Question for the retro tinkerers amongst us, any good recommendations for a soldering station with hot air, iron and soldering gun ?

eBay is fine if you know of a reputable seller there as US stores may not be a great options for us Aussies.

8087 is in the Tandy as of tonight. A bit flabbergasted why this would affect the joystick port mouse in a positive way (ie, less flaky). Did suffer a HAIR on the benchmarks but actual use seems faster.

Also finishing up filming and editing videos for that month. I'm hoping I don't make myself look like too much of an idiot since filming turned into a cantankerous mess at one point and I was kind of juggling 2 parts of life at once as well as my voice is going out and I'm coughing again. Not fun.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-08-13, 05:54:

Question for the retro tinkerers amongst us, any good recommendations for a soldering station with hot air, iron and soldering gun ?

eBay is fine if you know of a reputable seller there as US stores may not be a great options for us Aussies.

Buy each component separately. It takes up less desk space, you can swap a unit out at a later date, and you don't have to junk the whole thing if something goes wrong. I don't think any of the "all in one" units are any good for anything other than tinkering or cheap entertainment. Or very basic soldering, like, with wires.

The best irons have integrated ceramic heaters, but these are expensive. The Hakko FX888D is the best budget iron. The Hakko FX951 is the next best and is the same one that I use, but it's much more expensive. All other models are variations on cheap or have extra features that aren't important to anyone starting out.

Hot air stations are easy. Get whatever cheap Chinesium model is in your budget new from eBay or AliExpress. It's just hot air. If you think it's not hot enough then you need a ore-heater, not a hotter or fancier station. At a minimum, try to only get the small stations where the tool can be detached from the base. These are easier to store and also to swap out if it breaks.

Buy tacky flux. Kester and Chip Quik are good brands. Only buy 63/37 leaded solder. Also only buy your solder, flux, and braid from known resellers to ensure you get the real thing. There is no substitute and you're wasting your time otherwise. Buy one of 0.015", 0.020", and 0.031" for variety. Junk solder is worth keeping for desoldering, but only use good solder when soldering.

That's my soldering short list.

I found this inside of a used disc drive while testing the ones in my collection. I didn't have this game in my collection, so it's a score.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-13, 07:30:

I found this inside of a used disc drive while testing the ones in my collection. I didn't have this game in my collection, so it's a score.

20220813_030121_resize_0.jpg

That is a very nice score, game plus its expansions !! (Doesnt seem to have the second expansion but IIRC that was a standalone thing, hunt it down as its also good)

I have a soft spot for Fear, Not sure what it is about games with creepy as fuck little girls in them that gives me the creeps but this game managed to creep the hell out of me, loved every second of it.

Today's retro activity - cleaning & minor repairs on a recently acquired console, the Philips Videopac G7000 (aka Magnavox Odyssey 2):

First I cleaned the case, inside & out. Then swapped I swapped 1 of the joysticks from a broken G7000 and did some minor repairs to the left joystick (I must try & source a 3D printed replacement for the missing fire button at some point). I could do more to it, but it's clean & functional so it will suffice. Currently only have 9 games, with a 10th on the way so I've been testing out the games I have and ensuring both joysticks as well as the keyboard are all working correctly.

I actually bought 2 of these consoles recently, 1 was non functional and simply wouldn't read any cartridges despite clean contacts & correct continuity from the cart slot to the board. Judging by some of the debris that fell out of the case when I opened it (outer shells of resistors), I think there's at least a couple of bad resistors and I'd hazard a guess at bad capacitors too. I'll probably just keep the non-working model for parts & spares. The non-functional model is a little more unique, as rather than having a hard-wired power cable like most of these do, instead it has an external DC adapter with a proprietry plug similar to the one used on the Atari 7800 albeit with the polarity reversed.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-08-13, 09:37:

I have a soft spot for Fear, Not sure what it is about games with creepy as fuck little girls in them that gives me the creeps but this game managed to creep the hell out of me, loved every second of it.

Not to mention the awesome action and some of the best AI to ever grace a first-person shooter. All around an amazing game.

PTherapist wrote on 2022-08-13, 16:55:

Today's retro activity - cleaning & minor repairs on a recently acquired console, the Philips Videopac G7000 (aka Magnavox Odyss […]
Show full quote

Today's retro activity - cleaning & minor repairs on a recently acquired console, the Philips Videopac G7000 (aka Magnavox Odyssey 2):

videopac.jpg

First I cleaned the case, inside & out. Then swapped I swapped 1 of the joysticks from a broken G7000 and did some minor repairs to the left joystick (I must try & source a 3D printed replacement for the missing fire button at some point). I could do more to it, but it's clean & functional so it will suffice. Currently only have 9 games, with a 10th on the way so I've been testing out the games I have and ensuring both joysticks as well as the keyboard are all working correctly.

