fimbulvetr Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 I find it crazy that people are now asking $300 for ti99's, that you could easily find for $25 less than 5 years ago. Those are not worth that much. About 15 years ago I got in compact Macs, and picked up a bunch of them. No way would I pay what people are asking for an SE/30 or the like now. But for my 8-bits, I figure it is a hobby I enjoy so I still begrudgingly pay the now-inflated prices for hardware on occasion. I wait for deals, stick to a budget, and don't buy nearly as much as when it was cheap. It is still a cheaper hobby than owning a boat or a horse or whatever 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Apart from some of the nice upgrades available these days, I'm glad I kept all my original gear that I bought in spite of my wife often saying "when are you going to get rid of that Junk" (grounds for divorce I think). Original 800 cost me £450 32K with a cassette, 2 X 1050's ~£150 each, 2 X 130XE can't remember price, but wasn't too bad. And I still have my 520 STFM and 1040 STE 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, idavis said: This made me laugh as most of my equipment was bought back in the day, and it was not cheap. LOL. I think the problem now is too many of those picker shows, or storage war shows on tv. Everyone thinks they are going to get rich reselling things online. Well, originally I payed full retail price for a 130XE in 1985, so compared to those who got Atari 800's and XL's it was still cheap, after Tramiel took over and decided to compete against his own C64 in the low-end market and give up trying to compete with Apple in education and business. And most peripherals were a bit cheaper by then, especially if you went with XL line that was discounted (and no XF551 to buy yet anyway). But by 2000, just before I joined here, I was still using my 130XE, I only had a few years in the late 90's when it was in storage otherwise I've been an avid user and enthusiast since 85'. I got a 1200XL for $25 sometime in the early 2000's (I bought a second for $50 a few years later) and once I upgraded it with Rambo, and fell in love with the keyboard and styling (and controller and cartridge placement), I sold of the 130XE and said good-riddance to it's mushy keyboard (even after upgrading it with Best's ST Megatouch(?) spring upgrade). around 2005 I got my first 800, which I had for a year or two, but ended up selling it because I rarely used it as 48K just held me back from using it more. Then, soon after, Incognito shows up and I'd been longing to get an 800 back, but due to a chaotic life for a few years with multiple moves, I didn't even have the time or space to use my 1200XL for about 4 years. Then in 2015 I was able to set it all up again, started visiting this forum again and joined another where I met and became good on-line friends with Timothy Kline, and was talking to @Timothy Kline about the 800 a year or so later, and mentioned that I had been wanting one for a while, but now was waiting to see if I could get my hands on an Incognito first, otherwise I wouldn't bother. Well, he surprised me with a gift of an 800 and 810 that arrived in a large box I was told had some extra Atari books of his he was sending me (which he already had given me about a dozen)! Now I have an Incognito 800 with Pokeymax Quad+Covox, and other mods, and will soon have a Turbo Freezer 2011 (I have it now) installed internally, behind the Incognito and the extra XE adapter w/pass-thru PBI I got with it will be modified and used as a PBI port on the back of the 800, connected to the Turbo Freezer's pass-thru internally. So now I have fully upgraded 800 and 1200XL and a stock 1200XL (except for mods like S-video fix, etc.) all for cheap or free that I've fully restored and upgraded for far less than the cost of any of these machines, stock, for sale today. Edited October 26, 2020 by Gunstar 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 At these prices I'd really just save up for a VBXE-equipped 1088XLD. It's just so much more flexible than a stock machine these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 47 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said: At these prices I'd really just save up for a VBXE-equipped 1088XLD. It's just so much more flexible than a stock machine these days. But I’m not sure they are available yet or am I mistaken ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Speaking of XEL/XLD... This is a standard XLD Built and tested VBXE/Sophia etc. are extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedgarcia Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 I wouldn't pay more than US$ 150 for a boxed 800XL. At the end is all about supply and demand and how bad you want a certain item. If that's something you are looking to get and it is super important to you, maybe you can pay more just to make sure you got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Being an Apple II enthusiast won't get me points here, but we're all in the same boat. In 1998-2002 Apple //e consoles were being given away by a local used software reseller for $5 each. Guy put them out on the sidewalk/storefront every day for weeks on end till I scooped them up. And I was seeing //c consoles for under $5 at several thrift stores too. Great source of spare parts if ever needed. The first II and II+ models had 100 modular TTL chips. The //e and //c had all that integrated into a few custom chips. High reliability, cost-reduced models. So far I haven't needed to cannibalize any. A lot of the 8-bit dumpage and e-waste that happened in the dotcom era was simply people transitioning into more capable & compatible PCs or Macs. And just as the 1st generation Sandy Bridge Intel CPUs came out, we saw plenty of Core Duos, Pentium 4, and similarly classed AMD stuff being practically given away. This was back around 2012'ish. I haven't seen any of these being scrapped in quantity yet or being sold for pennies on the dollar. They're still quite usable with modern applications and Windows 10. The best that can be expected here is off-lease former desktop business machines. The commodity crap. Also see "select" or individual PC parts going for ridiculous rates on eBay. $50-$200 for an ISA/PCI/AGP graphics board? Some are BIN some are actual bidding-war auctions. Motherboards going for $100-$200? Soundcards? Same thing. 3 hours ago, ZuluGula said: Anyway, if someone wants a retro computer and can find one in the price range that they can afford, I would buy it now. I heard it many times that prices will fall down when we all die and our kids will be cleaning our collections, but what I can see is that those kids are checking ebay and asking ridiculous money for stuff they don't know nothing about And to make matters worse they tack on a few bucks, because their shit don't stink. Even if unflushed (unsold). I've watched many items that haven't sold in months or years. The only thing changing is the increasing price - till for some reason its suddenly unavailable. 