First three images from 2019.
Man I do love these computers.
ScuzzBlog: Diaries August 2023
Entry 1st August 2023: Post 1: Amiga 1200 Helena - Going for gold.
Amiga 1200 Helena - Going for gold.
There are any number of Amiga users that would cringe at the sight
of a yellowing Amiga, but, for me, it matters not. I care not for
Goteks, new fangled accelerators or retro-degrading the original
surface of the Amiga, any Amiga.
I have over 125 Amigas and around 30 working A1200s. None have been
attacked with chemicals and so they age gracefully with no desire
to scrape off the intumescent in an effort to defy the ageing process.
It is important for me that the computer is left 'un-meddled' with
so that it can avoid damage from intrusive and unnecessary surgery.
Further the double density floppy drive is essential to maintain
the integrity of the Amiga and without it the computer loses its
heart.
That said I present today Helena. Over the next two days I will
show two Amiga 1200s from the Commodore era that are close enough
the same age, have been stored in identical conditions on shelves
not six feet apart and at the same altitude. Both are protected
with dust covers.
In 2019 I was busily going around most of my A1200s and replacing or
installing for the first time new internal hard drives. All were
40GB Seagate drives acquired from China. Some four years later
and numerous checks over the years I am photographing these two
machines to show the yellowing of the case.
Helena is an A1200 that came here faulty and over a number of years
I have steadily improved her lot by replacing parts. I am in no
way an electrical engineer and basically repair by replacement.
In August 2018 I spent a good time repairing the floppy drive.
Anyhoo the computer was running just fine, trust me. The case hadn't
faded much more than four years ago. It is odd that it is going
yellow more along the bottom edge of the keyboard with very little
at the top and sides. Sadly the rubber feet are melting away to one
side. Not an uncommon occurrence. I taped them over until I can find
some replacement rubbers.
So why 'going for gold'. Well the reference is both to the yellowing
of the case and the increase in value of these computers today. It
baffles me why folk chase after these computers and are prepared
to pay such silly money for them. A number of current users are in
horror at the thought of so many Amigas sitting idle in one mans
collection. It really doesn't bother me cus they are all mine, and
I am not minded to apologies for that. I have seen and witnessed
the many waves of so called Amiga users and their desire to bring
these machines up to date with pc towers, flash drives, Goteks
and new accelerators. Sadly I find the enthusiasm and attention
span lasting but a short time. Matters not what you do to these
computers there hasn't been any serious 'business' development done
on the Amiga for donkeys years. Most of what you have today is of
the nineties era. Games are so old now, as is any serious software.
Once new users realise this their enthusiasm soon wanes. It is sad
but the Amiga is a spent force unless you really like old stuff.
So why fit all singing dancing new kit when the older kit worked
just as well and was more suited to the era of the machine. Too
many Amiga fall over after being tinkered and messed with. I read
too many stories of failures after reworking. Also I read plenty
of posts on forums about what users are going to do with their
newly acquired Amiga, but very few follow ups after the event. All
the Toob Jockeys that make videos show magical gadgets and stuff
but few spend time 'actually' using the gear afterwards.
On to today's images. First up I show three images of the state of
the A1200 on 5th June 2019. Tricky to get a good comparison as the
weather was particularly hot in 2019 so the bench would have had
sunshine flooding into the room. Today it was raining WHOOOHOOO !!
Also the camera has been replaced since then. However the later
images do show a general further yellowing. I just don't see it
fortunately, I just see an old Amiga 1200 computer.
That was it for today. Like I say I do another tomorrow. I was
going to drag out the monitor but I really couldn't be arsed cus
I had a date with a ghost. As you do.
If you like AI music try out 'My Immortal'
My Amigas are my immortal.
Amiga 1200 Helena - Going for gold.
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Last updated 1st August 2023
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