Retro Challenge 2017/04 Day 01 and 02
My first step in my Retro Challenge is to figure out just what I have to work with.
I have my own VIC-20 collection that began back in 1981. My soon to be wife, Judy, and I upgraded from our Sinclair ZX80 to the VIC-20 and we never stopped! Over the years, I increased our collection and made many trips to K-Mart and Toys-R-Us as the VIC stuff was discounted to pennies on the dollar. I also have my dad's VIC-20 collection and Judy's father's VIC-20 system. We are a family of VIC-20 loyalist!
This equipment has been stored in sheds, garages and back spare rooms for well over 25 years so the initial condition is completely unknown. I plan on cleaning up and recapping all that I can before powering up. As a component level bench tech for 35 years, I have more than enough experience to tackle any stinky caps or bug remains that I may encounter! One surprising discovery thus far is the effects that time, heat, and chemistry has on Styrofoam verses cables. The cables melted into the Styrofoam and became one with all that was around! It has taken some time to remove the resulting goo from the cables. There seems to be little damage physically but it was a pain. I should have put all the cables into plastic bags and maybe stored everything in climate controlled areas but what would be the challenge in doing that?
My first step in my Retro Challenge is to figure out just what I have to work with.
I have my own VIC-20 collection that began back in 1981. My soon to be wife, Judy, and I upgraded from our Sinclair ZX80 to the VIC-20 and we never stopped! Over the years, I increased our collection and made many trips to K-Mart and Toys-R-Us as the VIC stuff was discounted to pennies on the dollar. I also have my dad's VIC-20 collection and Judy's father's VIC-20 system. We are a family of VIC-20 loyalist!
This equipment has been stored in sheds, garages and back spare rooms for well over 25 years so the initial condition is completely unknown. I plan on cleaning up and recapping all that I can before powering up. As a component level bench tech for 35 years, I have more than enough experience to tackle any stinky caps or bug remains that I may encounter! One surprising discovery thus far is the effects that time, heat, and chemistry has on Styrofoam verses cables. The cables melted into the Styrofoam and became one with all that was around! It has taken some time to remove the resulting goo from the cables. There seems to be little damage physically but it was a pain. I should have put all the cables into plastic bags and maybe stored everything in climate controlled areas but what would be the challenge in doing that?
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