Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 20/09/2026I love my Quad-Flop floppy controller (texelec.com/product/quad...), but I just learned that there was a “back in the day” solution that Jerry Pournelle wrote about in the November 1989 Byte Magazine. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 22/08/2026Anther first class restoration by Triple R. This one had a bit of everything wrong with it. youtu.be/Cd5i2GU9poc...youtu.beYouTubeI spotted this unusual Zenith laptop at a sale and knew I had to add it to my collection. After years of neglect, it was time to bring this 1988 Japanese-made machine back to life. Zenith SlimSport 286 — Specifications: 💻 Intel 286 @ 16 MHz 🧠 1 MB RAM (up to 4 MB) 💾 20 MB HDD 🖥️ 9.5" 640×480 passive-matrix grayscale display 🎮 VGA graphics 🔊 PC Speaker 🔋 33.6 Wh NiCad battery 💾 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy drive 📡 Optional modem 🔌 Parallel, Serial, VGA, external FDD & expansion ports Made in Japan 🇯🇵 | 1988 #Zenith #VintageComputer #LaptopRestoration #RetroComputing #DOS #Restoration #Repair #vintageelectronics 📌 PCBWay specializes in PCB manufacturing and prototyping, as well as 3D printing and CNC machining services – https://pcbway.com/g/q8g7k3 •🖨️ QIDI Plus5 Printer!!! ✅ (My choice) - https://qidi3d.com/products/plus5 •⚡ FNIRSI® SWM-20 1200A Dual-Pulse 2-in-1 Portable Battery Spot Welder - https://www.fnirsi.com/products/swm-20?sca_ref=9370890.98eOoirYqV&utm_source=af&utm_medium=9370890&utm_campaign=standard-affiliate-commission 011
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/08/2026In the November 1987 Chaos Manor column, while considering the merits of OS/2, Jerry Pournelle describes what users need is not multitasking, but multiprocessing. He could do it in the mid-80s thanks to his CompuPro 8/16 with it’s Z80 and 286 processors running Concurrent DOS. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 16/08/2026The East Coast precursor to the Computer History Museum (computerhistory.org). 010
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 04/08/2026Yes, that’s too fast. 1333MHz was as fast as it got back then. 100
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 04/08/2026Yeah, that would be 4 x 8GB DIMMs. Here’s a good reference: everymac.com/systems/appl...everymac.comiMac "Core i5" 2.7 21.5" (Mid-2011) Specs (Mid-2011, MC812LL/A, iMac12,1, A1311, 2428): EveryMac.comTechnical specifications for the iMac "Core i5" 2.7 21.5" (Mid-2011). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more. 100
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 03/08/2026Like the 2012 Mac Pro, the iMac uses DDR3 running at 1333MHz. I believe it takes 4GB DIMMs (maxing out at 16GB), but it might work with 8GB modules. Unlike the Mac Pro, I don’t think ECC (error correction) is required, but I’m not sure. 100
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 02/08/2026I’ll keep it classic, but it did get a bit scuffed up at ewaste. 110
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 02/08/2026Finished upgrading this 2012 Mac Pro recovered from a pile of ewaste. It now has a pair of 3GHz Xeon processors, 64GB of RAM, an RX 580 GPU, NVMe hard drive and SSD, USB 3.1, and upgraded WiFi and Bluetooth. I’ve installed Debian 13 with KDE, and I think this will become my daily driver. 1518210
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 29/07/2026The September 1986 Byte Magazine deep dived on the Amiga and Macintosh computers, both running on Motorola’s 68000 processor. The Mac eventually found its way, but one of the best hypotheticals for vintage computer fans is imagining what the Amiga could have been if not so poorly managed. 091
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 20/07/2026Successfully upgraded the processors in this new to me Mac Pro 5,1. Painlessly went from 2.4GHz E5645 to 3.06GHz 5675 Xeons. I know others push it to 3.46GHz with 5690s, but I went with Apple’s top configuration. Also, it’s less expensive and draws less power (=less heat). 020
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026No, it looks pristine when assembled. As a matter of fact, I’ve had this for a while sitting on a shelf, but somehow I neglected to check the battery. I think the damage was already done, but it’s still not great. Battery inspection should be the first step when acquiring something. 110
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026I tossed the shield, it was breaking apart in my hands. Cleaning the plastic is not easy. I’ve soak, scoured, and used several solvents. It’s better, but far from mint. 110
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026Stripping a Quadra 800 down to the base chassis is no walk in the park! I should buy a lottery ticket, because I got it done without breaking any of the many plastic clips. 120
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026Okay, not rust. Corrosion. Another damn Maxwell battery bomb. I think it’s repairable. A capacitor, diodes, an oscillator, and the SIMMs, along with the front switches, took the direct hit, but should be replaceable. The real time clock IC (343S0042) may have to be scavenged from a donor board. 130
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026Oof. There’s some real rust hiding inside this otherwise good looking Macintosh Quadra 800. 130
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026I’ve decided I don’t have problems with my hobby projects. I have puzzles. Real problems have no place in a hobby. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 19/07/2026Networking vintage computers is the ultimate test. The hardware has to work, the software has to work, and then you have to please the mercurial gods of networking. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 14/07/2026Absolutely. The OS loaded so many “helpful” programs in the background, but the hardware couldn’t pull it off. 010
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/07/2026It’s funny the random stuff you find buried in a closet. 041
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/07/2026It is such a basic beige beauty! Windows XP just felt right. 010
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/07/2026I’m strangely excited to put together my first Windows XP machine. It’s one of the Windows OSs I skipped; rocking Windows 2000 until making the move back to the Mac with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger. 5632
