Welcome to ComputerHobbyShop.com ![]() Click here for a ChatGPT 4 Summary of this Website.
My Mission: Save many computers to restore and upgrade!Click "Giveaways" to see what I do with many saved and restored computers just for my Patreon Members!Today's Top Project!![]() Why a Mission to save computers, restore and upgrade?Did you know that you could help earth by Buying Green?![]() Learn More https://google.com/search 'Save money & our planet with restored computers here.' I expertly restore, repair and, and sometimes upgrade computers as my computer hobby... then I'll post them here, and when I can, give them away plus I'll post videos as some are sold to help cover costs! Below is another one selling for less just to cover costs. See it on eBay sponsored by Computer Pro 2000" with over 429 items sold. This Rare G4 Cube is really popular with vintage collectors! ![]() What was posted last month for Halloween!A YouTube video I made Halloween night is now posted for a fun diversion!![]() In my newest video featuring Steve Jobs, who says it's important to ask for help, I'm telling visitors, "All persons who donate anything here will be automatically entered into my next Vintage Mac Giveaway!" As fun and as cool as that is, imagine this... If I only have 5 people join my Patreon Membership by my next vintage computer Giveaway, the odds of winning are 1 in 5. If only 6 people have donated by my PayPal link then the 6 are added to the 5 and the odds are 1 in 11. If you donate any retro computer or parts, then I add you to the list and the odds are 1 in 12. Where else could you get that kind of odds? Not in any sweepstakes or giveaway I know of. So people can continue to call me crazy, but as Steve says in the video, "I just ask, ... most people never ask and that's what separates sometimes the people who do things from the people who just dream about them." A great way to help save vintage tech is to mail your retro computers to my non-profit. Join the mission & your name can be a Film Star Credit in a future posted video! Ready to join the fun? Simply mail your vintage computer items to: Attn: ComputerHobbyShop C/O Richard A. McFarland P.O. Box 383 Saint Anthony, Idaho 83445 Wait, who are you? And I don't want to donate, I want to save my retro tech I already have! OK, click here! Fun Tech Projects!Before I retired from a professional computer services career, I taught Apple Macintosh Seminarsin over 70 US Cities, I used my Bondi Blue iMac G3 to make my Seminar Presentations, but my 100+ Apple Specs History Collection was on my old SCSI drive. I had to upgrade my iMac with an SCSI add-in that I put in the secret mezzanine slot, (this mezzaniene slot was a Molex 52760-1609 connector hidden inside on the motherboard). Here is just one example of what that strange slot was for. I purchased an SCSI card from a company in Germany called Formac. They called the card, "Formac iProRAID Ultra Wide SCSI" It cost me almost $200 USD plus shipping costs. I had a lot of backup files and old software, so it was very useful to get all my 68030 stuff into the G3 from my older Mac SCSI drives! Click for a pop-up showing where the Formac Card was installed. Now that I'm retired, I have fun restoring vintage computers and posting YouTube Videos. Since I'm still sort of new there I like to also watch other creators already on YouTube. When fellow Computer Hobbyists might ask me, "Who do you follow", I tell them one channel is @JDW- who makes some of the best vintage and retro restoration videos for hobbyist like me. I am not related to JDW, but I do recommend those in-depth videos. Click the pic to see more. ![]() I found a modern use for older Apple Cinema Displays, (especially the 30" model & version similar to the picture below). These use Dual Link DVI, and the Apple Dual-DVI Video Card will drive these monitors in machines the way Apple intended. But did you know you can get the display to work with many modern Computers? This includes PCs when you use an Active Adapter like the Club 3D CAC-1510 USB Type C to DVI-D DUAL LINK Active Adapter. It has to be an Active Adapter like a Club 3D to process the DVI-D DUAL LINK video signal correctly. See a Cinema Display & Recomended Club 3D Active Adapter. Note: I have the Club 3D and have connected the Apple Cinema Display via USB C to send the correct signals even from my Samsung Galaxy Book2 (with SnapDragon 8x CPU and Windows 10). A pretty cool use for an older Apple product and of course it works with newer MacBooks too. If you have a fun project for ComputerHobbyShop, contact me.I may choose to use your ideas and/or donations in a future post and,unless you choose to be anonymous, I'll post your name in the credits. Of course, I don't like SPAM anymore than you do, so please You may email an idea or question or to not miss any new post and be listed with the first to know about new Giveaways, just subscribe or Click here to see and enjoy a modern game computer upgrade, custom made by RAM, (not the chips, but the Pro IT Trainer Guy). See the history of 'RAM' on LinkedIn Attention New Visitors! A 4+ decade Certified IT Trainer helps everyday ppl save $$$ getting their own computer!Subscribers to my Videos are interested in my fun Retro-Style Vintage Collectible Computers and my Money Saving Sponsored Modern