cyberluke wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:27:

Hi, Im in Saigon Vietnam for a few months. Anyone here from VN? Does anyone know where to look for old computers? I guess they already melt all gold for money here…

More likely the humidity of the tropics would have killed a lot of retro hardware by now if it has not been stored in a controlled environment.

For a few months, sounds like what DosBOX is made for.

kolderman wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:52:

For a few months, sounds like what DosBOX is made for.

I have Pandora 3d with Batocera EmulationStation here. The point is to scout collectors retro hardware. Seems it will be better to fly to Japan for electronics. Even some retro crt or retro 386 case for repair in Vietnam would be good.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:42:

cyberluke wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:27:

Hi, Im in Saigon Vietnam for a few months. Anyone here from VN? Does anyone know where to look for old computers? I guess they already melt all gold for money here…

More likely the humidity of the tropics would have killed a lot of retro hardware by now if it has not been stored in a controlled environment.

So you say it is like Porsche in Dubai, full of sand 😁 ? Even finding some old PC AT case could be nice. The motherboard can be mostly replaced if it’s not Dell or Tulip.

It's relative low humidity or dryness that permits buildup of ESD. Like how when you pull clothes out of the dryer and get shocked. Humidity or wetness doesn't cause this. Like how pulling wet clothes out of the washer doesn't shock you. Any place with high humidity will have less chance of ESD buildup than a place with low humidity.

I just found this interesting old article:

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/vietnam-in-p … to-tv-sets.html

I'm sure some people will reel in horror at those CRTs being dismantled, but that aside I really dig things being repurposed in general. Anyway, I'm sure there would be markets like this around the place. Could be some fun weekend exploring.

Warlord wrote on 2022-03-11, 05:21:

It's relative low humidity or dryness that permits buildup of ESD. Like how when you pull clothes out of the dryer and get shocked. Humidity or wetness doesn't cause this. Like how pulling wet clothes out of the washer doesn't shock you. Any place with high humidity will have less chance of ESD buildup than a place with low humidity.

Its less ESD and more rampart corrosion from the humid air .. AC and humidity is bad YO especially for PC cases and components.

Ive seen PC cases from tropical areas and they are always full of rust, even the components suffer from rust with brackets and any ferrous parts corroding, even more so if its a seaside tropical location. Its not really an issue with newer parts but anything thats been in that environment in uncontrolled conditions for the last 20 - 50 years is going to have varying levels of corrosion.

*Forgot 1980 is 42 years ago ...*

Jesus I feel old now .. gonna go find a walking frame.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:42:

More likely the humidity of the tropics would have killed a lot of retro hardware by now if it has not been stored in a controlled environment.

Exactly. Now you know how frustrating I feel living on the island where most MB of '90s were made and still own the best MB designers and chip foundries but has a VERY small retro computing community.

dormcat wrote on 2022-03-11, 07:23:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-03-11, 02:42:

More likely the humidity of the tropics would have killed a lot of retro hardware by now if it has not been stored in a controlled environment.

Exactly. Now you know how frustrating I feel living on the island where most MB of '90s were made and still own the best MB designers and chip foundries but has a VERY small retro computing community.

I would love to visit Taiwan one day if only to see and tour some of these huge fabrication plants. (Assuming they do tours)

I remember that there used to be dozens of board fabricators out of Taiwan back in the day, I still have a couple of 775 Foxconn boards that were known for being overclocking beasts.

Yes, Taiwan and Japan is on my todo list. Wife wants to visit Japan. I told her, ok, but prepare at least 2000 USD only for my souvenirs 😁