liqmat wrote:
Glad you like it. I don't need love from others to justify my hobby. It's all good. Desoldered the dead retrofitted lithium battery so the board will stay pristine. I don't know much about 286 boards since I skipped that generation so it was fun to explore. I went from 8088 to 68000 (Amiga/Atari ST) and then to 386 back in the 80s/early 90s.
I am not a collector. I just save them, restore these puppies and then try to find good homes for them where they will be appreciated. The fun for me is getting them thoroughly cleaned inside and out and back to excellent working condition. I also like learning and improving my skills in electronics. I must say my soldering skills have vastly improved over the last few years and so has my swearing. 🤣
This is almost me. I had a C64 and worked on a CP/M and a few other machines, then a 386 (which I wish I still have, though I have a few motherboards). I can't find a decent AT clone (would love a late 286 desktop) to save my life, apart from very expensive ebay machines. I used to have a Wang PC and a Compaq luggable and sold them for pittances years ago (sad).
I and I forgot the IBM System 6, but I was literally just a kid poking keys on that one, I didn't do anything with it.
I'm not an *organized* collector, this is just my train set. I "restored" some horribly dirty Mac clones and have a Kaypro IV I need to check caps on (worked last time I touched it, in beautiful condition, I actually used this specific machine first when I was about 12 years old), and a completely disassembled powermac that needs to go back together, after the eMac leaves my bench.
Again, it's my train set, it's what I do to feel like I accomplished something and keep me sane-ish. 😀
P.S. The eMac had a glorious rebirth, for a few minutes. A component died then and I can start it but the logic board is not responding, so I think it's a mosfet that looks like it overheated (pretty sure that's new) and/or the "new" down converter board wasn't up to the task. Will have to replace those later, off the bench it goes!