Blazing System Specs
Yes absolutely
from the pages of "Electronics Australia" - December 1982 Texas Instruments TI-99/4A includes :- Typewriter Keyboard - 48 keys 16 Kb RAM expandable to 52 Kb RAM Processor TMS9900 ( 16 bit ) Display : 16 colours 24 lines by 28 characters 32 x 24 dot resolution for only $ 499 inc sales tax wooohooo or if that doesnt set you on fire The Sorceror for $ 440 or for an extra $ 995 you can have 2 floppy disk drives ( was $ 1290 ) or how about The Dick Smith System 80 Z80 Microprocessor 16 Kb RAM ( expandable to 48 Kb ) 52 key keyboard built-in speakers built-in cassette tape drive built-in TV modulator only $ 699 ( down from $ 750 ) but wait theres more system 80 dual floppy disk drive - only $ 495 Or for the budget conscious Commodore VIC-20 32 Kb RAM 4 sound generators 16 colours connects to any TV set for only $ 299 Yes I vaguely remember those days only $ 299 : that was nearly two weeks wages for me then in 1982 my how things have changed in the last 23 years floppy |
Well apart from the nostalgia injection, and the object lesson in how much hardware costs have reduced in real terms, wouldn't the "pages of Electronics Australia - Dec 1982" be better suited to the recycling bin at the local dump??? :D:D:D
regards John |
LOL
to answer your question - No I've always been more interested in electronics and radio than computers. A computer to me is just a tool just like a drill or a chainsaw is. One thing however, in the same magazine are kitset computers where the hobbyist can actually build their motherboard etc, I wonder if kitsets like that exist anymore. Yes I know you can buy kitsets for embedded stuff, but I mean a functioning pentium type desktop. If you are into radio you can still build one from scratch, wind your own coils, make your own PCB etc.... you learn a lot that way. But you can't really do that with computers. When I was a kid we used to go to the local dump and "liberate" discarded TVs and Radios for parts and make all sorts of things. Now you're not allowed to even go to the dump - let alone "liberate" discards. Fear of litigation and all that stuff. end of rant, part II. floppy |
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di dah di dah dit John |
Nope you can leave the doo doo dahs out of it, thats why I never got an amateur radio licence. Just cant see the point of it - what did it prove - nothing. Another brand of elitism IMHO.
However I do like listening to shortwave, its nice to listen to someone elses propaganda for a change. floppy |
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Pure magic. Thats when I started to "get it". It was about 15 years ago, even then, in the early days of radio based data comms, there was something enjoyable about being able to "talk" with such basic equipment, over such distances. Which, compared to this medium (which is good), certainly doesn't give me the same buzz. The only downside, was that at 18/19, I used to visit the local radio club once a month, and while the magic for me, was talking or keying into a piece of kit, with the sig going down a wire, into a box full of "white mans magic", out of another wire, up the twig and off into the atmosphere, the club was full (unfortunately) of "Oh, I've just fitted a 10 picofarad smoothing cap to the dynamic output stage of my mike, it makes the voice freq output, really really smoooooooth and clear". AAAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh! F**k off! Trainspotters with microphones and too much money (Jap off the shelf boxes etc). So that was me out! Only good thing, is that now, "they've" relaxed the regs on licencing, so I don't need a morse certificate for a "class A" now, so I've been thinking of putting in for a new licence and maybe getting the soldering iron back out and stringing a few wires across the garden - but I suspect that I'll keep well away from the local club(s)! regards John p.s. I'm only a communicators son, but me dah dah didit and didit and didit (yeah, ok I know its a crap joke)!!!!! :D |
LOL
yes it makes you wonder why people go through all the bother of sitting for their amateur exams just to get a peice of glorified CB equipment. CB here is unlicenced, mind you so is Radio & TV reception unlike NZ and I presume the UK - still ??? There is something satisfying about "rolling yer own". When I was in the "State Emergency Service" here, I used to specialise in radio's, and while we mostly used UHF we also had HF - good stuff. Satisfying to know that with a bit of practice one could call up any one in the country under most conditions. Unfortunately the bureaucrats in head orrifice didnt see it that way and want everything UHF or mobile phones. floppy |
Well it isn't just nuclear explosions that can cause damage with an "EMP" is it!
Though you may have to wait sometime for the conditions that will prove you right! regards John p.s. Oh and yes I can see your arguement about HF being "glorified CB", but the test (theory) isn't just about how to work the kit, but also to keep it within prescribed freqs/bandwidths/emissions etc etc, so it is "quite" technical. Afterall, that nice new shiney japanese "black box" might be perfectly accurate when it's brand new, but after a few years who knows - if you don't know how to check its function or accuracy of function, you're not really "doing your bit" to prevent someone elses kit (tv's, radio, etc etc) getting "sprogged" by the umpteenth harmonic, or if the bandwidth filter or two are dieing, then how do you prevent your set sprogging the local emergency services etc etc - well thats the logic behind it anyway). regards John |
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