Great Atari day to add to my original TOP 10

[ACML]

Earlier this month I shared my drive down Borregas Ave in Sunnyvale, CA (the Bushnell/Warner Headquarters). What I did not include was how I spent the remainder of the day. After my visit down an Atari famous Avenue, I drove over to Best Electronics in San Jose to drop off an order. Met Bradley Koda and he was generous enough to field many Atari questions I had. Extremely nice guy, very informative and he truly is an Atari enthusiast. Picked up some joystick/paddle parts, 800 and 1200XL keyboards, and a pair of CX853 16K RAM cards. Day not over yet. I had been corresponding with Bob Woolley (bob120XL) and he invited me over for a visit. First, a real pleasure and honor to be able to meet Bob. To me and I know many will agree, Mr. Woolley is an Atari legend. Bob showed me some current projects (yes, 1200XL based) to include a 14mhz 1200XL. I also had to opportunity to see, in real life, a 1200XL prototype, 1400XL, 1450XLD and two 815 duel drives. Read about them, but now I can say I've actually seen the real McCoy. I certainly had lots of questions and was really impressed that Bob had had many projects in work. Someday, when I can retire, some of my free time will be devoted to my hobbies (new and old). Met Bob's wife and she is a wonderful person (as I said, a really nice visit). Besides being a real resource for the Atari community, Bob is a generous man. Went back to Best Electronics later in the week to pick up my order. Bradley and his staff went through and tested my keyboards for functionality and tested the CX-853's. Wow, I was impressed. I know the stuff is 30+ years old and having Best quality test the parts was a surprise. I would definitely do business with him again. Pretty good Atari day/s, don't you think?

Edited June 23, 2013 by ACML

[+Firedawg]

Wow, thanks for sharing. Time is slipping past us all, and we should reach out to the opportunities around us if we can. Great stories thanks.

[pixelmischief]

=). I grew up in South Florida and at that time, Bob lived in the same city as me. His son and I went to high school together, I didn't know Bob, but I did have the honor of hooking up with him one day to buy some Atari stuff. He showed me his "office" and told me about some of his stuff. It was incredible and the man himself was so pleasant and generous. Unfortunately, I lost the things I got from him in Hurricane Andrew. I'd give an arm to have those things back; not because of what they were, but because of who I got them from.

[+Guitarman]

I stopped and met Bob a couple years back when I was in SJ for a Sharks game. He and his wife were very nice. I, too, got a tour of the 'man-cave' and was blown away with history of hardware and software he has there. I was only able to stay about an hour but would surely like to visit again the next time I'm there. Truly a legend in Atari but also a truly nice and fun person to 'hang' with.

[pixelmischief]

I wonder if he still has that ASCII Storm Trooper helmet hanging on the wall.