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    Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

    Originally posted by momaka View Post
    Yes, cost of time and space are always worth considering... but there is a 3rd factor in there sometimes: fun.
    I have quite a few PCs now that aren't really worthwhile keeping (in terms of how much space they take and how little they do for me). But occasionally, I mess with them and use them to teach my nephews stuff about computers, and the fun from that far outweighs the rest, IMO.
    That depends a lot on how you define "fun". Hacking together yet another "computer" ceased to be "fun" about 2 decades ago. It's now a "chore" that I'd willingly give over to someone else. And, when faced with it, myself, I opt for schemes that let me get past the dreariness as quickly as possible -- so I can move on to OTHER things (that I consider fun/rewarding).

    I enjoyed building my electric wheelbarrow as it was largely a mechanical exercise. And, I learned a bit about how to design a better one.

    Likewise, tuning up my (electromechanical!) pinball machines (much more fun than the electronic arcade pieces and slot machines). Sort of a Zen experience like rebuilding a pocketwatch.

    I'll learn a fair bit bringing this Netra T5220 on-line -- largely because much of what you need to know isn't visibly disclosed (so it becomes a bit of an adventure: "Gee, no jumpers on the system board -- how do I reset the password to gain access to the 'BIOS'?"

    But, find most of enjoyment comes from designing devices and systems that let other people do what they want with less effort or more accurately. Isn't that what the end goal of all this technology is SUPPOSED to be?

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      Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

      Originally posted by Topcat View Post
      ^
      This, atleast for me. Some things are worth more than others, obviously...I've got some junk around here, but I've also got some really unusual stuff, that to some could be worth a chunk. I don't do it for the resale.....when asked prices, I usually say 3x (or more) the real-world value, which scares them away. I have a large facility, storage is cheap....but I do keep the true junk weeded out.

      I do resell stuff, same as the rest of us packrats....I gotta eat too...but there are some items that I really just don't want to part with.... If it's worth something in my mind, but worthless in the real world, so be it.... Modern stuff, easy come easy go.... It's my vintage creations & weird sleeper builds I seem to get a little attached to.
      I don't sell anything. Less hassles when buyer decides they should (or hope!) get more for their money. Instead, I prefer to find "good homes" for things. Especially the larger items: pinball machines, arcade games, pen plotters, etc. Truly delightful to see a little kid's eyes light up as his dad and I load a game into a truck...

      I keep scant little vintage computers: a Sun Voyager, a Compaq Portable 386 (though that actually lingers because it serves a real need), an SB2000, a Netra T5220, an ASR33, an old CP/M box (w/8" floppies), etc. And, for the most part, try to keep them running and providing some sort of service -- to justify the space they take up!

      The problem with older kit is that you also have to document stuff that would otherwise be lost to history -- if you ever need to work on the item, again (e.g., putting a new disk in the Portable 386 is challenging cuz it's BIOS doesn't support anything bigger than maybe 60 MEGAbytes). Likewise, it's BIOS isn't accessible via a keystroke during POST but, rather, has to be accessed via a special boot floppy...

      None insurmountable problems but the sorts of things that can easily trip you up 10, 20 or 40 years down the road, if you rely on memory, alone!

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        Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

        Originally posted by ratdude747 View Post
        Laptops are different... they take less space and thus I have a wide variety of units still around.
        I find laptops convenient as (disposable) "PM"s (a spoof on VM's -- Physical Machines!). I have a collection (each in its own carrying bag with power adapter, etc.) with various different OS's installed -- and little/nothing else!

        When I want to evaluate (or resurrect) a piece of software, I drag out a laptop having the appropriate OS, install the software, do what I need to do, then restore the disk image to bring the laptop back to the state it was prior to this experiment.

        I can do the same thing with VM's under VMware but this is WAY easier.

        And, as I'm typically not going to spend much time USING said software, I don't really care about the laptop's performance -- just that it will run the application well enough for me to do whatever I need to do.

        E.g., needed to download blood pressure readings from a sphygmomanometer we have, here. I sure as hell don't want to clutter up a "real" computer with a silly application like that! So, grab a laptop, install the software, download the readings, print a copy for the MD and then restore the original laptop disk image and put everything away.

