Kahenraz wrote on 2022-02-04, 09:54:

The older models with the GM logo will have the 1.x firmware. This is more desirable due to a change in the 2.x firmware which changed some instruments.

Find out which firmware version is has and get back to us.

Its version 1.2 and serial number ad19150

That's great. The best firmware for the SC-55 is 1.21 and the 1.20 is almost identical. It's possible to swap this chip with the later firmware if you flash it with a compatible chip.

From what I understand, 1.x ROMs are interchangeable as are 2.x but not between each other.

Bought another Console for my collection. A PC Engine Core Grafx II:

Imported from Japan and only took 5 days to arrive here in the UK, quite impressed!

This is the first time I've seen 1 of these in person and was surprised just how small the PC Engine console is, fits in the palm of the hand!

Bought a game for it too, nothing special, just to test the console was working. It's working great!

Got a chinese Everdrive card coming, as well as an RGB Booster. Probably arrive next month.

The Composite output from this console is about the best Composite Video output I've seen though, very impressed with it's quality.

Finally, the console would be pretty useless without at least 1 controller. I liked the look of this 3rd party 3-button controller so bought it too:

The rusty gateway computer got delivered at my work today... ill test the voodoo card when I get home... not a bad score for $49
STB voodoo2 12mb
Pentium 2 350 - SL2U3
128mbpc100
maxtor 10gb hdd - 91020D6
Panasonic floppy drive

X86 wrote on 2022-02-04, 16:20:

PXL_20220204_160644713.jpg The rusty gateway computer got delivered at my work today... ill test the voodoo card when I get home […]
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PXL_20220204_160644713.jpg
The rusty gateway computer got delivered at my work today... ill test the voodoo card when I get home... not a bad score for $49
STB voodoo2 12mb
Pentium 2 350 - SL2U3
128mbpc100
maxtor 10gb hdd - 91020D6
Panasonic floppy drive

How much did it cost to ship?

shipping was $29 for the tower. still a good deal in my book if the voodoo 2 works. plus the additional spare parts i scabbed out of the case ! can never have to many spare parts and ide cables 🤣

appiah4 wrote on 2022-02-04, 12:43:

red_avatar wrote on 2022-02-04, 08:30:

cyclone3d wrote on 2022-02-04, 00:07:

Because some people like the sound of specific HDDs and don't care if they could have solid state storage for much cheaper?

The only "special" thing about the HDD is the sound? That's a weird reason to ask €150 for a 4GB hard drive. I thought maybe they were known to be very reliable or something like that.

If you ever owned a Quantum BigFoot or Fireball, you know. Otherwise, you would never understand. Dumb as it sounds, that's what it is..

I did have a BigFoot at one point back in the day. Didn't seem like a big deal back then and even less now.

Personally, I like having as much storage as possible on solid state devices.

I would rather have silent, quick storage than some ancient, loud, slow spinning rust drive.

If I can get all my retro systems on solid state, I will be selling more than a big filing cabinet drawer full of HDDs.

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Anders- wrote on 2022-02-04, 20:33:

Ps. You're wrong about the bigfoot, it's an awesome drive! Slow and cheap, lots of MB for the cash back in the day 😁

Agreed! It's the only old school hard drive that tickles my nostalgia nerves. 😁 There was just something about the form factor, the neat looking rectangular slab of metal, and the fitting product name. And it's probably also because I owned one myself back in my teens. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on PC components, and this gave me the best bang for the buck in terms of storage capacity.

And besides, next to my CD-ROM drive, what else was I going to use the remaining 5.25" bay in my mini tower for anyway? People had stopped using 5.25" floppy drives by that point, and CD writers were still too expensive for most people.

I remember wondering why other hard disk manufacturers didn't do the same thing. In terms of price/capacity, it made perfect sense even then.

But yeah, they were a bit noisy. Didn't they make a high-pitched whine?

cyclone3d wrote on 2022-02-04, 18:36:

I did have a BigFoot at one point back in the day. Didn't seem like a big deal back then and even less now.

Because it wasn't. I remember when they came out and I always joked about these drives with my friends when we were visiting so called "Grzybowska" - a local computer market here in Warsaw. They were designed to be low-cost, high-capacity drives. Speed wasn't the priority. Useful for older computers. Horrible for everything else. And as quickly as they appeared - they were gone - almost nobody bought them. Funny thing is that I wasn't aware back then that this form factor was actually a standard and super popular for MFM/RLL hard drives in the XTs and ATs. I never seen one back then - maybe a single one in a museum. I thought that half-height 3.5" drives were the oldest which were used in the PCs... And nowadays I have tons of ST-251s and similar and only two Bigfoots 😉

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digger wrote on 2022-02-04, 20:49:

Agreed! It's the only old school hard drive that tickles my nostalgia nerves. :grin: There was just something about the form fac […]
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Anders- wrote on 2022-02-04, 20:33:

Ps. You're wrong about the bigfoot, it's an awesome drive! Slow and cheap, lots of MB for the cash back in the day 😁

Agreed! It's the only old school hard drive that tickles my nostalgia nerves. 😁 There was just something about the form factor, the neat looking rectangular slab of metal, and the fitting product name. And it's probably also because I owned one myself back in my teens. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on PC components, and this gave me the best bang for the buck in terms of storage capacity.

