What's new Pussycat too?

Happy to report the “untested” Dragon 32 is fully functional. Nice Composite output and tape, joystick and cartridge ports work. So result! Paid half what people are asking for working models on feeBay
I picked up Colin McRae Rally for PS1 this week as well as I’m into Rally games at the moment. Plays better on the PS2 than PS3 as does Shockwave Assault. The PS1 definitely does FMV better than the Saturn when you compare games like Shockwave.
So I went and bought a Commodore C16 yesterday again untested so we’ll see if the TED is toast when it arrives. I prefer the C16 case and Keyboard compared to the Plus 4 and I’ve already researched how to do the 64K RAM upgrade. So all being well I will have a VIC 20, C64, C16 and C128. So technically a model from all the 8-Bit ranges Commodore made. I have no chance of getting an A400 or even less chance of a A800 and I think I’ve missed the boat for a 1200XL these days so I’ll just settle for my mint 800XL and my pimped 65XE. Oddly changing my PSU has made my SIDE3 behave with my XE whereas before I had a lot of problems with corruption, my model is a 3.0 so not dogged with this JED issue. It just shows how fickle 8 bit kit can be.

 

Lovely to hear about that great outcome with your bargain Dragon, Richie. Like most on here, I lurve a good underdog story and the Dragon is very similar to the Oric in its well-documented history and those who do have time for it truly do enjoy exploring its potential and celebrating its strengths. Great stuff and nice to hear of your console gaming enjoyments too as you compare the FMV strengths of various systems. I am sure Paul and Al will have more to contribute on that score. Always good to get your thoughts and it would be great guys if we can get perhaps a late Aug/early Sept video link up again of the retro renegade Atari Owners once more so we can flick things at the monitor and shout obscenities at our Evri courier etc. Just a thought, fellas if there's any interest?

 

Congrat's on the purchases Richie. Please please please keep me in mind if you decide to move the Dragon 32 or Commodore 16 on (especially the latter). Apart from the 800XL the only other 8-bit micro I owned growing up was a Plus/4 so have a soft spot for it but like you prefer the C16 design. A tricked out C16 with 64k and an SD drive is something I've always had a hankering after.

Andy, I'd be up for a video call between us all at some point. Hoping to have the cave here sorted out in the next week or so, fingers crossed.

 

Since getting the Sega Master System a couple of weekends ago I've picked up the odd unboxed game from CEX.
So far we have Transbot (£1.50), Ms Pac-Man (£3) and Sonic the Hedgehog (£2). Can't really beat that for value and they are all pretty decent games, Ms Pac-Man is my favourite so far. Now keeping my eyes open for any other CEX stock at a couple of pound of less to add to the library.

 

Up for vid call at some point.

Seems everyone is in buying mode (bar me), can't imagine anything I want on the retro side, sure a cheap 400 mini would be nice, but nothing hitting the taste buds (well except for dodgy Marmite Cashews (and they aint a hit))..

I'm happy that you all are enjoying yourselves, poor Andy has missed out, hope the refund is soon for a 2nd try.

Had a wee play at emulated WiiU, wasn't 'in the groove' as they say. Weird way of saying I was rubbish at what I played. Played Axiom Verge until I found there was a big bug in the emulator re that game (garbled graphics that don't work as they should). Nintendoland was quite fun, very hard to describe, a look at a YT video would be your best move. Uses the tilt mechanics from a PS4 controller.

Really must have some time on the PS4 now it's Jail Broken. Got games for it but every time I have a go my arms start playing up, for some reason the PS4 seems to be a real trigger. Not much fun when you suddenly pinch a nerve and it then keeps happening.

Will go and see the kitten in a min, with all the poking, injecting (esp the microchipping needle (huge fat thing) I thought she must have had enough of me keeping her still. Must admit, she was an angel with the vet.

Enjoy the evening / later on peeps..

Might have a few glasses of fall over juice as it's our 44th (may be 45th, I never remember how long it is) anniversary, depends on how my guts feel.

 

Hey, Paul - I hope that minx madam whirling dervish kitten Thumbs thing has settled down now and many congratulations to you and Cindy on your... good heavens, how many years married anniversary? That's incredible and quite amazing when a lot of relationships usually take a running jump and a dive after just a handful of years these days. Sending all our best from me and Bev (absolute beginners at 16 yrs together and 5 married). How on earth Bev puts oop wi me shite I;ll never know

As regards: Andy has missed out, hope the refund is soon for a 2nd try - the guy refunded me tonight, Paul so as I was telling Al, I'll keep the cash back for now as that little Jap sporty number will be making mega demands on me coin at the end of the month and then hope to get another Atari Anniversary machine maybe around Oct-Nov for Chrimbo.

We'll see.

Take care one and all and I hope the marmite cashews have now gone in the cat's bowl and you and yer better half are enjoying summat tastier and have a smashing weekend ahead of yous, folks.



