What fun stuff did you do with your rig?

[Keatah]

What other fun stuff did you do with your classic computer besides play mainstream commercial games?

 

We did plenty of things like electronic experiments - both real and fringe make-believe things. Ranging from light and motor control to operating an amateur SETI setup. An offshoot of that was hooking the modem to the radio via one of the RadioShack project kits, and trying to search for secret codes or language of the universe. And more weird stuff. Almost as fun as wardialing.

 

Played LunarLander and MissionControl in homemade blanket & cardboard forts.

 

Had loads of fun exploring the nature of math through the trigonometry functions in BASIC.

 

Didn't have a ton of cash on hand, spent it on acquiring hardware. So me and my buddies enjoyed systems like the Apple /// or TRS-80 Model II or any of the desk-sized S-100 bus systems vicariously & virtually through catalogs and books. Even did that with some "high-end" Amiga stuff like the A2000 and Toaster, or whatever happened to be the latest in PC hardware.

 

It was simply tons of fun reading the specs, picking a favorite, and battling my buddies who did the same. Not unlike an RPG game except your characters were computers and their attributes their specs.

 

All that and so much more.

[ClausB]

A friend and I did fun stuff with the 8741 microcontroller on the ISA bus. One project was a MIDI out board. Another was an X-Y galvo mirror controller for laser light shows. He did a show in San Francisco and met Woz there!

[Knimrod]

5 hours ago, ClausB said:

A friend and I did fun stuff with the 8741 microcontroller on the ISA bus. One project was a MIDI out board. Another was an X-Y galvo mirror controller for laser light shows. He did a show in San Francisco and met Woz there!

I still have that controller Claus.   It performed perfectly at the Gala opening of the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose back around 1990 I think.  Woz was a benefactor there and was in attendance wearing a white tuxedo with children's hand prints in all different colors.  Very down to earth guy.  We got a chance to talk and he was impressed with our homebuilt laser light show controller.  He also signed your book "Hackers" by  Stephen Levy at which point it then became my book....which I also still have.