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+--- Forum: Introductions (https://microbeetechnology.com.au/forum/forum-4.html)
+--- Thread: Hello from Arizona! (/thread-492.html)
Hello from Arizona! - dchristenson - 14-05-2022
Hello, everyone!
I'm a "kid" of the 80's, and I've long had a soft spot for 8-bit computers, even though I didn't own one myself until 1999. I finally got an Apple II+ as a present from a friend, then picked up a "Platinum" Apple IIe at a thrift shop while on a road trip. These interested me because they were what we had used in school and also what some friends and family had back in the day, with lots of nostalgia for games, BASIC and LOGO programming, and educational software. Recently, I became interested in all the other 8-bit computers that I missed out on when they were new, or at least still popular, and that lead me to pick up a few others. A few months ago, I found out about the Microbee, their use in Australian schools, and some of their design concepts, and I set about finding one I could explore and enjoy!
I managed to find a Microbee Series 2 Personal Communicator that was rather dirty and sold as untested on eBay, talked the seller down a little on price, and imported it. It didn't include the power / video / cassette cable, so I looked up the pinout, made my own breakout box, and finally tried it out a few days ago. It booted right up! :-) Unfortunately, most of the keys on the keyboard are dead. :-(
I was surprised how few websites seem to be dedicated to this fascinating machine, especially considering its apparent wide use in Australian public schools, similar to the Apple II series here in Arizona. So, I've signed up here, hoping for recommendations on software to try, where to find it, any upgrades or repairs I can (or should) make, projects, and so forth.
-Derek Christenson
RE: Hello from Arizona! - CheshireNoir - 14-05-2022
Welcome Derek,
You've come to the right place! (I've got a Personal Communicator in my collection as well)
The keys on the Microbees do have a certain reputation and there's guides to fixing them hosted on this very site: http://www.microbeetechnology.com.au/downloads/GuideToRepairingMicrobeeKeySwitches.pdf
As for software, request access to the Repository and have a look around and I'm sure you'll find what you want. I've had a lot of success playing WAV file recordings of Microbee software back from an old Android phone directly into my Microbee.
There are a lot of upgrades and repairs out there. As someone only a little bit further in my journey, may I suggest that the "Microbee Hardware Notebook with Updates" in the repository is an excellent source of what updates and fixes you should be doing to your 'bee. After that, there's some really interesting things you can do. Adding a joystick port is an easy but useful mod, but people here have gone the whole hog and done some amazing things to their systems.
Cheers, and welcome!
Chesh
RE: Hello from Arizona! - someone - 16-05-2022
Welcome aboard Derek!