Cool stuff for sale mega-thread.

Discussion in 'Auctions and classifieds' started by Mister X, Aug 3, 2018.

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  1. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    You are right. Unlike with the ZX81 cassette storage wasn't essential though as all the Pocket Computers I have owned (the first being an FX850 bought new) have had battery backed RAM. One had a clever arrangement in the battery compartment to stop you from accidentally removing both batteries at once, which could have lost your program. Of course many had very limited memory so a Cassette Deck would have been useful if you had quite a few programs you regularly ran.

    As you say many of these computers were used for serious real world tasks. Laptop Computers were only just starting to appear, and cost £1000s (apart from oddities like the TRS80 portable that were just a bit better than the pocket computers.
     
    Longman, May 29, 2020
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  2. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I seem to remember a ton of "oddball" programs pre-recorded on cassettes. They were great for multi-formula number crunching, some of my first computer games, that I created, were games similar to Dungeons and Dragons, where moves and battles were made on rolls of multi-sided dice. My first computer, a ZX81 used cassette but I was extremely happy when my Apple II+ showed wrapped up with a disk drive. I still used a cassette drive once in a while for older programs.
     
    Mister X, May 29, 2020
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  3. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, May 30, 2020
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 1, 2020
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  5. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 2, 2020
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  6. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 3, 2020
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  7. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Longman, Jun 14, 2020
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  8. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Longman, Jun 14, 2020
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  9. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 16, 2020
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 16, 2020
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  11. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    This is interesting, an FM Cartridge that looks like it will work in most players. Most FM cartridges only worked in one brand and had extra connections so you didn't need to hit the play button. I always like portables with a radio because the battery life is pretty short but the radio would keep going for a few more days, unfortunately with this style, the power-hungry motor is still turning.
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/KAP-X-07-C...a=1&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109

    kap.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jun 17, 2020
    #371
  12. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 17, 2020
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  13. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    An even biggesr problem is how do you get to the tuning knob when you have put the cassette in the player ?
     
    Longman, Jun 17, 2020
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  14. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Longman, Jun 22, 2020
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  15. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 22, 2020
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  16. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jun 24, 2020
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  17. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I was trying to work out what the power bulge on the back was for then realised it is probably for the cassette motor. Of course the innards of many Amstrad systems were similarly thin but they put them at the front of a full depth stack system to look the part, and support the turntable at the top.
     
    Longman, Jun 24, 2020
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  18. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    It wouldn't surprise me if Sharp had a huge motor in there, these photos suck but I think it was pretty expensive when it came out. I would splurge on this and even more on the Technics Slim System.
     
    Mister X, Jun 24, 2020
    #378
  19. stuck-in-time

    stuck-in-time Well-Known Member

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    Interesting, I didn't know there's this gold-ish version. The silver ones pop-up quite frequently where I live, though most are missing the speakers. I've seen like perhaps 4 in the past 2 months. I think it looks better in silver, though.
     
    stuck-in-time, Jun 24, 2020
    #379
  20. Philip Taylor

    Philip Taylor Active Member

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    Philip Taylor, Jun 25, 2020
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