Running a Local Retro Computer Club? What We're Doing

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  • Опубликовано: 16 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 99

  • @andrewgillham1907
    @andrewgillham1907 Месяц назад +13

    I had to laugh out loud when you mentioned the Timex Sinclair 1000 keyboard. “Even worse than usual.” So funny.

  • @marksuper4920
    @marksuper4920 Месяц назад +4

    "Thunder Bay Retro Computer Club, Minneapolis chapter" does have a nice ring to it, though.

  • @michaelstoliker971
    @michaelstoliker971 Месяц назад +5

    What a great idea. There are a lot of retro computer users in my area. They are throwing an "Atari Party" in December at the Quakertown Train Station. I just learned about this and hope to attend.

  • @thenorseguy2495
    @thenorseguy2495 Месяц назад +7

    Cool that you’re from Thunder Bay. When I hear about Thunder Bay I think about the World Cup in cross country skiing and Ski jump that where held there in 1995. I remember staying up at night to watch all the events on TV here in Norway

  • @TheGreatAtario
    @TheGreatAtario Месяц назад +3

    Hey now, Thunder Bay is famous! That's where Paul Shaffer is from.

  • @ahmad-murery
    @ahmad-murery Месяц назад +4

    What a nice event.
    I liked the CAD application and I really like to see more programs running on these machines rather than just playing games.
    Thanks Robin!

  • @DavidYoud
    @DavidYoud Месяц назад +15

    Big kudos to you and yours for building a fun, healthy community like that. May you always get more energy back than you pour in.

  • @PXAbstraction
    @PXAbstraction Месяц назад +6

    I'd love to start something like this in Ottawa as there's so much computing history here (NABU BABY!) but it's tricky to organize when you're a hardcore introvert who also despises social media. Definitely need to think on this more.

    • @TheSimTetuChannel
      @TheSimTetuChannel Месяц назад +2

      Amen to that!

    • @NuntiusLegis
      @NuntiusLegis Месяц назад +1

      I have the additional problem of having parted ways with the local computer users of the 80s - for reasons (I stayed somewhat nerdy while they shifted their interests to disco dancig and working long hours to have much money to spend, while I avoided work and money as long as possible by not hurrying in getting a university degree), so I am not too keen about meeting them again.

  • @andiisyn
    @andiisyn Месяц назад +1

    I was very recently asked about starting a retro computer/game thing in my community. This has certainly inspired me. Thank you.

  • @jurzysta
    @jurzysta Месяц назад

    There is so much love and warmth in this video that really make me smile. Thank you for making and publishing this.

  • @Cyklonus
    @Cyklonus Месяц назад +1

    Best regards from Poland. We also have various retro events here.

  • @domramsey
    @domramsey Месяц назад +1

    What a cool thing. I have some rare and interesting computers in my collection that I'd love to show off & share, but I don't think anyone I know would be interested. I did look into local computer clubs, but they all seemed a bit like a cliques that didn't have that friendly, open atmosphere. Your club seems great - I hope you'll feature it in more videos!

  • @myleft9397
    @myleft9397 20 дней назад +1

    Hello from Toronto. I probably will not be making the 15 hour drive.

  • @AndrewTubbiolo
    @AndrewTubbiolo Месяц назад

    Awesome! Winderful exhibit you folks had there. Love the dalik.

  • @MrGareth1973
    @MrGareth1973 Месяц назад +3

    Epic! Thank you for making this and posting for all us to enjoy it even if remotely :)

  • @Commodore128Mode3
    @Commodore128Mode3 Месяц назад

    VERY cool club! I loved this video! Wish I wasn't > 2000 km away! HA! I bought my first Commodore 128 at K-Mart back in 1985!

  • @DerekLippold
    @DerekLippold Месяц назад +4

    Small city of 100,000 lol😅 my town is around five thousand. Though, to be fair, the entire population of Maine is like a million or so. Anyway, this is amazing and I’m glad you shared.

    • @saganandroid4175
      @saganandroid4175 Месяц назад

      Canadians are used to clustering South in giant mega cities thus 100K is supposedly a "small" city. That is decent sized by US standards.

  • @falksweden
    @falksweden Месяц назад +1

    I'd love to attend some VCF events, but living on another continent makes it a bit complicated 😁 But it will happen.
    A great initiative, Robin! Not only creating a local event but sharing your experiences from it. 👍

  • @warrenbullock3165
    @warrenbullock3165 Месяц назад

    Excellent video. Looking forward to joining my local club in a couple of weeks.