I actually bought 2 of these consoles recently, 1 was non functional and simply wouldn't read any cartridges despite clean contacts & correct continuity from the cart slot to the board. Judging by some of the debris that fell out of the case when I opened it (outer shells of resistors), I think there's at least a couple of bad resistors and I'd hazard a guess at bad capacitors too. I'll probably just keep the non-working model for parts & spares. The non-functional model is a little more unique, as rather than having a hard-wired power cable like most of these do, instead it has an external DC adapter with a proprietry plug similar to the one used on the Atari 7800 albeit with the polarity reversed.

I had one of those when I was a kid. I remember a game with a keyboard overlay that was really cool

smtkr wrote on 2022-08-13, 18:25:

I had one of those when I was a kid. I remember a game with a keyboard overlay that was really cool

Quest For The Rings?

That's one of the games I have that I know uses an overlay. I'm going to get hold of the overlay (or print 1) soon and give it a go.

Wanted to add more space for retro setups, so I Frankenstein'd a desk out of an 8 foot Ikea countertop. Comfortably holds three computer setups width-wise, although it's not a particularly deep table so desktop machine space is a bit cramped that way.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-08-13, 21:38:

Wanted to add more space for retro setups, so I Frankenstein'd a desk out of an 8 foot Ikea countertop. Comfortably holds three computer setups width-wise, although it's not a particularly deep table so desktop machine space is a bit cramped that way.

Is that in front of a fireplace? No Tandy for tinder please, no matter how cold it gets. 😉

liqmat wrote on 2022-08-13, 21:53:

Is that in front of a fireplace? No Tandy for tinder please, no matter how cold it gets. 😉

It is, but it's never used as a fireplace. So no worries, the Tandy is safe. 😁

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-13, 07:27:

Buy each component separately. It takes up less desk space, you can swap a unit out at a later date, and you don't have to junk […]
Show full quote

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-08-13, 05:54:

Question for the retro tinkerers amongst us, any good recommendations for a soldering station with hot air, iron and soldering gun ?

eBay is fine if you know of a reputable seller there as US stores may not be a great options for us Aussies.

Buy each component separately. It takes up less desk space, you can swap a unit out at a later date, and you don't have to junk the whole thing if something goes wrong. I don't think any of the "all in one" units are any good for anything other than tinkering or cheap entertainment. Or very basic soldering, like, with wires.

The best irons have integrated ceramic heaters, but these are expensive. The Hakko FX888D is the best budget iron. The Hakko FX951 is the next best and is the same one that I use, but it's much more expensive. All other models are variations on cheap or have extra features that aren't important to anyone starting out.

Hot air stations are easy. Get whatever cheap Chinesium model is in your budget new from eBay or AliExpress. It's just hot air. If you think it's not hot enough then you need a ore-heater, not a hotter or fancier station. At a minimum, try to only get the small stations where the tool can be detached from the base. These are easier to store and also to swap out if it breaks.

Buy tacky flux. Kester and Chip Quik are good brands. Only buy 63/37 leaded solder. Also only buy your solder, flux, and braid from known resellers to ensure you get the real thing. There is no substitute and you're wasting your time otherwise. Buy one of 0.015", 0.020", and 0.031" for variety. Junk solder is worth keeping for desoldering, but only use good solder when soldering.

That's my soldering short list.

I would agree with all of this. There are loads of reviews online re. tools. When it comes to components, if they have it at Jaycar I get it there (since its right around the corner, for me at least) otherwise I order from RS Components (they do have a Sydney desk but its a bit out of the way for me). With this stuff I try to avoid eBay or Aliexpress.

https://au.rs-online.com/web/c/power-tools-so … ding/soldering/

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-08-13, 09:37:

I have a soft spot for Fear, Not sure what it is about games with creepy as fuck little girls in them that gives me the creeps but this game managed to creep the hell out of me, loved every second of it.

Same here, it was an amazing experience playing through that game, and I too got freaked the hell out, probably because I also played it in the dark at night.

pan069 wrote on 2022-08-13, 22:17:

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-13, 07:27:

Buy each component separately. It takes up less desk space, you can swap a unit out at a later date, and you don't have to junk […]
Show full quote

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-08-13, 05:54:

Question for the retro tinkerers amongst us, any good recommendations for a soldering station with hot air, iron and soldering gun ?

eBay is fine if you know of a reputable seller there as US stores may not be a great options for us Aussies.

Buy each component separately. It takes up less desk space, you can swap a unit out at a later date, and you don't have to junk the whole thing if something goes wrong. I don't think any of the "all in one" units are any good for anything other than tinkering or cheap entertainment. Or very basic soldering, like, with wires.

The best irons have integrated ceramic heaters, but these are expensive. The Hakko FX888D is the best budget iron. The Hakko FX951 is the next best and is the same one that I use, but it's much more expensive. All other models are variations on cheap or have extra features that aren't important to anyone starting out.

Hot air stations are easy. Get whatever cheap Chinesium model is in your budget new from eBay or AliExpress. It's just hot air. If you think it's not hot enough then you need a ore-heater, not a hotter or fancier station. At a minimum, try to only get the small stations where the tool can be detached from the base. These are easier to store and also to swap out if it breaks.

