I have computers stored in the oddest of locations. They are pretty
much everywhere in this house. I have an old wardrobe that has for
a long time ceased to have clothes in it. Currently it is home to
an Apple ][, CD32 boxed, C128 boxed and three Amiga 500s. And that
is just what is inside. On top there is another Apple ][, Apricot
and some very old laptops.
My task this December is to check that boxed kit is working and
no wires are melting on the polystyrene inserts. It is always fun
going through the boxes given that even I have forgotten what is
inside.
The risk, as ever, is damaging the boxes and contents as I move
them about. Glad to say the whole session thus far has been most
successful. The three A500s were taken to the bench and photographed
and not only were they in good, safe condition, they all put on a
fine show and worked without fault.
I do tend to find that Amiga 500s are the best when it comes to
reliability. Just a case of keeping them safe, warm and never in
a damp environment or exposed to bright sunlight. Keep the floppy
drive ports and keyboards free from dust and don't leave stuff
plugged in that gets knocked around damaging port connectors.
Also be sure you have a 500 and not a dreaded 500+ and also check
the trapdoor for nasties. Boxes can stack pretty well. I can have
anything up to say five laid flat one on top of another. It does
make sense to take out the power supplies if worried about weight.
Again though keep any kit out of harmful sunlight. Worth testing
everything without a hard drive once a year. Anything with a
hard drive needs a check [ wait for it ] ONCE A WEEK and even
ONCE A DAY. If I leave some kit for two or three days I can spend
an age getting the drives to spin up again.
Also some kit does have rubber bands in them. They must be operated
on a regular basis.
So to the three ' Amigas ' from the wardrobe. Happy to give them a
clean bill of health and all ship shape and 'tickety-boo'.
Too much Lemmings... way too much Lemmings. Very dangerous.
Amiga 500s - Closet Capers
Amiga 500 No 1
Amiga 500 No 2
Amiga 500 No 3
Check that your serials match.
Trust me when I say.. very rare Amiga 500
packaging. A near complete foam-card strap
and the polystyrene cheese. So difficult to find.
So rare to get a good handle on the box.
This one is damaged sadly. So frustrating.
Red light or green light.
If your Amiga has a Commodore C key where the
Amiga A key is then please, I beg of you, look
after it or maybe give it to me. I have over 26
A500s and only one with the Commodore key. And yet
it is shown as the Commodore key on all the boxes.
PS: Don't forget that the 'scuzzblog diaries' are
an actual record of what I do each and every day.
And this is what I do.... I look after a quite
massive computer collection. I guess I could just
leave it to slowly decay and rot away... But where
is the fun in that. I get to play .. all the time.
