Next Meeting

Just a quick reminder that there won’t be a retro computing event in January. Our first event for the year will be February 9th. Details are here. We want to see as many of you there as possible to kick off the new year. If you don’t have a system to bring, that’s totally fine. If you’ve never been to an event before but are curious, we’d love to see you there.

Happy New Year!

10 Retro Computing YouTube channels to check out over the Christmas break

Here’s a collection of YouTube channels that I’ve really enjoyed over the last couple of years. There are obviously many more great channels out there but for now I thought I’d limit myself to 10. In no particular order:

1. Retro Man Cave
Computer restoration videos are some of my favourites on YouTube and Retro Man Cave’s are amongst the most engaging and informative. His videos are always well shot with a narrative style that draws you in and keeps you watching.

2. Nostalgia Nerd
The title of this one says it all really. A fun and diverse channel with well-researched content. Everything from the Spectrum to MS-DOS is covered with in-depth system reviews and a focus on classic gaming from the 80s and 90s.

3. Terry Stewart
New Zealander Terry Stewart has an amazing collection of vintage computers which he presents to us in a series of videos that charts the history of each machine in comprehensive detail. Well worth a look.

4. Dan Wood
Another excellent channel that I’ve been following for a while. Dan features some great Amiga content including an up-close look at the rarer-than-rare Amiga CD1200 prototype. Also be sure to check out The Retro Hour podcast he presents with Ravi Abbott. Essential listening for all retro fans.

5. Adrian Black
More repair and tear-down videos of classic computers, often featuring some rather rare and unique systems. A great resource for those of us who enjoy poking around ‘the insides’ of our old machines.

6. Jan Beta
Jan is another tinkerer whose videos cover the C64, VIC 20, Amiga and many more. He generously shares his knowledge as he goes about exploring and repairing vintage hardware.

7. 8-Bit Guy
8-Bit Guy’s channel features some very thorough restoration videos of classic computers and retro oddities. There’s always something interesting to have a look at, including his recent experiments with retro-brighting. I have to admit I’m still a little wary of doing this to my precious hardware just yet!

8. Lazy Game Reviews
Plenty of 90s computer gaming nostalgia here, particularly of the MS-DOS and early Windows variety. If you loved all those big box PC games of the era, then this is the channel for you.

9. The Guru Meditation
This is an Amiga-based channel (who would’ve guessed with that title!) that covers all things Amiga from an American perspective. I always found the early US Amiga scene really interesting, particularly with its focus on professional graphics and desktop video. My only real window into this world was a couple of issues of Amiga World magazine I’d acquired from the late 80s. Anyway, this channel has some great instructional content including digitizing an image with Newtek’s Digiview and converting a modern photograph to the Amiga’s HAM mode. Also featured are some interesting interviews with prominent figures in the Amiga scene.

10. Luke Morse
Luke is an American living in Japan and his channel focuses on collecting and repairing vintage consoles, games and arcade boards. However what I love most about his channel are his frequent trips to ‘Hard Off’, a chain of second-hand electronics stores in Japan that feature row upon row of vintage Japanese consoles, computer equipment and video games. These stores seem to be something of an Aladdin’s cave for hard-to-find retro gear, or at least they were until recent years, when word has gotten out and stock seems to have been drying up.

Well that’s it for now. Hopefully there’s something in there worth watching while you’re sipping egg nog or wrapping presents these holidays. Happy retro computing!

February 2018 Event

Adelaide Retro Computing Event!
Time: 7:30pm
Date: Friday 9th February 2018
Location: Eastwood Community Centre Hall
95 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood SA 5063 

Cost of entry is $4 per person. (Children under 12 exempt)

This will be the first event for 2018 (no January event is scheduled).

Any retro computer or gaming system is fine: Apple, IBM, Commodore, Amiga, Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Wonderswan, FM Towns, BeBox, NEXT; we want to see them all. We'd especially like to see stuff we haven't seen before, so no matter how obscure it is, we want to see it.

