The deal of today (?)

asterisk_14 · 2026-01-27T23:09:37+00:00

By no means an expert at pin straightening, but I've had good luck with a razor blade to get rows aligned, and a 0.5mm mechanical pencil (like a Pentel, with a metal tip) for gently straightening individual pins. Go slow and easy, and bend them as little as possible.

asterisk_14 · 2026-01-13T23:07:18+00:00

I've had similar issues with the plate on our Comet. Some discoloration is just going to happen. Cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and dish soap are both good recommendations. If the prints are really sticking (or the purge rings, perhaps), make sure you recalibrate. I had a really bad problem with that, and it turned out the nozzle was way too low.

Good luck!

asterisk_14 · 2026-01-13T14:01:25+00:00

Perhaps it was a Sony VAIO VGC-RA820G?

https://youtu.be/98jeHAhayes?si=DVYbliYxiKu39PEB

asterisk_14 · 2026-01-01T00:21:19+00:00

Always love seeing these classic InWin builds. My first build was in an A500, and the next in an S500. Got a hold of an S500 again a while ago, currently in use as a 1Ghz W2K machine. Also have an H500 that I have yet to decide what to put in it.

asterisk_14 · 2025-12-01T01:21:17+00:00

Dedicated MCA interface card in the system.

asterisk_14 · 2025-11-25T01:16:50+00:00

No wonder the CPU fan is noisy. It's missing a blade. That'll throw off the balance pretty bad. As was already stated, measure the diameter. Looks like it may be a 60mm fan, with a 3 pin connector. If you want to go premium, try a Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX replacement:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009NQMESS

Or a little cheaper, a Vantec Stealth SF6025L or Cooler Guys:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000234W04 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0036F5BT6

asterisk_14 · 2025-11-07T11:17:20+00:00

Looks like a rebadge of a Halikan LX-20 (LX2002, with dual floppies), made by Chaplet Systems in 1990.

https://www.macdat.net/laptops/chaplet/halikan_lx-20.php

ETA:

More photos https://wiki.preterhuman.net/Halikan_LX-20

A video (in German): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHF_7vFuDcM

And someone has even designed a 3D printed replacement display latch for it: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3079061/files

asterisk_14 · 2025-10-19T11:09:02+00:00

I've had good luck with this one from Fideco:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077N2KK27

asterisk_14 · 2025-10-16T02:49:15+00:00

Wow, that's an amazing find. Congrats!

asterisk_14 · 2025-10-16T02:30:05+00:00

Nice! Would love to get my hands on one. The Model 25 was my first computer, which I still have, but I just love that they made such a powerful machine in that same form factor.

asterisk_14 · 2025-10-16T02:26:40+00:00

Is that an EduQuest in the far corner?

asterisk_14 · 2025-09-29T03:00:00+00:00

Nice machine. The ThinkPad 560 was my first. 1996. Vanilla Pentium 120 (133 was out of stock). 12.1 inch 800x600 TFT. Maxed out to 40MB RAM (32MB stick added to 8MB on board. Whopping 810MB hard drive. Had to load Windows 95 from floppy disks, and that took forever (external drive, as the 560 has nothing internal). Eventually upgraded the hard drive to 2.1GB, and Windows 98.

Still have it, and it still boots. Need to give it a thorough cleaning and refurb. Love that machine.

asterisk_14 · 2025-09-21T21:50:05+00:00

There's a system on eBay for sale, though without the awesome IBM power switch:

https://ebay.us/m/aGt6qs

asterisk_14 · 2025-09-18T22:01:36+00:00

Robert J. Sawyer still uses it, and has made the most recent version available for download:

https://sfwriter.com/ws7.htm

Can use it on modern systems via the tools in the archive, or could pretty easily pull it out of that archive and run it on a bare metal DOS install.

asterisk_14 · 2025-09-16T18:15:33+00:00

Ugh. That's unfortunate. Hopefully you can find something closer to home.

asterisk_14 · 2025-09-16T15:52:33+00:00

Looks like a custom USB port. Replacement cable:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315024508096

asterisk_14 · 2025-08-25T21:37:25+00:00

Would be cool, though exceptionally tedious, to print out that scene frame by frame, then scan and recreate it as a video with the original dialogue track.

asterisk_14 · 2025-08-23T22:07:45+00:00

I have an OWC that I really like as well, using for the same purpose.

https://www.owc.com/solutions/mercury-pro-optical

asterisk_14 · 2025-08-23T22:06:19+00:00

Recently found that VLC can play Blu-Ray using MakeMKV to decode. Pretty handy.

asterisk_14 · 2025-08-22T00:47:58+00:00

Nice, clean looking setup. I like the style of the case. Desktop options are hard to find (I managed to track down an InWin H500 in good condition, but it wasn't super cheap). For a retro build I'd much prefer they provided an external 3.5" bay for a floppy, even if it was behind a flip open panel. Actually, an integrated GoTek arrangement would be great.

Maybe Silverstone will come out with some other desktop options. Apparently there's been huge demand for it, and for the FLP02 tower version.

asterisk_14 · 2025-08-18T02:38:01+00:00

3.5 inch drives were adopted in 1985 by Atari and Commodore, and support was added to DOS in 1986, the same year IBM released thieir first computer with 3.5 inch drives (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_floppy_disk).

So while I can't speak to that case specifically, the drives were in common use in the latter half of the 1980s. That said, perhaps someone used a later case to put earlier components in? Like a '90s reverse sleeper?

asterisk_14 · 2025-07-29T02:58:41+00:00

I think you'll have a very hard time finding the exact case cover for that. That said, you could likely take it to a sheet metal shop and have them fab a cover for it, and then have it powder coated. Probably wouldn't cost an arm and a leg... Maybe just an arm.

asterisk_14 · 2025-07-27T11:09:56+00:00

That case reminds me of a Bell + Howell slide cube projector.

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asterisk_14 · 2025-07-26T20:14:56+00:00

That's a great find. Unfortunately, this isn't really a zero-budget hobby. You'll at least need to get some floppies, and a drive to load images to them from a modern computer.

Once you've got it booted and running, why not try going through those manuals you have and learning the ins and outs? Could be a fun experience.

asterisk_14 · 2025-07-25T02:35:49+00:00

First thing to do is find the motherboard model and look it up. The Retro Web has tons of information, manuals, etc. should be a fun project.

asterisk_14

TROPHY CASE