5 hours ago, Gunstar said: I don't even attempt to look for working machines in good order anymore as I'd never pay what asking prices are for them these days even if I had the money to burn. I'm just glad I got my Atari's years ago for cheap or as gifts. If I was just starting out, I wouldn't be getting into the hobby at all anymore. Same here. I have all my original Apple II material with period correct and date correct parts and markings and chips and stuff. So, today, I would only pay scrap cost or slightly higher if I was to get any more consoles. If I acquire enough of any one model for dirt cheap (working or not) I would disassemble and rebuild them into one working workhorse. And to someone first starting out I would recommend emulation to get the lay of the land. And then have them read up on wiki and select forums. It seems to be the only practical & cheap way to get going. I would also say to just stick with what you had as a kid, or wanted as a kid. And use emulation to pick up the rest. IF you're a kid now, today, then you're still gonna need to do all that AND make first-time purchases. Learn along the way. Acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to work on it. From cleaning sockets to tracing logic signals, electronics experience is going to be required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 44 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: Speaking of XEL/XLD... This is a standard XLD Built and tested VBXE/Sophia etc. are extra. do you have a link ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 11 minutes ago, Blues76 said: do you have a link ? XEL https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/1088xel-xld/products/mytek-1088xel XLD https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/1088xel-xld/products/1088xld-by-mytek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 6 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: XEL https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/1088xel-xld/products/mytek-1088xel XLD https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/1088xel-xld/products/1088xld-by-mytek This is really cool. I will look into this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 7 minutes ago, Blues76 said: This is really cool. I will look into this. If you don't need all the bells and whistles and want something cheaper, this is coming soon(ish) Nowhere to order it yet but discussion is here 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 40 minutes ago, Blues76 said: This is really cool. I will look into this. And check here for more specific info on the XEL and XLD, as well as a few other items: AtariBits.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 10 minutes ago, mytek said: And check here for more specific info on the XEL and XLD, as well as a few other items: AtariBits.com I know this is a hard question but do you have a preference between xel and xld? Or maybe not preference but why one over the other one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 13 minutes ago, Blues76 said: I know this is a hard question but do you have a preference between xel and xld? Or maybe not preference but why one over the other one ? I like them both, but do find myself leaning towards the XLD, simply because it packs a lot of power and also looks like something that could of come from Atari due to the reuse of the 1050 case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 21 hours ago, Blues76 said: I just lost a bid for an 800xl that went for 310. This one had 320k, video upgrade and in good condition. I do have a few but I’m always worry that I need to have an extra backup. I just reread your first post, and if you have working spares, I wouldn't necessary spend more money on another computer. Maybe only get new quality power supply and spend money on mods. I guess that even if you have to pay someone to install 1MB RAM and video upgrade in one of yours 800XL would be much less than $310. You can always fix Atari. I also remember about Eight Bit Fix, he might be an user on this forum too. He has working Atari hardware for reasonable prices https://www.eightbitfix.com/for-sale/8-bit-hardware/ Looks like you can get 600XL with 64k for $60 and other 8 bit computers for around $100-150. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 34 minutes ago, ZuluGula said: I just reread your first post, and if you have working spares, I wouldn't necessary spend more money on another computer. Maybe only get new quality power supply and spend money on mods. I guess that even if you have to pay someone to install 1MB RAM and video upgrade in one of yours 800XL would be much less than $310. You can always fix Atari. I also remember about Eight Bit Fix, he might be an user on this forum too. He has working Atari hardware for reasonable prices https://www.eightbitfix.com/for-sale/8-bit-hardware/ Looks like you can get 600XL with 64k for $60 and other 8 bit computers for around $100-150. thanks — I will check it out. There are some modes that I don’t have. In particular, xegs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 3 minutes ago, Blues76 said: There are some modes that I don’t have. In particular, xegs. I'm in the same boat I'm still missing the 1400XLD and 1450XLD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 32 minutes ago, ZuluGula said: I'm in the same boat I'm still missing the 1400XLD and 1450XLD. Still kicking myself for selling my 1450xl motherboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 7 minutes ago, mimo said: Still kicking myself for selling my 1450xl motherboard The 1450xl almost impossible to find, right ? how many of them were released ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 54 minutes ago, mimo said: Still kicking myself for selling my 1450xl motherboard Yes I know, but your kind act made me soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy You could always ask one of the guys here on AA to sell you their unfinished board as long as it's not monkeyed up... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 7 hours ago, Mr Robot said: If you don't need all the bells and whistles and want something cheaper, this is coming soon(ish) Nowhere to order it yet but discussion is here This is very cool. It is amazing what some of the people here are doing. I find myself lucky and now that I can have a place build it is even better. Maybe one day I should learn how to solder but I doubt it will be anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 5 hours ago, Blues76 said: The 1450xl almost impossible to find, right ? how many of them were released ? None were released. There were a some prototype runs, some of which were rescued from the Atari dumpsters. Maybe about 100 to 250 of each run. A few Atarians had prototypes. For example IIRC the owner/author of Current Notes Magazine in Virginia had a 1450XL(D). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 This video got me thinking that this old hardware is becoming more popular with collectors than it is with users. Collectors are going to pay more for it than a gamer or programmer. And that's going to enhance the price increases we've seen over the last decade or two. It's unfortunate because most of the people looking to collect this stuff don't know how to repair or program these things. Only the old guard does. Or highly motivated newbies. Seems that collectors know more about the market and ebay than the actual stuff they buy and sell! On 10/25/2020 at 10:11 PM, Gunstar said: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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