I've come across a few fellow collectors on trademe no doubt but I i'm really glad to have found this forum and will continue to use it as a valuable resource.
I think my obsession with 80's computers came as a result of my dad owning a couple of computer stores in Wellington at the time. Unfortunately they didn't make it past the early 90's but that was kind of cool because it means that my memories of the stores aren’t sullied by all of that ATX nonsense. My fondest memories are instead confined to the green and amber screen worlds of Bondwells, IBM XTs, Amstrads and Acorns.
After moving around a little bit over the last ten years we have finally got a place big enough to start getting another collection going. My biggest regret is selling my dad’s IBM 5155 a few years ago before moving. It would be good to get one of these back into the collection. And when I say collection I mean that in the loosest possible sense of the word. At the moment I have a number of Vic 20s, C64s, Amiga 500s, 2 x StarMax 3000/160 Desktops (okay maybe not vintage yet but still kind of interesting), an Atari 2600, an Atari 1040ST, a VZ-200, a TI-99 4A and a Sinclair ZX81 for good measure. I’m also interested in laptops and have been collecting Toshibas and Compaq’s for a while.
I’ve also got a Sanyo MBC 550 and a Sanyo MBC 555 on the way. Plus a Exidy Sorcerer model 1 which I am quite excited about. I know the model II fixed a few problems but well see how this one goes. Apart from that I’m keen to expand out into Amstrads, BBCs and XTs.. actually pretty much anything else. I feel really strongly about preserving as much as possible the technology from such a defining period. I have a feeling that this will be a process of trial and error and expansion followed by a short, sharp clip from my wife and then a period of consolidation.
In the meantime though if anyone knows of an IBM 5155 up for grabs I would be very keen!!!