Gaming Computer Upgrade Projects! Subscribers who also become my Patreon Members help grow my cool projects where I collect and restore retro-style computers to giveaway in my non-profit computer hobby. My goal in getting vintage & retro-style computers is to restore and then give away as many as I can to support my mission, ' To prevent collectible computers from ending up in landfills'. This can help reduce earth's pollution and save vintage and retro-style computers for you to enjoy. Of course, I need to cover costs, so I also upgrade modern computers to post at a very low prices to also to attract new members. See where I posted a fast Dell gaming system upgrade worth over $3,045. An early-access follower won it for just 1/6th the normal cost! Now is the best time to sign up while patreon members are few and opportunities are highest. To get early access to computers I give away, and be part of the excitement, go to my Patreon page! What Happens When You Signup At Patreon or Subscribe Here?You will help save computers from landfills and become a part of my coolproject of collecting and restoring vintage computers to give them away! I give all subscribers "early access" to my Fun Computer Videos and my newest Posts, and I even help you find out about my upgraded systems and retro giveaways. My website can be your contact for my exclusive tech deals and Special Giveaways, but if anyone doubts my sincerity, please read my Facebook response. ![]() Now see what I restored and then sent to the lucky winner in Japan before Christmastime! ![]() For this Special Collectible and Retro Style Computer, the lucky winner paid shipping, but my "Gold Planet Saving Patreon Members" pay no shipping to 48 United States. So you won't miss my money saving posts, here is how I can help you get great tech deals while doing your part to save our planet from toxic e-waste! In my mission, I collect and restore vintage computers and I make videos about them. I think too many owners do not know how to keep vintage computers working or they simply just throw out all old technology. But I would rather restore and give away old collectible computers than see unique vintage and retro items end up in a landfill. It's OK if you are not a geek and don't understand computers yet. I can show you how computers do compute with RAM . My baby boomer generation was the first to grow up in a technology-dominated world, and us boomers have seen it all happen, from LPs to DVDs and from Happy Days to BluRays. It's a matter of history that in the 1970s & 80s, geeks like me gathered together in User's Groups to have fun helping each other out with tech projects! ![]() Your subscription on this website or your membership on Patreon will help the mission! Members get ahead of the game - they don't miss another exclusive tech giveaway. All membership levels get "early access" to my Fun Computer Videos and new Tech Posts, so members can find out early how I manage hardware projects. Members save on sponsored giveaways + chances to win upgraded tech. With early access, a member saved over $2,400 on this enthusiast gaming computer! You'll also see fun Computer Videos and enjoy your enthusiast hobby on YouTube! Don't miss your chance to save big & win great tech gear - sign up now! Who owns this site?![]() I'm Richard, an IT Trainer, Tech Author and System Designer of the best money can buy. Yes, I'm a geek, but now I'm retired so I don't have to work for big business anymore! I enjoy computers, so I made this site fun and to read like a tech blog. (OK, I get it, now). You'll find more retro posts in my RANDOM ACCESS FILE: My Retro Time Machine takes you back to cool things in the tech world... there and back again ... Just like the Good Ol' Days, enjoy fun and exciting tech projects and even modern computers too! A true story in 1983 at Tinker AFB, OK where a WIMS Team was based and I was a Fire Inspector there. ![]() I've no pics of a WIMS (Wang Information Management) system, except this unclassified off brand terminal. Tinker ran a multimillion-dollar test to decide how the US Military would use Wang computers distributed at many offices on Tinker Air Force Base. The original Wang Company Programmer came over from Japan to program the test systems on the base. He brought his 17-year-old teenage son, who spent his time on 32 green screen games that he put on the system. That was how they used to test computer responsiveness. It was rumored that when he left the base, he left the games on. We discovered them plus how to play. ![]() One day, while entering in Inspection Reports a friend was frustrated and hit the keyboard with "ZZZ". After I saw him get into it, I thought if he could find this with just "ZZZ", I decided to try "YYY". Sure enough, up came "32 Big Beautiful Games". While he played Hang Man, I played Star-Trek! Luckily, my friend and I did not get demoted for hacking, but when the Wing commander called our office, he said to the Master Sergeant in charge, "Several Generals and a couple of Full Bird Colonels who flew in to oversee the systems tests just remotely watched terminals playing HangMan and StarTrek." Coincidentally, this all happened before the movie, "War Games", which came out on June 3rd, 1983. But it occurred amazingly within a US Military Base by 2 Air Force