        Likewise, have a small pile of laptops that I've used for tax prep software (again, don't want that cruft on a real machine). When taxes are filed, set the laptop back on the pile so I can install next year's version and repeat the process (and, if next year's version requires a newer OS, drag out yet another laptop that will accommodate it and add that to the pile!)

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          Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

          ^ Thats one thing i like about Unix. Just drop the binaries in /usr/whatever/bin (/home/whatever/bin) and any extra libraries in /usr/whatever/lib (/home/whatever/lib) and send it. Once you are done, just delete them. Maybe flush /var/tmp sometime too.
          Things I've fixed: anything from semis to crappy Chinese $2 radios, and now an IoT Dildo....

          "Dude, this is Wyoming, i hopped on and sent 'er. No fucking around." -- Me

          Excuse me while i do something dangerous


          You must have a sad, sad boring life if you hate on people harmlessly enjoying life with an animal costume.

          Sometimes you need to break shit to fix it.... Thats why my lawnmower doesn't have a deadman switch or engine brake anymore

          Follow the white rabbit.

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            Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

            Originally posted by goontron View Post
            ^ Thats one thing i like about Unix. Just drop the binaries in /usr/whatever/bin (/home/whatever/bin) and any extra libraries in /usr/whatever/lib (/home/whatever/lib) and send it. Once you are done, just delete them. Maybe flush /var/tmp sometime too.
            Yeah, I spend probably 1/20th of the time maintaining my UN*X boxen vs. the Windows crates. None of this "please reboot now" nonsense.

            So, the way to leverage Windows boxen is to have "bare" systems, ready to go -- and a way of quickly returning them to that state when you're done (I've hacked the "factory install partitions" and MBR so they now contain the image that I want, instead of what the factory originally considered to be appropriate.)

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              Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

              Originally posted by Curious.George View Post
              I don't sell anything. Less hassles when buyer decides they should (or hope!) get more for their money. Instead, I prefer to find "good homes" for things. Especially the larger items: pinball machines, arcade games, pen plotters, etc. Truly delightful to see a little kid's eyes light up as his dad and I load a game into a truck...

              I keep scant little vintage computers: a Sun Voyager, a Compaq Portable 386 (though that actually lingers because it serves a real need), an SB2000, a Netra T5220, an ASR33, an old CP/M box (w/8" floppies), etc. And, for the most part, try to keep them running and providing some sort of service -- to justify the space they take up!

              The problem with older kit is that you also have to document stuff that would otherwise be lost to history -- if you ever need to work on the item, again (e.g., putting a new disk in the Portable 386 is challenging cuz it's BIOS doesn't support anything bigger than maybe 60 MEGAbytes). Likewise, it's BIOS isn't accessible via a keystroke during POST but, rather, has to be accessed via a special boot floppy...

              None insurmountable problems but the sorts of things that can easily trip you up 10, 20 or 40 years down the road, if you rely on memory, alone!
              I've never really ran into that issue with buyers....but then again, anything I sell is as-is....unless its DOA, I don't want to hear about it....and in 27 years, I've only had one doa item, and it was a seagate 4.3gb scsi HDD from a repeat client, so I was happy to replace it since I knew I wasn't being scammed.

              I've always enjoyed unusual system builds...and I always will. Its a fun thing to tinker with, and some of these weird old systems if nothing else, make great conversation pieces. For hobby work outside tech, I restore cars. Very rewarding being able to drive what you built!
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                Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                A Philips DVDR3455H DVD Recorder with 160GB HDD for $3.25 (These regularly sell for $100-$125 on eBay, and sold for $350 back in 2007 when they were new). I got it so cheap because it had a sticky disc tray (sometimes didn't come out when the open button was pressed), but a new belt fixed that and now it is a good as new.





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                  Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                  Originally posted by Topcat View Post
                  I've always enjoyed unusual system builds...and I always will. Its a fun thing to tinker with, and some of these weird old systems if nothing else, make great conversation pieces. For hobby work outside tech, I restore cars. Very rewarding being able to drive what you built!
                  I like designing odd/unusual things -- esp if they screw with people's heads!

