Over the years I’ve purchased quite a few retro computers. I thought maybe if I list them and their associated status, maybe it would encourage me to get off my backside and start fixing them as quite a few of them are in various states of disrepair (or just completely broken).
TRS-80 Model III
#1: Video completely out of adjustment. Also, internal “ribbon” cables are completely junked. Have replacements but never got them to work since video is crap.
#2: Video completely out of adjustment. Won’t power up properly.
#1: Works properly, needs RTC installed but otherwise works fine.
Apple IIe
#1, #2, #3: Various states of disrepair, keyboards missing keys, video outputs flaky, etc. Actually no plans to repair at this time since Platinum works
Apple IIGS
#1: Power supply trashed, changed RIFA caps, still not working
#2: Works great, has 8 MB, SCSI, lots of stuff but CP/M board not working
#3: Recently purchased ROM0 off Facebook group, need to test and possibly update RIFA caps
Apple IIc
#1: Irish keyboard, seemed to work okay when tried but video connector needs repair
#1: Forgot about this one, needs to have video connector replaced. Otherwise, need to test and learn more about it.
- Additional testing found that the video cables included with the Viewmaster board were in very poor condition 2022-06-17
- Replaced RIFA in power supply 2022-06-18
- Disk II drives neither work, possibly 74LS125 chip in the drives, suspect they were incorrectly plugged in 2022-06-20; Additional testing on 2022-06-21 found that Titan Accelerator IIe was possibly causing problems with drives, need to retest
- ADTPro works great with the SSC in slot 1 [edit] for Bootstrapping only, cannot get it to operator in DIR or RECEIVE mode with MacBook running Catalina. Switching over to IIe Platinum to see if it behaves differently.
TRS-80 CoCo II
#1, #2: Untested, both in very good condition along with several drive controllers
Multi-expansion unit: 1 works, 1 flaky due to compatibility issues
TRS-80 CoCo I
#1: Need more testing, has floppy and multi-expansion, all need more testing
Heathkit H89
#1: Works, also have external dual floppy (hard sector on all 3 drives)
#2: Pacific Scientific: Needs recap, blew cap when first started, has 2 builtin drives but torn down and now I don’t remember a damn thing about it
Heathkit H-8
#1: Boards for H-8 backplane, CPU, etc., to build, need to order parts
TI-99/4A
#All: Lots of these, most of them seem to work. However, very disappointed with design, probably going to sell most of them
Peripheral Expansion Box: Untested, has memory board, 1 floppy, serial board, extra floppy but nothing to install yet
#1: Sweet unit, also 9131 and 9133. Need repair on one of the 3-1/2″ drives. Need to copy 9133 hard drive, maybe with MFM emulator board from PDP/8 projects. Have memory card not yet tested.
- Machine doesn’t start properly, cycling power quite a few times may result in working fan and, ultimately, machine might show video. 2022-06-11
- Found 5 RIFA safety capacitors on power supply, all showing cracks and signs of impending death. Removed, planning to order soon. 2022-06-11
Atari 800XL
#1: Basically untested, have a 1050 drive to go with it but power rectifiers were blown. Replaced but haven’t tested
Amigas
#1: Amiga 500: Boots but essentially untested as I don’t have disks, etc.
#2: Amiga 2000: Battery cut out (no apparent damaged), needs reassembly and testing
#3: Amiga 1000: Untested, no video adapter or keyboard/mouse, extra external floppy
Bridgeboards: Have 3 of these, need to test
PC-based Stuff
Lots of these systems need testing. Have 2 XT clones, 1 of which worked when stored but didn’t have good storage at the time.
Lots of unassembled CP/M and other systems, mainly newer projects
Some items I plan to just sell off as I don’t have much desired to repair (TI-99/4A stuff particularly).
Amdek COLOR-I Composite Monitor
This monitor came with the Apple IIe Platinum mentioned above. It had gotten buried in a pile of stuff and had been an attraction for a group of mice at some point.
Z280RC Z280 Single Board Computer with CP/M installed on Compact Flash
A few months ago I purchased a Z280RC, a single board computer with compact flash. It includes CP/M 2.2 already installed and just required a TTL Serial adapter. Since most of my S-100, RC2014, and other Z80, 6502 machines aren’t working, it’s good to have one of these (see RetroBrewComputers board inventory) that is fully functional and helps me see what things should look like when they are working properly.
STDBUS – Started looking into STDBUS
I’ve purchased several boards on eBay but don’t have sufficient hardware to make a fully operational, bootable system. However, it’s a very compact system so I hope to get the system booting by the end of 2024.
Commodore 128 – Unused?
Gentleman in Gainesville, FL, had a Craigslist listing for a Commodore 128, in box (serial numbers match unit), described as “complete” and “not used”. Wife picked it up while traveling (3/4/2024) and confirmed that it looked unused. I won’t have it available for a few more days, need to determine best way to bring it up. Price was hard to beat but owner was happy to sell it as part of estate sale.
Another Commodore 128 – Definitely Used
Also have another C128 that seems to work but has poor video output quality. Need to eventually fix this.
IBM 5155
Just picked up an IBM 5155 Portable PC (XT) from an auction (1/15/25). Hard to beat the price. Will followup with some photos and details. So far, though, very clean, everything except the original power cable…