Who needs these??!!

 

Thank you for the kind words, I think our secret is that we always have been into the same stuff even before we met, we always have something to talk about. We have had stressful times, but we try not to take it out on each other and remember we have a daughter to think of. There's always a lot of laughter between us all. It really helps.

Glad to hear you got the wonga back...

I hate to think what those cashew things would do to either of my cats tummies...

They will just go in the bin as I'm the only meat eater here, sometimes my lot have the odd twiglet, the naughty Vegans..

Not sure what Jap sporty number you mean, must have missed part of a thread..

So folk, Ya 'all enjoy the weeeeekend...

 

Cheers, Paul.

Sounds like you and Cindy have been a match made in heaven, mate - you're true friends, soul mates and great partners for one another - a bond and lurve that is rare to find so I salute you guys for giving the rest of us hope that we can all get through the tough, trying and testing times we all often face and we need to treat our loved ones with the respect, kindness and patience that their love for us truly deserves.

As for the Jap sporty reference, yes, me and Al were discussing a retro sports car in some thread - was it on here, Al? Anyhow, I'm looking to sell our little Fiat and old Yaris, Paul, and put some fun back into our lives/driving and gan for one of those Mazda MX5s - a friend I do some gardening for has one stuck in his garage doing nowt and he's gonna let me have it for a bit of a bargain price so there we go - that's me boffday gift sorted at the end of the month

Take care, guys, and enjoy a relaxing fun weekend.

 

Congrats on the car, you go enjoy yourselves..PS Happy Birthday in advance..

All I can say is having a laugh is key with us, there's always a giggle going on between us all. Keeps the mood happy and we just take stuff as it hits us, just like all of us.

 

Can't remember if it was on here or Messenger Andy, looking forward to seeing it though

Drove down past Manchester today to pick up the retro Raleigh Mustang bike I won on EBay. Cost me almost as much in petrol as the bike itself! 500 miles later it's tucked up in the garage awaiting some fettling. Doesn't need much done just the saddle properly tightened on the rails and the front wheel put on the right way. It's amazing the amount of bikes I see that the owners don't realise there is an arrow on the tyre (just like a car) to show which way it should be fitted for the tread to do it's work. This is very much going to be a fun day and sunny day local cruiser.

And she already has a name... Mustang Sally of course

 

How are you getting on with the Master System @Vyper68? Got a MK1 a couple of weeks back and picked up some cheap unboxed cartridges for it. It's a lovely little system with some very playable titles.

Be interested to hear more about the 600-in-1-cart. I have been thinking aboug getting an Everdrive for it but they can be a bit pricey.

 

@Vyper68 The SidecarT has a hard drive emulator in the lastest beta firmware. I thought I would take a quick look tonight. Don't really know much about ST hard drive protocols but once I updated the firmware it was as simple as putting some HD modified games and utils into a new folder on the SD card and then SidecarT saw it as a hard drive. Worked really well and loading games fine. Tomorrw I might tackle a couple of word processors and see if I can get some printing done to the LC10.

If you haven't already got a SidecarT I can highly recommend it. Rom cart emulation, real time clock, floppy emulation, wifi downloading of games, and now hard drive emulation. It costs about £50 including the Raspberry Pi Pico. https://sidecartridge.com/

 

Wow, that SIDECAR looks the mutts nuts, amazing what people create now.

2 little cards replacing vast chunks of components. Not an ST person, but if I was, I'd be a happy chappy knowing gear like this was about now.

 

It really is an awesome piece of kit Paul. It's as close to a Fujinet as you'll get for the ST. The fact you can still have your floppy drive in place is a win. I'm going to try it on my STFM later and see how the HD emulation does with one meg.

 

Let us know, I'm not in the look for an ST, but should that change it's nice to know what's out there and how well it works. The Fuji is great kit as well but the AVG does it all bar the wifi which I don't care for.

 

I kept my AVG and got rid of the Fujinet. Didn't need the WiFi and the AVG is great at running everything. The one Fuji feature I do miss though is the ability to print to pdf. That was neat.

 

Tried the SidecarT in my one meg STFM and didn't have as much success with loading games, a few bombed out on me. Kick Off 2 worked though It may be more to do with this particular ST though, it's an early TOS version and does act up a bit now and again.

 

It's Sunday evening show and tell time!

Been a busy weekend with retro buying and selling. These are the pick-ups to date.

Nintendo Switch Lite - my first ever Switch console. Bougth it with the intention of playing stuff like Virtua Racing and Outrun on the move, plus I fancy getting the Steeelbook edition of the updated Atari 50th Anniversay when it is released next month. Think I got a really good deal on this yellow handheld (yes, that's the colour I wanted). It's the 32gb version and looks in very good condition with no marks at all on the screen. Bought it for £79 out of a local Cash Generator shop and the sales assistant bundled in the nice grey case as well. Result!

