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Osborne anyone?

Forums > Vintage Other > Other 80s Micro's

KennyPowers
Active Tinkerer
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Joined: Jun 27, 2022
Posts: 323
Likes: 360
Jul 15, 2022 - #1
I'm thinking about going to Starbucks and plopping one of these down on a table amongst all the laptops and getting my WordStar on :)

[Image: PXL_20220715_180233788.jpg]

These both looked like the one on the left before I fixed them up:

[Image: PXL_20210701_124734951.jpg]
Attachments:
PXL_20220715_180233788.jpg [View]
PXL_20210701_124734951.jpg [View]

Liked by MacOfAllTrades,Daniel Hansen,Patrickand 1 other person

JustG
New Tinkerer
California
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Joined: Dec 12, 2021
Posts: 62
Likes: 16
Jul 15, 2022 - #2
Very nice! I received on as part of a lot. It's supposed to have "something wrong with it" but I haven't gotten around to even plugging it in. Are there any good troubleshooting resources online for them machines?

KennyPowers
Active Tinkerer
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Joined: Jun 27, 2022
Posts: 323
Likes: 360
Jul 15, 2022 - #3
>> JustG said:
Very nice! Click to expand...

Thanks. One of these two is interesting in that it has a homebrew 1MB RAM upgrade that my dad had a local guy perform back in the mid-80s. Probably the only one left like it. The same guy provided custom RAM-disk software with the upgrade that makes it a fairly speedy system. Just remember to save to floppy before your power goes out!

[Image: PXL_20211126_221056465.jpg]

The upgrade is just a mess of bodge wires and stacked RAM ICs:

[Image: PXL_20211126_153130091.jpg] [Image: PXL_20211126_153400387.jpg] [Image: PXL_20211126_153541974.jpg] [Image: PXL_20211126_153731759.jpg]

>> JustG said:
I haven't gotten around to even plugging it in. Click to expand...

You may want to recap the power supply before attempting to turn it on. There are RIFA caps in there amongst others.

>> JustG said:
Are there any good troubleshooting resources online for them machines? Click to expand...

Not really...not like there are for more popular machines. There is this handy video though:

Attachments:
PXL_20211126_221056465.jpg [View]
PXL_20211126_153130091.jpg [View]
PXL_20211126_153400387.jpg [View]
PXL_20211126_153541974.jpg [View]
PXL_20211126_153731759.jpg [View]

MacAttack
New Tinkerer
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Joined: Oct 18, 2021
Posts: 14
Likes: 13
Dec 2, 2022 - #4
I sold 2 Osborne 1's and and executive at the VCF swap meet back in September. You might see a video from Action Retro on the executive one day.

Daniel Hansen
Tinkerer
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Joined: Oct 29, 2021
Posts: 181
Likes: 142
Dec 3, 2022 - #5
Yes please! Osborne 1 is on my get list because a) I don't have a CP/M machine and, b) early portables are my kink

KennyPowers
Active Tinkerer
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Joined: Jun 27, 2022
Posts: 323
Likes: 360
Dec 3, 2022 - #6
>> Daniel Hansen said:
a) I don't have a CP/M machine and, b) early portables are my kink Click to expand...
You'll probably like this little guy then...CP/M card for an Apple IIc :) Looking forward to trying it out when I get around to restoring my IIc's.

[Image: PXL_20220820_221541997.jpg] [Image: PXL_20220820_221622791.jpg]
Attachments:
PXL_20220820_221541997.jpg [View]
PXL_20220820_221622791.jpg [View]

Liked by Daniel Hansen

KennyPowers
Active Tinkerer
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Joined: Jun 27, 2022
Posts: 323
Likes: 360
Jul 11, 2023 - #7
I got an Osborne 1 awhile back that I just finished restoring. Here it is next to one of its Executive brethren right after I got it home.

[Image: PXL_20230525_193123416.jpg]

It mostly worked, though the B drive was hit-or-miss and it was just really filthy and yellowed. I also didn't want to run it too much before getting the RIFAs out of it.

[Image: PXL_20230611_221803216 (1).jpg]

I did the usual complete recap, adjusted the drive RPMs, retrobrited it, and thoroughly cleaned it inside and out. Looks and runs like new!

[Image: PXL_20230711_194122039.jpg] [Image: PXL_20230711_193938944.jpg] [Image: PXL_20230711_193522160.jpg]
Attachments:
PXL_20230525_193123416.jpg [View]
PXL_20230611_221803216 (1).jpg [View]
PXL_20230711_194122039.jpg [View]
PXL_20230711_193938944.jpg [View]
PXL_20230711_193522160.jpg [View]

Liked by luminescentsimianandClassicHasClass

KennyPowers
Active Tinkerer
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Joined: Jun 27, 2022
Posts: 323
Likes: 360
Jul 29, 2023 - #8
I recently got an Old Net WIFI modem and just got it working with one of the Executives using myterm. Most of the work was getting the downloaded myterm binary copied over serial to the Osborne (getting the serial port configured right, converting to hex, converting back to a binary on the Osborne, etc). Connected to a few BBS's, "browsed" this site, and played some zork :)

[Image: PXL_20230729_022610830.jpg] [Image: PXL_20230729_023211279.jpg] [Image: PXL_20230729_023823902.jpg] [Image: PXL_20230729_023921224.jpg]
Attachments:
PXL_20230729_022610830.jpg [View]
PXL_20230729_023211279.jpg [View]
PXL_20230729_023823902.jpg [View]
PXL_20230729_023921224.jpg [View]

Liked by luminescentsimianandDaniel Hansen

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