Buy tacky flux. Kester and Chip Quik are good brands. Only buy 63/37 leaded solder. Also only buy your solder, flux, and braid from known resellers to ensure you get the real thing. There is no substitute and you're wasting your time otherwise. Buy one of 0.015", 0.020", and 0.031" for variety. Junk solder is worth keeping for desoldering, but only use good solder when soldering.

That's my soldering short list.

I would agree with all of this. There are loads of reviews online re. tools. When it comes to components, if they have it at Jaycar I get it there (since its right around the corner, for me at least) otherwise I order from RS Components (they do have a Sydney desk but its a bit out of the way for me). With this stuff I try to avoid eBay or Aliexpress.

https://au.rs-online.com/web/c/power-tools-so … ding/soldering/

Got 90% of what I wanted from Jaycar, picked up a cheap hot air station from eBay to complete what I needed.

Found the Chip-Quik US site and they do ship to Australia pretty cheap so might use them for flux and solder in teh future.

Revived the BC-21e printhead on this trash picked Canon BJC-4200. Good memories printing homework on the smaller BJC-255SP back in the day!
Check out the spelling mistake on the demo page hahh

PTherapist wrote on 2022-08-13, 20:36:

smtkr wrote on 2022-08-13, 18:25:

I had one of those when I was a kid. I remember a game with a keyboard overlay that was really cool

Quest For The Rings?

That's one of the games I have that I know uses an overlay. I'm going to get hold of the overlay (or print 1) soon and give it a go.

Yes, that's the game. The packaging for that game was incredible. I have no idea what happened to my odyssey 2 or my atari 22600. I bet my dad chucked them.

Got DFI CA64-TC at auction for $3. She didn't start. After replacing the capacitors, it worked.

Tualatin, AGP4x, ISA..........mmmmmm..........excellent....

liqmat wrote on 2022-08-12, 02:37:

debs3759 wrote on 2022-08-12, 02:18:

Been doing more organising. I think I've sorted about half my collection now. Just can't stop hoarding though 😄

Looks like you have a rather extensive motherboard collection going on.

I also have some amount of mobos... But the trick is, to use 1 MB box, and put x2 boards inside, this is what i do, in order to safe space, similar with the video cards, i put as many as i can in shoe boxes (damn i am big fan of shoe boxes), even when i see outside some new box next to the garbage i will collect it, and be happy to store new parts inside...

Meatball wrote on 2022-08-12, 14:32:

JustJulião wrote on 2022-08-12, 14:28:

Installed a DVD burner and a FDD/SD combo that fit my old Lian Li case (the one that hosts the Soyo P4s Dragon Ultra and the Voodoo 5).
20220812_162242.jpg
20220812_162230.jpg

What a great looking system outside (and I presume inside). This is the kind of machine that would make me think: "That's it... there' no better retro machine than this... I'm done with buying up hardware."

Yes that case looks very nice... The same type of Cooler Master cases looks alo very nice, maybe even a bit better... And there is the Cooler Master panels, adding one will improve the looks at least 50%...

appiah4 wrote on 2022-08-10, 14:53:

Haha VOGONS would have a heart attack if I shared photos of my hardware stacked inside plastic crates with absolutely no protection. I mean, I would get boxes and bags for all, but then I would need twice or thrice the storage space, and I don't have that.

NANI wtf.... SHAME on U... I dont know how some ppl like u are ok with this crap... I just imagine, how the parts scratch eatch other, since not even a paper is used, and u know the stores have weekly brochures, so u can at least add some of these between every card jesus.... I still remember, when i was in the home of an enthusiast, and when he did open his drawer, all CPUs, ram sticks, and whatever else was there, all just put in there, no antistatic, no buble, no even a f*****g paper JESUS F christ man........

DerBaum wrote on 2022-08-11, 12:41:

I have heard that some people are really triggered from storing cards without antistatic bags.
So i bought even smaller bins and put even more cards inside. 😏

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUUUUUUUU.........................

appiah4 wrote on 2022-08-11, 13:06:

canthearu wrote on 2022-08-11, 12:59:

DerBaum wrote on 2022-08-11, 12:41:

I have heard that some people are really triggered from storing cards without antistatic bags.
So i bought even smaller bins and put even more cards inside. 😏

Yeah, but everyone has a huge stack of Live! cards .....

Do that with a huge stack of voodoo 1 cards and watch the internet rage!

Voodoo 1? Meh. Do it with Voodoo 5 5500 PCIs.

I'd trade a working Voodoo 1 for a working Voodoo Rush PCI. Am I crazy?

No comment here scratched Voodoo 5 without protection DAFUQ....

For shits and giggles just grabbed a boxed set of Windows 95 on Floppy Disk, no idea if they work but the box is in great condition and the disks are in their sealed wrapper so fingers crossed !!

Will be added to my Dos 6.22 and Win 3.11 WFW collection.

Anyone here have any experience in backing up these DMF disks ?
Would love to put them onto my Gotek but no idea if I can even back up this format of disk.