  • @richardthunderbay8364
    @richardthunderbay8364 Месяц назад

    What a great video! I'm really happy to see what you guys are doing in my old hometown. Back in the 1980s my older brother had a VIC-20, and Atari and an Amiga. It was nice to see those systems up and running again with games I remember playing on them.

    • @boogieknee3781
      @boogieknee3781 Месяц назад

      Yup.
      Sadly not too many folk in our area looked after their old devices.
      Any of you girls looking for the ideal Father's day gift,get the kids chatting to their dad on the subject,then track down HIS favourite console(or emulator)and his favourite game...so he can share his pastime with the kids.
      For me,its a vic20....I have 2 that I am trying to get epaired butwith no luck...I currently use a c64.
      Technically a better computer but I preferred the vic20 for their simplicity.
      I still write my own games in commodore basic whenever I need to remind myself that I have a brain.

  • @richard1113
    @richard1113 Месяц назад

    OMG! I remember Dungeon for the PET from high school! I haven't seen or heard of that in a very long time. 😀

  • @darkstatehk
    @darkstatehk Месяц назад

    An amazing recap on the event, super cool footage! Love this channel ❤‍🔥 Had a chuckle on the pronunciation of "Dalek" It was a toe-mato, toe-marto moment 😆

  • @ASHdemoREEL
    @ASHdemoREEL Месяц назад +4

    Thank you so much for the video, it was fun tripping Memory Lane. Some of my Fondest Memories were attending my local Commodore 64 users group in panama, Central America🎉😊

  • @RudysRetroIntel
    @RudysRetroIntel Месяц назад +1

    Amazing!! Great job to you and your retro friends. I am thinking of doing the same here in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. Still in the planning stages. Once going, I'm hoping you and your retro friends would consider coming. Thanks for sharing!

  • @karlos2586
    @karlos2586 Месяц назад

    Nice meeting!!! I Hope for more of this, the spirit of the micro computers is alive!!!

  • @aafjeyakubu5124
    @aafjeyakubu5124 Месяц назад +3

    I was brokenhearted when development of CYCAS stopped. They had a Linux port and I hoped it would continue for many years. Alas, it did not.

  • @CallousCoder
    @CallousCoder 13 дней назад

    Brings back memories of the late 80s computer club I was a co-founder it was a hassle the police was always coming in, they didn’t care about cracking and copying. Since laws weren’t in place.
    But they would be doing searches because my two friends and I were very much known to the cops. I mean they knew us by our whole names 😂
    And I was on my last warning and so I was on the up and up, no substances on me no knifes, no fireworks completely clean. Because I needed my record to be expunged when I was 18!
    Since us 3 were rather notorious “punks” in town, and when the registration for a permit for the club came in the councils was okay but it also had to be signed of by fire department and cops and there wetey no issues, they had to grant the permit.
    So every first Friday of the month we got a visit from the cops. Pockets were checked from the metal heads and stoners because we got to use the rec center and that’s public grounds so on suspicion they can stop and search. So they stopped and searched. Regularly kids were dragged of for carrying a bit of weed. Which was a nice loophole because it’s sort of legal to sell here in the Netherlands and it was legal to smoke in your own home officially. But it’s illegal to transport. It’s basically a fly trap.
    And so the manager of the rec center got in trouble and as a result we got in told off, but we weren’t allowed to search members - besides it would be hypocritical.
    All we did was just urged everyone to keep it in their car or hide it in their bikes. So again they came and searched us, they couldn’t find anything. So to annoy us they would check for stolen goods because my buddy had a record for fencing stolen goods… and so every serial number was radioed to the police station and checked… took the whole evening.
    So after 6 months I quit. I was too busy with gigging anyways. The other friend was our sound engineer.
    And the other one ran it for a bit but I think it was dead within a year. Biggest win was that I got some great addresses for some weed, hash and pharmaceuticals from members. And those guys would deliver to the door for a little extra - and since that was in my premise it was legal 😂And so I was never caught again my record for expunged for into college. All good 😊

  • @markallison8108
    @markallison8108 Месяц назад +2

    I had a Vic-20, Commodore 64 and a Ti99-4A and ended up getting rid of them. Wish I had kept them.

  • @bradnelson3595
    @bradnelson3595 Месяц назад

    Love the Rally X-like game.

