New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

My vintage shack above the garage is getting rather crowded. I'm thinking I should really sell or pass on some of my non-critical, unwanted or broken stuff.

Then I think if I do, I'm sure I'll suddenly need it. A certain number of spares are needed Part of it however is just a lack of motivation. I know it's worth not a lot, and the time and effort of posting it away for a few bucks doesn't gel well with my very busy life. However, I don't want to throw stuff in the bin either as I'm sure someone, is probably looking for just that thing.

Would they be likely to come from out of town and pick it up for free though? Unlikely.

I'm sure others have the same dilemma...what to keep...what to get rid of and how to pass it on with minimum effort when you have other things up the priority list. Anyone in a similar situation, and if so what are your thoughts?

My place is starting to full up after the last 18 months , after some thought I realised the real problem was how I organised
the storage space , after a few days of re-organising I had everything tucked away and more space than ever ! For example
apple //'s can stand on there sides, colour composite monitors can be stacked up three high , and disk drives need I say more.
Atari's and Amiga's can be stored side by side like books ! Magazines can be put in 50ltr plastic storage and stack them up.
You can fit close to a hundred apple manuals on a bookshelf for example, its just organisation skills, I have monitors under the sink.

My dot matrix printer shed is full, or is it ? I'm going out there later , stack them sideways, all of a sudden more space for monitors


But ageed ,at some point it pays to clear out the bits that arent really needed so as to not take up space that could be
assigned to newly collected items, im thinking about that ATM.

I think you have more space than me Gavin. My collection is stacked fairly well but as those that have visited me will know, the space is tiny. The collection doesn't spill into the house and there are just one or two items in the lower floor of the garage.

I always had a list of models I wanted. These were ones that I considered to have cultural/historical currency or had a personal nostalgic factor (within a realistic price range). These I was prepared to pay for. I have amassed others beyond that list because I've got them for free. I've also made it an aim to collect original manuals and some software for those models. Nearly all items have now been ticked off that list and my focus has moved from collecting to mostly minor restoration and maintenance (and videoing the machines).

I make it a priority to have the computers working. Spares are useful for this, but they do take up more room than I'd like, unless they are just a circuit board. Consequently I don't have many duplicates, but I'm confident that if something does break down I can get a replacement IC or maybe a whole mainboard from somewhere.

However I find I've got some old cases (carcasses), books, replaced tubes, parts of models I don't even have (and don't intend to get) and some non-notable computers which really, I could probably do without. This is the flotsam and jetsam of which I speak...