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/07/2026Sometimes it’s the little things: the motherboard worked outside the case, but not inside. Turns out the reset switch was dirty, so the system was stuck in reset. It wasn’t easy to get the switch free of the plastic case without breaking things, but once free, a little DeoxIT fixed everything. 020
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 11/07/2026This is the most modern board I’ve recapped so far, but this 1.2GHz AMD Athelon deserves to be saved from bulging caps. 010
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 08/07/2026In the Sept 1985 Chaos Manor column, Jerry describes a presentation by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates demoing Excel. He was impressed, but spent much of the column reflecting on a statement Gates made on the benefit of consistent user interfaces and sharing across applications. Radical thinking in 1985. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 06/07/2026I’m still making my way through all of Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor columns in Byte Magazine. I’m made it to June 1985, where he talks about maintenance work on his beloved Zeke Z80. I wonder if the DE-OX-IDE is today’s indispensable DeoxIT. Crossposted with @openvibe.social 122
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 02/07/2026@adriansdigitalbasement.com With your work speeding up startup on early PCs, you might know that in the ‘80s, Security Microsystems Consultants had a replacement ROM called Quickon that eliminated the RAM count on PCs. They later released PC Reset to add a hardware reset button to the PC and XT. 000
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 15/06/2026Jerry Pournelle’s (of Byte Magazine fame) first impression of the Macintosh (128K). 020
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 06/06/2026I’ve finally got around to setting up a RetroNAS server. After a few hurdles all is well, but it reminds me how relatively easy it was to network Macs and how finicky it is to network DOS/Win3.11. 030
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 06/05/2026Enjoying going back to July 1980 and reading each of Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor columns in Byte Magazine from the beginning. 010
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 03/05/2026Thanks! I have a basic Korad now, and this model does solve several of my problems with it. It’s good to know it is working well for you. 020
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 03/05/2026Any recommendations for a good bench power supply? I’m looking for one that is safe and offers straightforward controls. 110
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 01/05/2026I’m working on restoring a lovely Dell 386DX-25, and before powering it on, I tested for shorts and found problems. Instead of replacing the 50+ tantalum caps, I started with pulling ICs, and I got lucky. The problem was this 82385 cache controller. 050
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 27/04/2026I had a good time restoring these five Macintosh IIsi, and I learned some things along the way. I documented my progress at tinkerdifferent.com/threads/mac-... The IIsi may not be the coolest Mac of its era, but it deserves to live a long life. #vintageapple #retrocomputing 041
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/04/2026Looks like it’s a JST V-connector, specifically the SVF-01T-1.5A. Thanks to @Btb@bitbang.social on Mastodon for the identification. 030
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 13/04/2026Anyone know what type of terminal this is? It plugs into the connector shown. 210
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 14/03/2026Took a swing at buying a refurbished ThinkPad. I’m a bit undecided so far, but the keyboard hurt my brain for a second or two. 291
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 11/03/2026This Dell System 310 was one of my employer’s first PCs. It was found in a closet, but I was disappointed to discover the original 386DX-25MHz motherboard had been replaced with an AMD K6. Amazingly, my long-standing eBay alert finally paid off, and I now have the system’s original motherboard! 1111
Reposted by Retro ViatorMatthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 08/03/2026This is some serious 80s productivity right here. #Marchintosh 3587
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 22/02/2026I’ve noticed that the 24-pin Pico ATX PSUs I’ve ordered have some rough looking power signals when probed by the oscilloscope. Does anyone have a link to a particular Pico ATX they’ve found produces clean looking power rails? #retrocomputing 100
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 09/02/2026Thank you! I read through all the documentation today to make sure I was up to speed, and I was really impressed with him you keep adding awesome capabilities. 100
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 09/02/2026I am passing along praise for the great work of @eric.scsi.blue and his team that continue to make the @bluescsi.com a wonder. I’ve used almost every iteration, and the innovation, documentation, support, and overall attention to detail are superb. My vintage Macs love their BlueSCSIs! 1134
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 26/01/2026My after-Christmas project was restoring a bunch Macintosh IIsi. I’ve been documenting my progress at tinkerdifferent.com/threads/mac-... Today, the last of the issues were addressed, and I now have five fully functional Mac IIsi logic boards and two battery bombed units that provided needs parts. 040
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 25/01/2026I’ve pondered how to remove pins from power connectors, and I’ve wondered what these strange tweezer were for. Today is the day I figured out what one has to do with the other. 060
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 17/01/2026Another Maxell Massacre. A good reminder of why we GET THE BATTERIES OUT. #retrocomputing 1305
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 12/01/2026Arghh… Evertime I install a significant Linux update, I lose WiFi on my 2012 MacBook Pro. Then I have to fiddle around and remember what incantation I used last time to get it working. Each time I swear, just as I’m ready to beat my head against the wall, it magically starts working. 030
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 11/01/2026Verifying my rebuilt Mac IIsi with the impressive recreation TechStep diagnostic tool. #VintageMac 051
Retro Viator @retroviator.com · 10/01/2026So far, the hardest part by far is removing the old connector from the corrosion-damaged IIsi PSU. 120