And besides, next to my CD-ROM drive, what else was I going to use the remaining 5.25" bay in my mini tower for anyway? People had stopped using 5.25" floppy drives by that point, and CD writers were still too expensive for most people.

I remember wondering why other hard disk manufacturers didn't do the same thing. In terms of price/capacity, it made perfect sense even then.

But yeah, they were a bit noisy. Didn't they make a high-pitched whine?

"But yeah, they were a bit noisy. Didn't they make a high-pitched whine?" - here's a spin-up of my BigFoot (original series I believe) in 286: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8698Vs4yWZ4

And here's the CY version I removed from my Amiga 2000 yesterday...

I have 5 Bigfoot TS (Third Gen) 12 and 19GB whoppers.

They are awesome and were the largest capacity drive (19.2 GB) on release. All work fine despite flying overseas.
Common in Compaqs.

The one shown above is the first gen which did have more issues.

Maybe it's because TS models are Made in Japan vs Made in Singapore for CY

I was looking for a good desktop AT case for one of my builds and bought 'non-empty' one for some extra payment.

Seems like I've got the Asus P/I-P55TP4XE. I had to google for Asus MediaBus - haven't even seen it before. And COAST cache for sure.

Suddenly it became an unexpected candidate for my P1 build. Or even Pentium MMX - there is a MMX 200 overdrive that is sold nearby. So many options 😒

HanJammer wrote on 2022-02-04, 21:01:

I remember when they came out and I always joked about these drives with my friends when we were visiting so called "Grzybowska" - a local computer market here in Warsaw.

I have such nostalgic memories about computer fairs back in the day. That's where you'd always go to get good deals, before online shopping went mainstream. And there was always such a fun vibe there, with so many other visitors who shared a love for computers, and the many stands with their wares, often with speakers playing music and computers running impressive PC demos, all to attract customers walking by.

It's crazy to see one taking place outside like that, though. Over here they were always held indoors, or at least the ones I know of. Usually in convention centers and such. This was probably to prevent theft (you had to buy tickets to enter the fair), but also simply because people just never trusted the Dutch weather to be so cooperative. 😅

Over here, the most popular computer fairs were the bimonthly PC Dump Dag at the RAI in Amsterdam, and the annual HCC Dagen at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.

Perhaps the pandemic of the last 2 years made me long for such events even more. But even once everything opens up again, such computer fairs are probably never coming back. It may have been worth it back then, but there's just no competing against the thin margins of on-line retail nowadays.

On the other hand... Well, I don't know... Nostalgia is a powerful thing. Maybe such a fair could attract enough visitors on that alone.

Yes, the plague even cut off my substitute computer fair fix, ham radio flea markets which often have a table or three of PC parts, and odd bits and pieces scattered around. A few clubs are promising to hold outdoor ones "in Spring" but I'm only slightly hopeful.

rkurbatov wrote on 2022-02-04, 22:04:

I was looking for a good desktop AT case for one of my builds and bought 'non-empty' one for some extra payment.

Seems like I've got the Asus P/I-P55TP4XE. I had to google for Asus MediaBus - haven't even seen it before. And COAST cache for sure.

Suddenly it became an unexpected candidate for my P1 build. Or even Pentium MMX - there is a MMX 200 overdrive that is sold nearby. So many options 😒

Nice, I like these boards. It's FX based motherboard still very cool for early Pentium build, although it would certainly be interesting with MMX overdrive. I recently got this cool machine with the HX-based version of this board (ASUS P/I-P55T2P4).
As for the MediaBus cards - they are not that rare, sadly they are pretty lame when it comes to their capability.

digger wrote on 2022-02-04, 22:05:

I have such nostalgic memories about computer fairs back in the day. That's where you'd always go to get good deals, before online shopping went mainstream. And there was always such a fun vibe there, with so many other visitors who shared a love for computers, and the many stands with their wares, often with speakers playing music and computers running impressive PC demos, all to attract customers walking by.

True!

digger wrote on 2022-02-04, 22:05:

It's crazy to see one taking place outside like that, though. Over here they were always held indoors, or at least the ones I know of. Usually in convention centers and such. This was probably to prevent theft (you had to buy tickets to enter the fair), but also simply because people just never trusted the Dutch weather to be so cooperative. 😅

That was the mostly for people dealing in hardware, although some more legit software sales were also going on there. There was an indoor part inside the nearby school (in fact it's where it all started) where the all piracy was going on 😁

This market is still operational in Warsaw, but in different place and in some really cut-down form. Also we have electronics flee market (called Wolumen from the street where it's located as well) which mostly sells second hand phones, TVs and such, but few guys still sell parts there and you can buy some gems from time to time (I got pretty rare AST hercules compatible card from one of the guys recently).

PS: More pics from "Gielda na Grzybowskiej" - this time from 1993

HanJammer wrote on 2022-02-04, 23:15:

As for the MediaBus cards - they are not that rare, sadly they are pretty lame when it comes to their capability.

I am interested in SCSI/Sound, because Video/Sound are boring indeed.

And wow, such a cool small case!