New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

Hi guys,

Some of you might be interested to read about my latest acquisition.

I've also added a page pertaining to it on my collections site.

Does anyone know if this model was ever sold in New Zealand, and if so when and who by?

tezza wrote:Hi guys,

Some of you might be interested to read about my latest acquisition.

I've also added a page pertaining to it on my collections site.

Does anyone know if this model was ever sold in New Zealand, and if so when and who by?

Good lord.. Never heard of it. Well done.

Your information gathering will be interested to read.

I have some 79-80 scanned copies of electronics australia which I'm sure include Dick Smith ads for this machine. If i get time I'll crop some out and post them up.

Dick Smith computer ads of the late 70's-early 80s are amusing both for their cheesiness and extravagent claims

tezza wrote:Dick Smith computer ads of the late 70's-early 80s are amusing both for their cheesiness and extravagent claims

It's the haircut that gets me...

Gibsaw wrote:It's the haircut that gets me...

Absolutely..lol. Having spoken to Dick Smith personally (a larger than life character), I'm sure these ads were largely tongue in cheek. It was part of the charm and the "bright and breezy" approach which tried to put a fun face on electronics and appeal more to the general public in the very early 1980s. It was also a point of difference from some of the more sober and specialised electronic outlets.

Great score Terry,
Love it!

nama wrote:Great score Terry,
Love it!

Thanks,

I've had fun tonight building a decent software library for it. I've got some programs on tape but loading is rather hit and miss. I found a suite of machine language programs on the Web. The nice thing about these is they don't need the BASIC ROM-PAC. I've been busy converting the binary files in WAV files via the MESS emulator so they can be loaded directly into the sorcerer via the PC soundcard.

One of these binary files was Level II BASIC so I can make it look and behave just like a System 80

A good dirty trick I used for my SC3000 when its tape drive failed, was to record the tapes (which you won't have to do since you already have the WAVs) to my computer, then burn them as an audio CD. I dug out my old Discman and voila, CD-based apps for my vintage machine. Would work a treat for the Sorcerer too I'd imagine

Yep, I've heard of a few people doing this. With an MP3 player too.

I've now stocked up the Exidy Sorcerer with software. As usual I've written something on the experience. It might be helpful to others and at the very least it means I won't forget what I did!