Why should I continue my Atari hobby?

[Marius]

Hi folks,

 

Since 1984 I'm in atari 8bit scene. My whole house is filled with atari 8bit equipment: Owning over 75 atari 8bit computers, and zillions of devices and other atari related stuff.

 

In a few months I'm moving with wife and kid to a new house, and now I have stored all the atari stuff in boxes... it looks great. I might take some pictures.

 

But now everthing is put together, I started thinking: perhaps this is a good moment to sell all this and stop living between all this 80's equipment.

 

I have had these thoughts before, and always I was happy I did not sell all the stuff... but now I'm on a "crossroad" in my life, and with the moving-to-another-house situation I have it AGAIN aargh.

 

So please tell me everything good reason NOT to sell it, and why I should keep those atari 8bit computers humming!

 

Thanks!

Marius

[primeform]

well maybe 75 is a bit excessive. how about 1 or 2?

[analmux]

I'm an 8bit fan, but I'd definitely not keep cubic meters of this stuff. You can always sell a large part of your collection. Just keep one of the main devices? i.e. one atari 800xl, one 1050 diskdrive, throw away all tapes....

 

(By the way, possibly I'd like to have one extra 800xl, or maybe a spare keyboard for my 130xe, as mine is weary. And, I'm not that far away)

[Rybags]

75 is a bit excessive. Shouldn't 3 or 4 of each model be enough... that'd reduce it to a couple of dozen.

[Bunsen]

You don't need all this stuff. Better give it to me

[+Philsan]

Hi Marius.

I would be very very sad if you quit.

But I agree with other users that you don't need 75 computers...

[pepax]

There's certainly a better number than 0 and 75. Why would you want to get rid of everything at once

[flashjazzcat]

You could certainly trim the collection down somewhat, but a better idea might be to leave a lot of it boxed up and just use a few of them. The boxed up stuff will be probably be worth a fortune in thirty years' time: that would be a better time to sell up.

[roland p]

Do you have a seperate room in the new house where you can put your atari stuff?

[+therealbountybob]

Yes, why not keep a few systems and use them for what you enjoy doing, I've disconnected the Xbox and have 2 Atari's hooked up, make them convenient to use. I had a break for a couple of years but am enjoying more than ever programming and gaming on the Atari 8-bit. Maybe you just need a small break

[roland p]

...or like me, just use a small laptop and put all emulators on it. Convenient and small

[JamesD]

I think completely dumping your collection would be a mistake but cutting back would probably be a good idea.

[TMR]

I think completely dumping your collection would be a mistake but cutting back would probably be a good idea.

 

What he said, and you don't have to be particularly ruthless unless you're under some "spousal pressure" or similar. =-)

[S1500]

75? You're getting into buddiebuddies' territory of hoarding stuff. Yeah, 1 8-bit, or even just 1 of each would suffice. The rest are just taking up space in a wacky episode of "Hoarders: the 8-bit years."

[Ransom]

It's cool that you have so many A8s. I used to have a lot of them, but never that many!

 

What I did was I got rid of all but the most useful (800XL, 130XE) plus my nostalgic favorite, the 1200XL. I possibly should have saved two of each. But beyond that, it's hard to make a good argument.

 

Conversely, it's hard to make a good argument for getting rid of absolutely everything. You know that some day you'll regret it, and spend tons of money recovering at least some of the A8s.

 

Moderation in all things, as they say...

[Marius]

The reason for this amount is because of I was really addicted to atari 8bit for years. I was really "terrified" by the idea there would be a day that all my atari's would not boot anymore. So that is when I started to buy every 2nd hand atari 8bit I saw on internet of market places.

 

It was definately some kind of obsession. Honest.

 

I have enough space to store everything. In my new house: a complete room for this kind of equipment.

 

I am sure when I have that atari fever again, I'm afraid again for the non-atari future, and I start to collect them again. It's some kind of crazyness *blush* I guess....

 

But I did not start this topic because of the amount... I started the topic to read WHY I should continue on this hobby. Please tell me something really cool about it. Let me know why you are with atari. All those +++ stories might give me a good feeling, so that I decide to stay with you atari people.

 

I don't know how it is said in English, but in Dutch we call that a "Peptalk" which is definately some English-like word... so I hope you understand me better now

 

Marius

[+LS650]

Why? Because the 8-bit has some of the best games ever!

 

I can see having a very complete collection, with a couple of spare CPUs as backups, but 75 strikes me as more than a little bit excessive....

[AB Positive]

Well by all means stick with the hobby. People are still making new games, new apps and hell - even new hardware for the beast. People have worked out ways of putting 1MB of RAM in, getting the A8 online and talking on IRC... When a machine made in 1983 can go in a modern day chat room - there's always going to be a reason to stay in the hobby.

 

However - the ataris are pretty sturdy beasts (back before the ideas of planned obsolescence kicked in) and can take a beating. So paring down your collection, and hey maybe making some extra cash, isn't a bad idea. But I doubt anyone here would say to leave. There's still fun to be had. I'm learning trackers for a modern game project that I want to have realistic old-style sounds in.

 

That makes the A8 a musical instrument, as well as many of it's other talents. Keep a few, and keep playing about. It's a hobby after all!

[olavese@online.no]

Hi folks,

 

Since 1984 I'm in atari 8bit scene. My whole house is filled with atari 8bit equipment: Owning over 75 atari 8bit computers, and zillions of devices and other atari related stuff.

 

In a few months I'm moving with wife and kid to a new house, and now I have stored all the atari stuff in boxes... it looks great. I might take some pictures.