                  E.g., I made a telephone that is actually a talking clock: pick up the handset and it tells you (speaks) the time and date. "Dial" in a "time" and it sets an alarm to "ring" at that time (the original idea was inspired by the fact that folks would easily sleep through an alarm clock but would manage to stir themselves awake if the phone rang!)

                  [And, dial is way cooler than push-buttons!]

                  I have another clock that displays the time using LEDs arranged as braille cells (i.e., the folks who most commonly can "read" braille aren't able to SEE the display! And, folks who can see it would typically not understand it!)

                  Currently working on some wifi-enabled clocks/room-monitors using repurposed (gutted!) WoW toys. Sit them in chairs around the house and folks think they're just toys -- until they start moving and talking! With a WiFi link, I can use them as general purpose I/O devices (clock, phone, intercom, doorbell, surveillance mic, etc.)

                  (this was inspired by a telephone that was embodied in an animatronic teddy bear ~30+ years ago at a CES)

                  I'd love to make a dial cell-phone -- just to mess with folks!
                  Last edited by Curious.George; 11-24-2018, 11:47 PM.

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                    Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                    Picked up a nifty one today for cheap.....yet another dual supermicro....but a super rare one. S2DGU, dual SLOT-2 with a pair of 900/100 2mb cache, the fastest 100FSB slot-2 CPU's (the board doesn't support 133fsb). It also came with 2gb ram and the raidport controller. That will be a fun build!
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                      Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                      Today's freebies is a dell dimension 2400....useless as tits on a boar, but its the same case that (when modified) can fit one of those silly sleeper boards X7DCA-L, dual socket mATX.

                      The other two freebies are 2x HP laptops in working order. One is a Pavilion DV6000 (dual core Turion @ 1.9GHz and 1gb RAM and vista ), the other is is still unknown. Boots to win8, but I don't have the password, so I haven't gotten into it yet.
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                        Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                        Nest 2g thermostat that previous owner obviously thought had failed. I think I've found a hack to fix it -- we'll see if I wake to a cold house!

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                          Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                          Picked up another cheap VP6....this place is becoming the land of wayward Abit boards along with some strange supermicro mixes...
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                            Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                            Onkyo TX-18 Receiver (circa mid 1980s, 30Wpc) for $1. It had no output, once I got it home and opened it up I found both output fuses blown which had me worried that the amp might be toast, but I popped in a couple new fuses and it works fine. Someone probably shorted the speaker terminals at some point and the fuses did their job and protected the amp.





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                              Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                              nice, i like tuners with VFD's

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                                Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                I like VFDs in general
                                Don't buy those $10 PSU "specials". They fail, and they have taken whole computers with them.

                                My computer doubles as a space heater.

                                Permanently Retired Systems:
                                RIP Advantech UNO-3072LA (2008-2021) - Decommissioned and taken out of service permanently due to lack of software support for it. Not very likely to ever be recommissioned again.
                                Asus Q550LF (Old main laptop, 2014-2022) - Decommissioned and stripped due to a myriad of problems, the main battery bloating being the final nail in the coffin.


                                Kooky and Kool Systems
                                - 1996 Power Macintosh 7200/120 + PC Compatibility Card - Under Restoration
                                - 1993 Gateway 2000 80486DX/50 - Fully Operational/WIP
                                - 2004 Athlon 64 Retro Gaming System - Indefinitely Parked
                                - Main Workstation - Fully operational!

                                sigpic

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                                  Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                  I've got a single DIN indash MP3 player with a dot matrix VFD. It's one of my favorites!
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                                    Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                    i have a bunch of dot-matrix and starburst vfd's with onboard serial interfaces somewhere that i salvaged from gambling machines!

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                                      Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                      No retro computer collection is complete without a pentium pro system....

                                      ...and then there's this:

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                                        Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                        lol
                                        it looks like it's powered by an onboard 2-stroke engine!!

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                                          Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

                                          My latest decent scores:
                                          50 (fifty) Core 2 Duo CPUs for a $1 (with $9 S&H)
                                          11 keyboards for $1 (with $11 S&H)
                                          Looks like buying in bulk yields overall cheaper price than buying individual pieces... WTH?

                                          Originally posted by stj View Post
                                          lol
                                          it looks like it's powered by an onboard 2-stroke engine!!
                                          ^THIS!


                                          Pretty cool piece of hardware, though.

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