As someone who grew up in the 80s, I got to enjoy some of the greatest and most important moments of computer history. It may be simply that I’m getting old now, but today’s computers and games just don’t have that ‘magic’ feel about them like they did 30 years ago!

Over the years a lot of the old hardware is neglected, either being thrown in the attic or garage to be forgotten about and get damp, or even worse, mercilessly thrown in the skip! A lot of the time when they are recovered, the hardware is in bad shape and doesn’t work.

So I recently began collecting retro hardware, where possible picking up ‘untested’ (which usually means faulty without doubt!) and repairing them.

As seen in the picture I mostly collect Commodore hardware, but also have recently obtained a Spectrum +2A, BBC Micro Model B and an Atari 2600 ‘Darth Vader’ model. I enjoy finding ways to combine 30 year old hardware with modern circuits such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi to provide cheap expansions such as SD card access and networking capabilities.

I also enjoy using emulators for systems I either do not own, or just want a quick blast on without having to setup the hardware.

I started this website to log some of the repairs I do, mostly so that I can remember them myself, but also that they may be of use to other people wanting to repair equipment with similar faults.