Mike's PCjr Page

Yep, yet another Mike. And another victim of Big Mike's incessant (?brutal?) aggrandizement of the PCjr over vintage-computer.com. ;-o

I started in the late 70s when I bought an unused TRS-80 from a fellow sailor in Japan. The first free Saturday after the purchase, I hoped on a commuter train up to Tokyo, then a subway ride to the Akihabara (electronics) district. Sketchy directions in hand, I found the only TRS-80 dealer in Tokyo, where I bought a 0k expansion lnterface, then wandered around looking for the cheapest RAM to fill the EI.

Somewhat later, I purchased a pair of Aerocomp DSDD floppies, about $1000 shipped from Texas to FPO Seattle. I eventually upgraded to an LNW-80, then, back in the States to, an LNW-80 Model 2.

Then I moved on to a PCjr, which ended up with 2 drives and 640k. I have fond memories of that little machine, but eventually I moved up to an XT clone and then beyond.

Now, it looks like I'm getting an ex-Brutmanworks PCjr* from Hargle, so in the next couple of weeks, I'll be be back in the jr world.

Mike

*actually, nothing special: just a 128k machine that wasn't worth taking west.

Hi Other Mike ... welcome to our little club.

The TRS-80s were the machines I was looking at in the store window. Literally. And now we hear that Radio Shack is slowly folding in on itself.

I was really trying to test the new mTCP web server, but it just seemed so appropriate to do so by letting a PCjr host its own web site. Most classic machines can't do that, or at least not with the style that the PCjr did it. A lot of the credit goes to having a real hard drive interface; serving from a Zip drive would have worked, but it would have been a bit slower and it probably would have worn holes in the media.

If you are local to Hargle then those machines are just about a steal. I read he's having some problems with the monitors, so I'm a little concerned - I did not knowingly leave him with junk. He's working on it, and there are plenty more unloved PCjr monitors in existence.


Mike

Greetings, Other Mike!

Thanks, Geoff!

Mike, somehow the emoticons didn't make it into the final, saved draft of my intro. The first part was supposed to be <humor>. Using your jr as the web site server was the final straw in my decision to get a jr. Cool stuff.

Hargle is charging me really close to what you charged him. Shipping shouldn't (hopefully) be killer as I like just down I-5 from you.

Mike

How many Michaels have we got on this board, anyhow?

*Every member stands up and raises a hand saying "Yo!"*

I knew it, I'm surrounded by Michaels…
*lowers vizor*
KEEP POSTING, MICHAELS!





Anyway, welcome, Mike.