7 years today! Modestly, but we are getting there. We started with a simple idea and two “Pravetz 8D” computers, and now we have over 630 pieces in the collection, 94% of which are restored and ready to be exhibited. From what we can tell, something big is coming in the near future. Happy Birthday, 8BitClub!
Recently a friend of the museum sent us his breadbin Commodore 64 that he acquired online with complains that there is garbage on the screen and there is no cursor. As much as we like restoring vintage computers and dealing with newer problems that enrich our knowledge base, we have never actually repaired a breadbin…
Recently we found another Pravetz 8D on auction for a good price and in good condition. No matter that we have a few units in our collection, we decided to save this one as well. You can never have too many Pravetz computers. 🙂 On first sight the unit was in mint condition, even the…
Recently, we acquired some teletypes for the collection, one of them is the RFT F2000. The F2000 features microprocessor control, not like the earlier models which rely on motor driven mechanisms for the encoding and decoding of the signals. Here are some photos of the restoration process. Another interesting thing is that the F2000 features…
One of the many tasks in the museum is to have the appropriate era-correct monitor for our Pravetz 82. We managed to acquire one or two throughout the years, but they had missing transformers and CRT yokes that were stolen from scrapers for their expensive copper. Well, a recent donation to the museum was another…
During soviet times many computer clones were created, most of them were manufactured in Bulgaria and then exported to the USSR. But many other computers were made inside the USSR, mainly ZX Spectrum clones. In our example, the computer is manufactured from the beginning of the end of the USSR to until 1995. “Компаньо́н 2”…
After searching for a long time, we finally found a compatible mouse for our ATARI 520STFM on the web. We bought it for 25BGN, which is quite cheap. To our amazement it works. Lets take it apart to look inside and clean it.
The final part of the restoration is to clean up the monitor and test everything. Removing the top case reveals the chassis type monitor. The next step for the future is to create a Wi-Fi modem with an ESP8266 microcontroler for the terminal. This will give us the ability to connect it to the internet…
Next it`s time to tackle the keyboard.
The time has finally come to take a look at the other terminal we acquired in our last haul from a local factory here in our town. CM1604 M3 is the third revision of the computer terminals manufactured in 1985 by ZZU – Veliko Tarnovo and sold by the brand “IZOT” here in Bulgaria. The system is a…