  • @milasoft
    @milasoft Месяц назад

    I drove north once, past Chapleau and beyond. I drove and drove some more... I then drove a bit more. I finally saw a sign that told me Thunder Bay was still an hour away... I never made it. Too far man. Maybe I'll see you at WoC December.

  • @MKKelley
    @MKKelley Месяц назад +1

    Great video! Thanks!

  • @RichardTroupe
    @RichardTroupe Месяц назад

    Well done on creating a thriving local computer club. I love the idea of doing it myself but I genuinely don't have the free time currently. 😢

  • @Bazinga-gw9ff
    @Bazinga-gw9ff Месяц назад

    It surprises me how I am a teenager and very interested in this. If I lived in Canada, I'd wish I could attend.

  • @EnjoySynthSounds
    @EnjoySynthSounds Месяц назад

    Spending time with like minded enthususasts, celebrating retro devices, is a noble thing.

  • @ChrisJackson-js8rd
    @ChrisJackson-js8rd Месяц назад

    i've never quite made it all the way to thunder bay. furthest west i've ventured is sault ste marie. (i am in Ottawa)
    a computer club is a great idea!

  • @Thesecret101-te1lm
    @Thesecret101-te1lm Месяц назад

    Great vid!
    Missed opportunity to have the autism table between the library table and the drag table, as there is kind of an overlap/spectrum between autism and both of the others :)

  • @slapstra1970
    @slapstra1970 Месяц назад

    Fun video!

  • @bradnelson3595
    @bradnelson3595 Месяц назад

    When you said you bring "power bars," I thought you were talking about a snack. :)

  • @AndyHewco
    @AndyHewco Месяц назад +3

    Really awesome. The board game cafe is a great idea for a venue. I used to go to a local computer club near Walsall in the UK every Wednesday around the time of the ST and Amiga, evolving into a pc club around the time the 486 pc dominated. You just don't see clubs like this any longer.
    We do have plenty of big events such as retro revival, zzap64 and one at the infamous Nordbrek Hotel in Blackpool, so can't complain really. They can be quite intimidating and a bit impersonal. A local retro community event held monthly could help create a more relaxed environment.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +1

      I just looked up the Nordbrek Hotel, what a choice for venue! :) I guess the price is right.

  • @AiOinc1
    @AiOinc1 Месяц назад

    If there was more interest locally, I would start one of my own here

  • @AureliusR
    @AureliusR Месяц назад +2

    Awesome! Lucky to have TPUG here but super glad to hear the Bay has a club now too!

  • @guessundheit6494
    @guessundheit6494 Месяц назад

    Small towns might have branches of regional colleges. Retro groups might be welcome as a way to encourage enrollment. (I once lived in a northern Canadian town I shall not name, population under 3000, and the branch of the college hosted public events.) Public schools, especially elementary schools, might have space they make available.

  • @rickibaron4816
    @rickibaron4816 Месяц назад

    Great idea. I did not see a TI99/4a computer. Was one not available? The TI was the first computer I had and even to this day I am still writing new programs for. I had thought about doing this myself but at my age I could not run such a Club. Very inspiring by you.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад

      Unfortunately we don't have a TI "champion" in our group currently. I should have brought one but I already had a lot just bringing the extra Apple stuff on top of the Commodore stuff I originally planned. But you're right, that's a major omission from our display.

  • @theratcometh9866
    @theratcometh9866 Месяц назад +1

    And here i thought u were only located 5-6 hours North of me. Apparently, all this time i thought Thunder Bay was in a different area.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +1

      Many people are surprised when I explain I live north of Minnesota and Wisconsin, as they expect I'm north of New York or thereabouts.

  • @rager1969
    @rager1969 Месяц назад +1

    A population of 110K is nothing to sneeze at. The city I grew up in has a population of 136K.

    • @DerekLippold
      @DerekLippold Месяц назад

      The city I grew up in was 35k when I was a kid. Where I live now is only about 5k lol

  • @TheSimTetuChannel
    @TheSimTetuChannel Месяц назад

    Wouldn't it be sweet to recreate a Compucentre store from the 80s as a theme for an event like this.
    (since Radio Shack may be trickier for legal reasons)

  • @EnjoySynthSounds
    @EnjoySynthSounds Месяц назад

    In my town the computers would be stolen and the local library is reduced to just twice weekly opening, due to financial cuts.

  • @tenminutetokyo2643
    @tenminutetokyo2643 Месяц назад

    Pie Island!

