Back in 1982 I bought my first computer. It was a ZX-81 in kit form. I
have always been interested in electronics and after I finished technical
school I decided I was going to build my own computer. In the summer of
1982, I was going through a Radio Electronics Magazine and came across
an ad for a computer kit for the ZX-81. It was only $79.95!
So I bought the ZX-81 and put it together. At the time I knew very
little about the computer revolution that had been going on in the
previous years nor was I aware of the great computer format war that was
being waged for the home computer market. But it was to have a great
impact on me in the following years as I'm sure it did on a great number
of beginning computer enthusiasts. The price wars of 1981 and 1982, which led to
the great shakeout of 1983 were the determining factors for myself and I
would venture to say a majority of consumers as to which format we
bought and stayed with.
That is why I chose the VIC-20 as my second computer. This was in the
fall of 1982. The Commodore Computer Company was in a price war with Texas
Instruments and its TI99/4A. I was unaware of this at the
time but benefited from
the price reduction on the VIC-20 which was lowered to $199.95.The
VIC-20 was a vast improvement on my ZX-81, it offered
color, sound, and a real keyboard. But, I really wanted the C64, which
had been released earlier that year, but the cost was too high
($595.95). So I settled for the lower priced VIC-20 figuring that
the peripherals that I bought for it would be compatible with the C64
if and when the price on it would drop to a more affordable level. The great shakeout of 1983
brought a new round of price cuts, and by the fall of 1983 the C64's
price fell below
$200. It was irresistible. I bought one!
By
now I had the bug and there was no turning back. For the next several
years I went through a few different flavors of 64's and added a great
deal of peripherals to it. Before I was forced to switched to the PC, I probably
stretched my C64 to the limits of my capabilities. And I had
accumulated a vast library of software and books for it. You'll see a
lot of it in the museum. I pretty much stayed with the C64 until 1990
when I bought my first PC, an AT 286 clone (Packard
Bell Legend I). After going through four
generations of Wintel X86 systems I have finally ended up with a
computer that I built from scratch (isn't that where I started? :)), a
400MHz PII. I have kept most of my original Commodore stuff and have
added to it with things that I have picked up at flea markets and thrift
shops over the years. I have also branched into other computer formats
to explore the computers that I used to read about in the early
magazines.
I
have created this museum to preserve that history and to display them
through pictures. As this is a work in progress I will be continuously
updating this site and would appreciate any input to help with it's
growth. I have included a lot of pictures of my computers and
peripherals because as the saying goes 'a picture is worth a thousand words'.
Besides, I like
to show off my collection. All the pictures in this museum are of the actual machines
in my collection, taken mostly in my workshop. I have tried to give as much
information on each individual computer in my museum as I can find. I
will only display the computers that I actually have, so my museum will
be incomplete but it will be as accurate in descriptions and the history
of the piece as I can make it. If I made any errors or have any
omissions, please feel free to email
me and I will correct it. So go browse and enjoy the walk down
memory lane.
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