Airmen and did not start outside of it. ![]() Credits for pic idea goes to "thedrive" START OF NEW QUOTED POST by my little sister, Patty, (Trish Mathews on Facebook) "AUGUST 12, 1981 | IBM LAUNCHES THE FIRST PC On this day, the first Personal Computer was released by IBM. Also known as the IBM Model 5150, the first PC was a revolutionary microcomputer that used an Intel 8088 processor, Microsoft MS-DOS operating system, and an open architecture that allowed third-party peripherals and software. ![]() Nerdy Fact: The first IBM PC had a distinctive sound when it was turned on, which was generated by the speaker on the motherboard. The sound was composed of three tones: a low-pitched tone of 440 Hz for 300 milliseconds, followed by a silence of 100 milliseconds, followed by a high-pitched tone of 880 Hz for 300 milliseconds. This sound sequence was designed to indicate that the power supply and the speaker were working properly. However, some users found the sound annoying or [even] alarming, and some even tried to disable it by cutting ... wires or covering them with tape" END QUOTE Thanks little sister Patty, but don't forget to see this pic 'Apple Computer from 1979 used in 1981'... (I'm not sure, but he kinda looks like Paul Shindler from The Computer Chronicles) START OF NEW POST | ONE-OF-A-KIND MAC PRO ![]() Credits for pic goes to "wccftech" TECH PRESERVATION POST | SE/30 REPAIR GUIDE PDF Thanks to Mac fans in Japan who made a helpful SE/30 repair guide long ago. See how I saved the same helpful retro post from the now defunct Japanese Website! ![]() SE/30 Repair guide. (Saved from defunct Japanese Website)! Your name could be featured in a future post and/or video!Since computers are my hobby, after I repair and upgrade them I post them here and oneBay for far less cost than normal and some I give away whenever I can because... ![]() See what I restored and then sent to the lucky winner in Japan before Christmastime! ![]() For this Special Giveaway the lucky new owner paid shipping, but remember, a 128K Macintosh is rare and not found often. Wait, I just saved another rare Mac from the landfill. I wonder who will get this one? Short Video by @ComputerHobbyShop (Longer version on Patreon). There is a lot more fun coming, so subscribe to not miss a future post, new video or giveaway! Ready for more? Be sure to sign up & subscribe to be an early notified member. Vintage Computer Retro Fun Giveaways!Happy new owner gets a free giveaway of a Commodore 128Kwith Floppy Drive & Printer all in the original boxes! (That's cool, now ) ![]()
The lucky new owner in this giveaway took ownership of a classic Commodore system and did not even have to pay for shipping, (like my Gold Planet Saving Patreon Members). Wait! Did you actually give a vintage Commodore 128 Computer System away? Yes and here is why I'll do it again. I don't like that too many old computers end up in landfills because their owners do not know how to keep them working or they consider them obsolete. Rather than see them go to a landfill and pollute the earth, I choose to repair and restore vintage or retro style computers to go to new owners! I also plan to let my upgraded computers sell on eBay for very little to keep your costs low! It's my unique way of advertising for new members to join me as Patreon Channel Supporters. ![]() But don't forget My Mission - To Prevent Collectible Computers From Ending Up In Landfills! Of course I understand if you don't want to part with something, so if you just want it fixed, email me to ask. I make sure that retro computers are restored and or saved to go to a good home and not a landfill. So if you do want to donate retro tech, unlike some websites, I turn nothing legal away, then the magic happens! When you send something in, it is a great way to help save vintage retro-tech and your name will be entered into my next free random giveaway of cool tech toys. Be sure to contact me 1st then simply mail your vintage computer items to: Attn: ComputerHobbyShop C/O Richard A. McFarland P.O.Box 383 Saint Anthony, Idaho 83445 My goal - Richard's ComputerHobbyShop Makes Saving Vintage Computers Fun and Affordable. If you become a Supporting Member at my Patreon Page, besides being 1st to know about Giveaways, Patreon Members get other Special Bonuses! Care to help ComputerHobbyShop without becoming a member? Donate as little or as much as you want via Secure PayPal Window by Clicking on Spock! ![]() See feedback from some previously sold posts. Because I'm serious about you saving a lot, all crossed out sale prices = a 10% to 20% lower best offer.![]() Anyone remember HyperCard? I have future videos coming on Card Stacks I made. ![]()
Here is a stranger thing!
|
Want More ComputerHobbyShop and My Newest Posts and Giveaways? So you can be among the 1st to know, click the subscribe button below. Thank You! |
Want more ComputerHobbyShop & RAM's Newest Posts? | |||
![]() Richard is a Professional IT Trainer, Tech Author and System Designer of the best money can buy. This site made by RAM at ComputerPro2000. |
Praise: Great A+ Trainer! Top notch, will tell all my friends about Richard's ComputerHobbyShop.com. |
ComputerHobbyShop.com, Copyright 2023, All rights reserved. .
Legal Notice. Be sure to come back soon for the next fun ComputerHobbyShop post. |