  • @JohnMDiLiberto
    @JohnMDiLiberto Месяц назад

    14:19 The story of the Motorola company is pretty interesting, but I've never seen anything about the development of the game-changing 68000 processor, in particular, which was so pivotal to 16-bit home computing in the '80s.

    • @phill6859
      @phill6859 Месяц назад

      This is the most I've found about 68000 development, there is some interesting stories.
      m.ruclips.net/video/UaHtGf4aRLs/видео.html

  • @simonbarnes8303
    @simonbarnes8303 Месяц назад

    Your pronunciation or Dalek was something special. Maybe Dr Who never made it to Canada or perhaps it was dubbed.

    • @ffsireallydontcare
      @ffsireallydontcare Месяц назад

      It's the pronunciation from that lost Scottish episode where the Daleks wore kilts instead of those skirts with silver spheres.

  • @simonabunker
    @simonabunker Месяц назад

    Great con setup! How do day to day meetings run? Are they pretty informal where people just chat? Or do you have a schedule of talks that people can sign up to? I go to a few Meetups - and people were always very keen to talk about their latest projects - sometimes too keen. Going around the room at the start of the meeting so that everyone gets a chance to say who they are and give a brief introduction to what they are doing seems to work really well. I would be interested in how you actually run a night.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +1

      Ours are very informal; we just display whatever we brought and people wander around and talk to each other and check out whatever is there this month. It's very rare that we have a scheduled talk or anything like that. Going around the room for brief introductions is probably a good idea but we don't even do that :)

  • @rager1969
    @rager1969 Месяц назад

    At 16:51, what is that, a Klingon Pirate? Also, it's funny to see the Dalek using a toilet plunger.

  • @granitepenguin
    @granitepenguin Месяц назад +1

    BlueSCSI is a great idea for your Mac. They usually have a big booth at VCFMW if you don't find it before then.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +2

      Further BlueSCSI recommendations from a Penguin! :) I sense a pattern...

    • @granitepenguin
      @granitepenguin Месяц назад

      @@8_Bit Whaaa-whaa-haaa

    • @necronom
      @necronom Месяц назад +1

      The drive stopped spinning on my SE/30, so after tapping it to get it spinning again it was transferred to a BlueSCSI. Much better. And quiet.

  • @MurderMostFowl
    @MurderMostFowl Месяц назад +1

    In the c64 at 0:48, what is the black device between the power supply and the system? Is it a power conditioner of some kind?

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +2

      That's a "C64 Saver" or "Power Saver" that monitors the 5V line from the power supply and cuts power if it detects over-voltage.

  • @Mr76Pontiac
    @Mr76Pontiac Месяц назад +2

    I'm part of a couple of retro group here in the Kitchener/Waterloo area. TPUG being my first, and then (we kinda over took) Mine Flare Retro on Discord through the Computer Heritage Club. If I had the time, and cash, I'd go for a visit to Thunder Bay just for a one-time visit just for fun.

  • @Kw1161
    @Kw1161 Месяц назад

    Thanks for this video and I have Idea for keeping in touch with your club…Zoom or equivalent to meet. I belong to a Canadian club “CIDX” for radio related subjects. I live in Tucson, Arizona and meet over Zoom once a month plus there is an excellent magazine to download once a month. They also meet once a year in Pennsylvania although I have had health issues and can’t make it.
    Since there is allot more retro computers users maybe you can do both types of meetings, people in rural areas would probably use the zoom.
    Have a great day!

  • @MurderMostFowl
    @MurderMostFowl Месяц назад +3

    The human malware thing LOL

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +2

      Credit to Adrian's Digital Basement for that phrase :)

  • @phill6859
    @phill6859 Месяц назад +1

    What is the game running on the videobrain at 0:24?

  • @LazloNQ
    @LazloNQ Месяц назад +1

    Boba Fett lookin' a bit thic!

  • @bretthagey7916
    @bretthagey7916 Месяц назад

    Im from Cambridge ON, and I have a couple vintage 800's that could use a professional touch.?

  • @saganandroid4175
    @saganandroid4175 Месяц назад

    14:14 Robin can you put me in touch with Mike? His Amiga 1000 specs are wrong and based on the epic fail of Commodore's marketing team. The NTSC Amiga 1000 could do 768x486 (possibly 488). The color info is totally wrong as well. He leaves out EHB mode (64 colors) and HAM mode (4096 colors) both of which are hardware based (no copper slices) and work at up to 384x486 NTSC.

