I recently shed most of my equipment again. Between my job, family and modern day gaming (Age of Empires II HD) I found that this hobby is actually really stressful (never enough time to play games properly). 🤣 And collecting just to have stuff sitting on a shelf does nothing for me. I enjoy(ed) searching and finding rare items more.
wrote:If in an instant you could regain all the money you've spent on your retro gear since you started this hobby and forgo all the gear, would you?
No. I’ve gotten lots of fun from the small amount of money that I’ve spent on old computer parts and old software (approximately US $12 per month last year, $0 so far this year). Everybody needs a fun hobby. I know people who get fun by spending money on motorsports, liquor, guitars, horses, beauty pageantry, tattoos, hunting equipment.... With my retro computing hobby, I’ve had just as much fun as they and I’ve spent significantly less money to get that fun. It has been a good deal.
However, I have a growing family now. My old computers have been gathering dust for the last few months, not because they’re no longer fun, but because my young family needs almost all of my spare time. (I acquired a Voodoo 5 last year, but I haven’t found time to plug it in.)
I’m going to hold onto my gear for a few years because my kids might show an interest in tinkering with computers someday. I’d prefer that they mess up a Windows 98 PC instead of their mother’s Mac.
