Introducing myself

[jamesots]

Hi,


I've been reading this forum for a while and I thought it was about time I signed up and contributed. So here I am, introducing myself.


When I was growing up I was really interested in computers, and played with my friends' Spectrums and BBCs, but we didn't get a computer until I was about twelve or thirteen, and it was an Amstrad PCW8256. I used to pore over home shopping catalogues, wishing I could have a CPC, but that never happened. I then got a whole load of RM 380Zs, a couple of Cifer 2864s for free, along with a BBC, and Epson HX-20 and a Cambridge Z88, but I ran out of space (or rather, my parents did), so I ended up ripping out all the removable ICs where possible, and throwing away or selling the rest of the hardware. I wish I still had them, but that's life.


A few months ago I was on ebay and realised that a lot of these old computers were now really cheap to get hold of, so I set myself a limit of £15 per computer, and bought a ZX Spectrum, a Spectrum +2, a Commodore 64, an NC100 and a PCW8256. A friend gave me a CPC464 (with external disk drive), and more recently I also bought an NC200. (I also have a PCW9512 motherboard). My favourite computers out of all of those are the Amstrads, and the PCW tops the list because of it being the same as the first computer I really used (I used to know it pretty much inside out, and I'm enjoying re-learning about it). I'd love to have a CPC6128 as well, but they're out of my self imposed price range.


I'm hoping eventually to get the PCW9512 motherboard to run with an external monitor and an HxC floppy emulator, while with the NC200 I'm considering trying to work out how the screen is interfaced, and then see if I can get an FPGA board to control it, so that I can run other Z80 based computer emulations inside it, since it has such a nice screen and keyboard and has loads of space for extra hardware once the disk drive is removed.


Most of the other computers will probably just gather dust, but this time I'm not throwing anything out!

[Ast]

Welcome home jamesots ! 

[radu14m]

Welcome jamesots !!!

put some pictures with your collection

[Gryzor]

Welcome mate! Pictures, indeed!

Nothing like coming back to your first love

Hope you stay for good!

T

PS Moving this thread to a more appropriate subforum..

[CraigsBar]

Welcome, hope you enjoy your stay [emoji4]

[ralferoo]

Welcome to the forum Mr Ots! It's taken you long enough to join!

Let me know if you want to talk about FPGA stuff sometime...

[dcdrac]

hello nice to see the old machines come back on as if...it was 1984 all over again

[jamesots]

Ok, so here's a picture of the man-lab, from a few weeks ago, before it also became santa's grotto (or the place where the children's presents are stored before being wrapped). Also from before I had the NC200 and before I built my PCW serial port, which is currently a mess of wires on a breadboard.

[jamesots]

Welcome to the forum Mr Ots! It's taken you long enough to join!

Let me know if you want to talk about FPGA stuff sometime...

I will, if I ever get my minispartan6+!