  • @csbruce
    @csbruce Месяц назад +3

    9:59 Too bad the "Imperial March" is copyrighted.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад +5

      I suspect many of us still heard the Imperial March in our mind's ear!

  • @m0nde
    @m0nde Месяц назад +2

    I love having TPUG here in Toronto, but not something small like this near me that I know of.

  • @infindebula
    @infindebula Месяц назад

    I’m living in Brampton so we have TPUG. But in a little over a year my wife and I plan to relocate to Silver City, New Mexico (pop. 45000). I could totally imagine trying to put something like this together. This vid is really inspiring.

  • @adam1984pl
    @adam1984pl Месяц назад

    6:56 Autism Northwest 12 .Lol

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад

      What's funny about that?

  • @BenevolentChum
    @BenevolentChum Месяц назад

    "Power strips"? Weird.

  • @Okurka.
    @Okurka. Месяц назад

    16:12 Oh, no, the female Ghostbusters!

  • @ffsireallydontcare
    @ffsireallydontcare Месяц назад

    9:52 Aaaand this is why I don't go to clubs or conventions anymore. It's next to impossible to avoid a budding RUclipsr or Instagrammers posting pictures of you to be stolen by AI and megacorps. I was really appreciative of your video of your own club where you didn't show any faces, but then....
    I'm sure someone will pipe up about how you have no right to privacy when in public.... I'll head you off at the pass by saying that those regulations were written when you either needed a newspaper or a TV network to violate someone's privacy. I have no intention of allowing my likeness to contribute to Larry Page's or Zuckerberg's wealth.

  • @Lion_McLionhead
    @Lion_McLionhead Месяц назад

    No-one in silicon valley does that anymore. It's just about getting rich & getting out.

    • @TheUtuber999
      @TheUtuber999 Месяц назад +1

      There are still a few of us around. 😊

  • @pikadroo
    @pikadroo Месяц назад

    I am just gonna say. I think the whole nabu thing is a retro computer scam. Also believe they are toxic and nobody should have them in their homes. I find the whole thing disgusting. Just my opinion. 🤷‍♂️

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад

      How did you arrive at this opinion? What is the scam? Why do you think they're toxic, or specifically, more toxic than other computers from the 1980s?

    • @pikadroo
      @pikadroo Месяц назад

      @@8_Bit First off they have to be hacked to do anything and most people won't have success with that even following some tutorial. Second they are sold and presented in a way that causes people to buy from fear of missing out, I don't like that out here. I question the plastic they are made out of but we all know for sure that metal has a (I think it's called) hexavalent chromium finish on it, known to be a carcinogenic when it flakes off with age. The led content prob won't amount to much at a distance but if you spend a lot of time handling it while modifying it, it might cause ya some led poisoning. So the whole thing just seems a silly risk to me. I can appreciate the significance of the unit in a collection but people should really understand the time in which these things were built, we just didn't realize all this but now we should. I do think it's more toxic that other 80's systems, mainly due to the interaction you have to have with it not being it's intended use.

    • @DerekLippold
      @DerekLippold Месяц назад

      What? What a weird comment. I can’t understand your viewpoint at all, sorry.

    • @8_Bit
      @8_Bit  Месяц назад

      ​@@pikadroo I wasn't aware of hexavalent chromium plating used on it, I'll look into that. However, there's no hacking of the NABU required to get it useable, as DJ Sures created a simple adapter cable that uses a 5-pin DIN connected to an RS422 USB adapter plugged into a modern computer. The cable just plugs into the NABU as the original network adapter did, and provides equivalent functionality. As for fear of missing out, I just find it amazing that this piece of computer history that was developed right here in my province, that my former boss (DJ's father) actually helped develop, that was all but forgotten shows up essentially new in box for just $120 or whatever the first several hundred were sold for. The price was more than fair, in my opinion, and it simply is a very unusual set of circumstances that allowed all this to come together. I don't find it any different than any other chance at acquiring rare technology, except instead of only one showing up at a time and the price being driven into the thousands of dollars (random example, a Commodore 65 or Apple Lisa or whatever) there were hundreds available for a fixed price no higher than common computers like a Commodore 64 or whatever.

    • @pikadroo
      @pikadroo Месяц назад

      @@DerekLippoldno doubt you bought 4 of them right?