money nowadays though. I suppose the PC usually sits out of the way though so not as important maybe as the contact points of keyboard and mouse.

Right, I'm off to download a copy of Dosbox and Wolfenstein.....

 

Go for it, Al - Gertcha!

 

Had a couple of retro related items arrive into the cave this week

Latest issue of Pixel Addict is looking good. Lots of interesting little articles as usual. Really enjoy this magazine.

Shareware Heroes book I heard about on a podcast somewhere. Looks quite text heavy and slanted towards America but should be an interesting read nonetheless.

The N64 Visual Compendium is the latest in the series from Bitmap Books. The quality is top notch as usual with lots of lovely screenshots, mini reviews and some more in-depth articles.

The Atari Gamepad is the CX78+ controller for the Atari 2600+ (works on the original 2600 and 7800 consoles as well). My old pad was getting a bit sticky so this arrived just in time and they have done a great job with it, feels just like the original but slightly better perhaps on the d-pad itself. Got quite a kick from opening up a new Atari accessory!

Lastly the wooden Atari Games and 2600 signs were laser etched on wood by a good friend of mine. He is trying out some designs for a new business and thought he would surprise me. Cool guy that he is




I suppose my 'new' Amstrad green screen monitor should be included as well but I won't pick that up from Andy until later in the summer lol. Apart from that I'm bidding on a boxed copy of Video Olympics for the 2600 and still looking at SD devices for the Amstrad 464....

 

Some tasty retro treats there, Al, and boy you work hard for em battling away in the NHS (National Hardware Section).

That Pixel Addict release with the ELITE articles looks damn good and I also like the look of your new Atari gamepad which I know you will get a LOT of use out of and certainly won't be sat there gathering dust.

Mate, yep, yer green screen CT64 monitor is all boxed and ready for you and with a bit of luck you'll have it on your next visit down.

I've got some new bits to reveal but am struggling at the mo with me hayfever and available time/energy but will reveal some tasty titbits like Al for weekend... all being well

Oh, and don't mention ENGLAND's lacklustre performances of late - I am sure the retro England team will be spinning on their Subbuteo bases Utter garbage and I've watched more interesting grass growing contests. Unlucky Scotland - Al, your boys deserved better, should've had a pen against those Hungarians but in the end were found wanting in the striking dept. Unlucky lads...

 

Looking forward to your relevations Andy... Always good fun to see new (or old) stuff so please post some pics at the weekend if you get a chance mate

I will also take some pictures of the 1050 and 1029 in the next couple of days for you, sorry about the delay in that.

 

Cheers, buddy.

I'll get the ol soundtracks, spinning plate and camcorder out and see what next we have on the wheel of retro micro goodness (grief!)

Aye, that's be sweet to see the 1029 and 1050, Al - many thanks in advance, mate.

 

Hello Andy

I've had a think about my cave situation Andy and have decided to hold on to me little bits slightly longer as I think I might be able to create some space with a bit of shuffling around. Sorry mate, but if the plans fail you will have first shout on the attached peripherals (the real things, not just the photos).

In the meantime, I need to clear some wardrobe space and find a retro-looking computer desk for Al's vintage A8 display....

 

Altirra now does a load of printer emulation, 1029 included..I used Print Shop and printed out a Happy Birthday banner with cakes on...LOL..Made me smile. Barely used my Epson FX80, the odd dump of code if I was writing something, but mostly it sat quiet. Even these days I rarely use my printer / scanner as more than a scanner. The only stuff I print are for the in-laws, prayer timetables etc. Can you even get the ribbons for the 1029?

 

Heaven only knows, Paul, re the 1029 ribbons but if I do recall, they were the same as something like a Seikosha GP100 and they manufactured 100,000s of them so there might be some NOS lying around... somewhere. No worries whatsoever, Al. Those peripherals still do look attractive on display so don't blame you wanting them still and hoping to get a new set-up, up and running and doing a real cool show and tell with em, as it were.
Good luck with the new retro computer desk acquistion and display and of course in the future, when you are ready to wave em goodbye, I'm likely to be still more than interested, mate.
Lovely pics btw, you should be a retro computer photo journalist, you've missed yer calling, Al, and I loved Paul's stories printing out virtual Print Shop (great software by Broderbund) banners with HAPPY BOFFDAY and cakes and stuff on - I used to love all that dot matrix banner fun too back in the day - nice one, fellas.
Enjoy, your retro computing guys - you never fail to raise a smile on this old fart's fizzer!

 

Yea, you sure can get brand new ribbons for the Atari 1029 for $14.95 USD. Check out Best Electronics. Here's a link to all the printer supplies that are brand new. Scroll down a little and you'll see the 1029 ribbons among others: https://www.best-electronics-ca.com/laser_printers.htm

 

Thanks guys, ribbon leads much appreciated. I do have a NOS for it so will need to give it a try once I get things all set up. Your name is still top of the list if I can't make the retro space work though Andy. In the meantime I'm going to take a look at the printer emulation under Altirra, that sounds interesting!

 

In the meantime lads... live from the Kings Theatre Glasgow....

 

SHOWADDYWADDY... STILL, going strong, Al.

Who were the backing band, Mud? Rubettes? Krankies?!!

I'm only jealous - I love 70s rock n roll, me.

 

50th Anniversary tour Andy. And they still have the same original drummer!

 

Brilliant, mate. Absolutely incredible. All I wanna know is... will Swifty Tail still be rocking n rolling in 2074?
In fact, will anyone if Trump/Biden/Putin carry on