If you don't have anything to bring in that's fine; we'd like to see as many people attend to spectate as those with displays.

We request that systems be dated 2001 or earlier.

Second hand sale tables for those wanting to sell retro systems and retro system accessories should be available as usual.

The event starts at 7:30pm, but for those bringing in systems please arrive at 7:00pm to set up. Please bring power boards and extension cables for your equipment. A video projector will be available for anyone wanting to use it with their system. Tables are provided.

There is a $4 entry fee to cover costs of room hire, etc.

For directions to the Eastwood Community Centre please visit our website at http://adelaideretrocomputing.blogspot.com.au/ and click on Meeting Location for directions.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Adelaide Retro Computing Group: 2018 and Beyond!

Thanks Epsilon, George and Theo for your superb efforts in maintaining the blog and keeping Adelaide retro computing enthusiasts abreast of news for the last three years. Yours are big shoes to fill, but we will do our best to keep the blog humming along with photos of events and announcements relating to the group.

Nick will be lead organiser for the ARC Group in 2018. He will also helm the Facebook page. Michael, Rowan, Ivan and myself will help with setting up events and other group-related duties. If anyone else would like to be involved, please let any of us know.

We are looking to February 9th, 2018 for the next meet up. Nothing will change; same venue, same time. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. An announcement will be made soon; please also check the ARC Facebook page for up to date information. 

Finally a little bit about me. I’m somewhat of a newcomer to the ARC Group but I’ve been an avid Amiga user since 1989; having owned an A500 followed by an A1200, both of which are still happily running. I’ve recently added a few machines to the fleet including two A1000 systems (definitely my favourite of the classic Amigas) and I’m now waiting for the rumoured ACA 1000 expansion board in order to add some modern features to these 30+ year old machines. Its definitely an exciting time for classic computing with new boards, interfaces, peripherals and even full systems seemingly appearing on a weekly basis. In recent months I’ve been transferring hundreds of my old 3.5” floppies over to the CF card on my A1200. Its been great fun listening to MOD files I composed back in the 90s, and seeing my old pixel art created with Deluxe Paint. I even found some old tile-sets and sprites for a game I’d started building back in the day. When time allows I might try to finish this project either for the Amiga or possibly a more modern and accessible platform - we shall see. At the moment I’m updating the art assets and getting everything properly catalogued and archived before my floppies completely bite the dust! 

Anyway, we hope to see you all at the next meet in February, and we're looking forward to checking out everyone’s retro systems in 2018. Wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas break.

Best regards,

Dan

December 2017 Meeting Report, new owners and Farewell

Hi All,

Epsilon here. I have prepared a blog post on my blog covering the December 2017 Adelaide Retro Computing Group meeting, held on December 8. The link is here:

https://amigax1000.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/adelaide-retro-computing-group-meeting.html

Sadly this was the last meeting with myself, George and Theo as organisers of the Adelaide Retro Computing Group. After 3 years of running the group (for me and George from it's formation in late 2014) we are keen to do other things, although in my case it is mainly for health reasons.

We are handing control of the group over to a new set of organisers, as agreed during the meeting on December 8.

This will be my final post (I assume) on the Adelaide Retro Computing Group website as the owner of the page. I will shortly transfer control to the new owners of the group, and leave it to them to update this website moving forward. I will remain as an admin for as long as I am welcome.

I can say it has been a blast and I have really enjoyed running this website for the group, and organising the events as well for the past 3 years. Meeting so many passionate people at these meetings has been a highlight, and mucking around with some amazing systems all in one place!

I hope the new owners continue the good work begun by myself, George and Theo and keep the momentum going for this group and build on it.

I look forward to attending the events in 2018!

In the meantime, I am still active on my Amiga blog http://amigax1000.blogspot.com.au  and Instagram at Instagram.com/epsilon2012 if you want to follow along.

I will restart my other blogs and other things as my health improves following a big scare last month - this being the main reason for me stepping down from organising the group moving forward.

Farewell for now.