Stepped out to Smyth's toystore today and got some games for it. Tee Time Golf was £9.99 and Cruis'n Blast and Gear Club 2 were in a 2 for £20 deal. Annoyingly you don't get a physical cartridge, just the download code in the box but still cheaper than the Nintendo eShop prices at the moment. Also picked up Virtua Racing from the eShop for a fantastic £1.79.

R:Racing is a Ridge Racer related racing simulator that I'd never heard of before. Saw it in amongst a pile of other PS2 titles in a stall while I was selling the 7800 and Master System to the owner. Would have happilly paid the £6 for it (complete with manual) but ended up getting it as a freebie on top of the cash for the consoles

Lastly, 8-Bit Stories was actually a replacement copy of a book from the author as there was some print problems with an earlier release of it I had purchased. He sent me the colour print version instead which was good and I would have left an Amazon review but noticed about half a dozen grammatical and spelling errors in a couple of random pages right away. Don't think I'll be able to read it properly but it's nice to look at the pictures...





With all the consoles going I've now been able to put the money aside for a 7800+ and The Spectrum but probably won't buy either right away to see if I can get them cheaper once Amazon discount them.

Still need to sell the Amstrad CPC 464 if anyone is interested....

 

You've had a great day buying and selling there, Al.

Excellent work even though I know nowt about this stuff you've bagged some great sounding gear and they've chucked extras in here and there for you which shows they must be chuffed with you as a punter down this retail store.

I'm not saying I am 100% interested, and it might have to be til next month if I were, as my purchase today cost me over £3k (that's the price of a nice 2nd hand Jap sports car), but what price is your CPC464 going for, buddy, and what comes with it??

Just asking for a retro addict, you understand...

PS. I know Infocom adventures are the dog's bolly's but would you pay £200 for 4 of their titles??

Someone has:

 

Blimey, that's a big bundle! I wonder if they still come with all the bundled extras?

Glad to hear you got the car, let's see some pictures please when you get a chance.

The 464 would be £200 Andy, basically just a little less than what it cost me. Have a think and if it tickles your fancy you can have free delivery when I'm down at the start of October and you get to keep the green screen monitor so you have a choice of that or a colour screen. Do you think you could use one of them as an inscreen entertainment on the MX-5

P.s. what a result for Celtic today!!

 

Isn't she pretty....

 

Very very very narce, Al, the CPC464 and Celtic's result!

Leave it with me but if you do get a firm £200 in the meanwhile then grab it and take their offer, fella, as I cannot definitely commit reet now, even though I would like to.

I have really really spent up in the past week or more - just when I was hammering that debt, so I must not lose sight of keeping on track with paying that orf by early next year.

Yep, took the MX5 for two spins out today - one to my mate Rod's funeral at Willerby in the rain (just a few miles down the road, took it very carefully as the rear-wheel drive is known to be a bit of corner slider in the wet/ice), then blasted off to Brid toneet and took mam out to Sewerby and you know what, whereas Bev is non-plussed, me mam absolutely lurved it, bless her, as we did our normal fish n chips run. "Raced" a 1972 Rover V8 3.5l job coming home from Beeford to Tickton about 8pm coming home - he blasted off from the Brandesburton roundabout and I shot off after him on the dual carriageway and that finally shook off the Mercedes Sprinter van which had been up my ass since we left Brid as clearly the tit behind the wheel gets a buzz out of buzzing wee sports cars Oh, the joys.


Remember these? Just about managed to keep up with one of these souped-up Rovers tonight, lads...

Enjoy your retro, fellas, and yes, pics of the MX5 to follow this week - once more a bit busy with 2 old neighbour's gardens I've promised to cut (inbetween the rain), then Uncles Har and Russ to visit and then Bev's mates down from Cambridge at weekend... hopefully it will be quieter in silicon heaven/hell.

 

Careful you don't start getting MORE speeding tickets..You boy racers...

 

Never mind the Italian Job, I'm getting visions of the Hull Job

 

Handheld corner

Clockwise from the left we have
GB BOY Colour - third party console with a decent screen and built in GB/GBC games. Also has a cartridge slot though for playing the original cartridges.
PSP 2000 - nicely modded and a great machine. One of my favourites to collect original titles for.
SWITCH LITE - latest adition to the family
ANMBERNIC RG35XX-SP - multi format machine with GB SP design. Brilliant for most systems up to to 16 bit but excels at GBA with a great screen and the layout.
DSi XL - have an R4 card in this one so access to lots of games but mainly used for Ridge Racer, Arkanoid and Bejewelled.
ANBERNIC RG35XX-HH - same spec as the RG SP but a different layout. This is normally plugged into a monitor using HDMI. Playstation roms look excellent on it.

The storage unit with the games in it was a £12 bargain out of Smyths toy store