The new antique computer site – maybe a new ‘old’ site.

Antique computers have been my life for quite a few years now. Since my first purchase, a Commodore 128, I’ve acquired quite a number of antiques. Some have been donated, some have been purchased, all have been interesting.
Several years ago I thought it would be a great idea to start a website to highlight my collection. ‘theantiquecomputer.com’ was available but I didn’t do anything with it until I discovered WordPress. WordPress takes the html out of the website equation and, pretty much anyway, takes the FTP out of the same equation.
As often as I can I will upload some pics and information on the computers in my collection. I would also like to try to sell some of my units plus some of my computer books and manuals.
Most of my collection of computers and manuals is made up of Dynalogic Hyperions. I’ve been fortunate enough to collect many Hyperions and boxes of manuals, software and bits and pieces.
Collecting antique computers involves patience and perseverance. Over the years I have developed a pretty good reputation as a collector and have had the satisfaction of having had several newspaper articles written on my collection. My big thrill came when I got my name on a photo credit in the New York Times Sunday Magazine several years ago. It seems that no one in the United States had a spare Commodore 64 so one of my units was shipped to New York City and back by the New York Times for an article on retro-computing. What fun it was to see my name and my computer in the glossy magazine.
If you have just started collecting, good luck. There isn’t nearly as much hardware around now as there was ten years ago. Swap meets, garage sales and thrift stores are good places to start. Craigslist has been a good hunting ground as well as being a good place to sell things in also. The Vintage Computer website and the Vintage Computer Festivals are great places to get information and talk to collectors. When I wrote this the Vintage site wasn’t working but there are some pics of the East Festival here.

Finally, my own list of computer collectors is HERE. I must apologize if some of the links aren’t working anymore. I have tried to maintain this list for many years but, lately, some collectors don’t update their emails.

Over the next little while, check back or subscribe to this page on rss. WordPress has made it much easier to make updates and add photos so I’m ready to rock and roll here on theantiquecomputer.com. Thanks for reading.

4 Comments

    1. Hi John, if you are in the Toronto area I’d be happy to take the NEC off your hands but otherwise I can’t. I don’t buy old computers but I do rescue them from landfill sites. If you aren’t in Toronto, check out my list of collectors to see if one of them is close to you. You might find a taker for it. The list is here:
      http://theantiquecomputer.com/collectors.htm

      Good luck and thanks for commenting!

  1. I have an early ’80’s TRS-80 color computer complete. Manuals,cords, printer and cassette recorder. Are you interested? Do you know somebody who would be?

    1. Sorry for the delay. I don’t get over here too much. The TRS-80 is somewhat collectible but not valuable. Check Ebay, craigslist, etc. to get an idea of what’s out there. Someone would be glad to take it off your hands or pay a bit for it. Weight is always a problem for shipping these guys. Good luck if you still have it. Thanks for commenting.

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