 

But now everthing is put together, I started thinking: perhaps this is a good moment to sell all this and stop living between all this 80's equipment.

 

I have had these thoughts before, and always I was happy I did not sell all the stuff... but now I'm on a "crossroad" in my life, and with the moving-to-another-house situation I have it AGAIN aargh.

 

So please tell me everything good reason NOT to sell it, and why I should keep those atari 8bit computers humming!

 

Thanks!

Marius

 

You'd lose part of you? It has soul and I did the same in 1984 or 85 when the ST came. Sold it to get the 16-bit, but luckily I got most of it back and now I feel more complete again :-)

 

It's awesome, durable equipment ... Don't do it

[Ransom]

Why stick with A8? Because if you get rid of your Ataris, you'll regret it sooner or later.

 

But it does sound like it's time for you to take a break. Maybe a long break; who knows? You might not get back to it until your kids are grown and you're retired. But at that point, you'll be darned happy to break out the old Atari again!

 

So keep what you can, and stop looking for reasons to justify the hobby. You've said you have the space to keep your stuff. That's all you need to do for now. Eventually, you'll find your own reasons for bringing some of your Atari stuff out and putting it all into use again.

[MEtalGuy66]

I want your black box and all your XF551s..

[Bryan]

I regret getting rid of some of my rarer pieces back in the day... like my 1200 (non-XL) with a silver Atari Engineering Lab sticker. I also remember passing on some really rare proto pieces because I was strapped at the time.

[+wood_jl]

You should keep your Atari stuff - or SOME of it - because they make you feel good.

 

Maybe you've realized now that you have "too much" and you could sell SOME of it. But like someone else said, having one unit you use, one spare, and one new/complete in box is a nice goal.

 

I have "gotten out of" the Atari-8 on two separate occasions. I regretted it both times.

 

First time was when the ST came out. I couldn't afford it and thought I "had to have it" and I sold the setup. I missed A8 Donkey Kong the first week. Later in the early 1990s I bought some used stuff. This is way before the internet was popular, and certainly before AtariAge. The drives were having problems. I didn't know a single person who had one. No way to get software, and I certainly did not have all the software I had before. I don't know how to service ailing floppy drive. I was living in Alaska and the Atari dealer had LONG since evaporated. I sold it all cheap.

 

I always missed it. Years later (early 2000s) I found the emulator had improved remarkably. Having the Atari blue screen come up was like seeing an old friend. It renewed my interest, along with internet. I had heard of SIO2PC finally, but did not know anybody who had one or talk to anybody. Then about the same time as I learned about AtariAge, I got SIO2PC and Ebay 130XE. With the network of other people, suddenly I wasn't alone in this interest - not even close! All these other people doing upgrades, writing games. All these cool "dream" peripherals - like SIO2PC USB, flash carts, Sdrive.....it's the best time EVER to own one!

 

Basically, you should not sell everything because you will regret it. Atari-8 is obviously of keen interest to you. Maybe you have too many and you are starting to realize that, but the solution is to moderate and not get out completely. You will be sorry, and you will wonder what "the Atari scene" is doing.

 

Having the Atari makes you feel good! Even on days when I don't turn it on, it's comforting to gaze over to the A8 setup and I am instantly taken back to a simpler time. Now with all the software available (torrent collections, websites) it's the best time EVER to own one - in combination with places like this (AtariAge).

 

But if you'd like to get rid of a nice PAL 130XE with 320K, I may be interested!!!!

Edited April 2, 2010 by wood_jl

[+bob1200xl]

Well... it's kind of like cars. You can buy a Ferrari or you can make one out of an old Corvair. (insert your favorite) If you get anything out of creating what wasn't designed into a computer, the Atari 8-bit is the way to go. If you want to really interact with your computer, the Atari 8-bit is your target.

 

My wife is a quilter. She has 'tons' of material leftovers from other people that she is going to sort through, someday, and use on her quilts. Quilts that we could buy at Wal-Mart for $50, meaning that she makes, maybe, $.25 an hour making them. (not that she would sell one - they're for the family)

 

Do you think I would suggest that she toss all that? It's what people do. I gave up trying to do cars and computers - sold the Henry J and the XKE... (which reminds me - anyone want a Muncie 4-speed and a T-86 Ford/Chevy 3-speed?) Now, I just have the 8-bit stuff, but I still have an eye for the Big-Block '67 Chevelle idling down the street.

 

It's not like stamp collecting, where all you can do is look at them.

 

75? Pfffttt!!!

 

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

The reason for this amount is because of I was really addicted to atari 8bit for years. I was really "terrified" by the idea there would be a day that all my atari's would not boot anymore. So that is when I started to buy every 2nd hand atari 8bit I saw on internet of market places.

 

It was definately some kind of obsession. Honest.

 

I have enough space to store everything. In my new house: a complete room for this kind of equipment.

 

I am sure when I have that atari fever again, I'm afraid again for the non-atari future, and I start to collect them again. It's some kind of crazyness *blush* I guess....

 

But I did not start this topic because of the amount... I started the topic to read WHY I should continue on this hobby. Please tell me something really cool about it. Let me know why you are with atari. All those +++ stories might give me a good feeling, so that I decide to stay with you atari people.

 

I don't know how it is said in English, but in Dutch we call that a "Peptalk" which is definately some English-like word... so I hope you understand me better now

 

Marius

[ivop]

Why stick with A8? Because if you get rid of your Ataris, you'll regret it sooner or later.

 

Mostly this! I never sold my stuff, but I even regret not being active the last 15 years, go figure Now that I'm sort of active again, I like it just as much as in the past. I will never sell anything, even if I'll be inactive again for 15 years.