heredragons.be
Also known as @herebedragons3 on the other site. Collector of all things Dragon - and much else beyond. Occasional fixer of computers, more commonly a breaker of them. See also https://retrofest.uk/ and @shortcircuit.org.uk for exciting events info!
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On a side note, I'm surprised to see how cream it looks in this photo. It's definitely discoloured in the last 10 years. I must find it and take another photo. I'm seeing this from a number of machines in these older photos. My Apple Platinum has yellowed too ...
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Definitely get a Microbeast! But sadly the PHC-10 was nowhere near as good as a MicroProfessor. No expansion, no IO, no way to save the one program in it. When the AAs went flat, that was it.
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And yes, the big brother, the PHC-25, was a pretty decent machine. Z80 based with 6847 'Dragon 32' graphics.
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I read that review back in the day! One of my collecting challenges was to get hold of all the machines reviewed in that issue. The PHC-20 was the really tricky one ...
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Oh yes, it works perfectly. Just very frustrating that it can't save - and you simply lose your program when the AAs go flat!
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After a 38 year wait to see one, the PHC-10 was such a disappointment. I'd hoped for a proper micro with an internal display, like a Newbrain. Instead this little machine has no IO - it can't even save its programs!
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The guys at @homecomputermuseum.bsky.social in the Netherlands seem to have a machine like that, with no floppies in the screen, but instead have the external expansion unit and floppies (like I have).
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I'd love one of these for my Sorcerer, but I've never been one for sale, sadly. I suspect few were made.
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I used this radio cassette player to save all my Dragon programs to!
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I hate problems like that! Where you have to go back and check every single assumption before you track it down. Is the plug actually wired up? Does this computer actually have chips? Is the electricity actually 240v? etc
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I do have to ask ... Why do you have 33 row IDC cable in the first place? Does seem to be asking for trouble!
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No! And I had to search for that too - here it is - www.yourprops.com/Dr-Heywood-F...
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OMG, no way I would have been able to resist that either!
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Apparently ANITA means 'A New Inspiration to Arithmetic', but also might be the name of the designer's wife!
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They're made by the Bell Punch Co (so called because they started off - in 1878 - selling ticket punches to tram companies) under their Sumlock brand. They developed the first electronic calculator in 1961, and this beauty in the early 70s ... 2/3
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Seconded (android too)
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There's an improved version with a real keyboard - the Laser 310!
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The floppy controller, branded 'Seltron' (and sold in Austria) sadly doesn't work though. The many bodge wires are reassuringly VTech! Apparently it's not Shugart, but designed to work with Apple drives (VTech famously made an Apple clone too, the Laser 128).
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Here's the other two, hooked up to my 'dual screen' Dragon!
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Ah, that would make sense. You have me all worried about being locked out of mine now! 😄
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Oooh, when you say 'dedicated screen unit', it wasn't one of these was it? I'd love to find one!
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There's kind of echos of the Commodore SX-64 there, aren't there? The computer just needs a hinge to fold up in front of the display!
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Here's the final picture for the quiz night!
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Thanks to Ivo Filot for the SD card and multicart - philips-p2000t.nl/cartridges/s... and thanks to @binarydinosaurs.co.uk for the advice I really should have taken right at the start.
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If you've not met one of these before, The P2000T is Philips' first home computer, from 1980 - very popular in the Netherlands, basically unknown elsewhere. Z80, 16K RAM and a Mullard Teletext chip for graphics! 4/5
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5 lovely volts. So I grabbed a TV, plugged it in and of course it works. And I suspect it had been working all along. Maybe the power LED is bust? Maybe it's not even a power LED? Now I'm ready to test my lovely new SD card solution! 3/5
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These machine has a notoriously flakey power switch that I've spent the afternoon trying to repair - in the end I gave up and just bypassed it. But still the machine didn't work. Checked the fuses, yanked out the PSU, poked the caps. Nothing. And it was then I checked the voltage to the CPU ... 2/5
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I always feel sorry for this key ...
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Oh wow, that looks good!
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Quick scan of the manual ... yes it is! Let's test that, shall we? Rah! Sadly, I notice that almost all the key switches are cracked, meaning keys keep sticking down. But I'm hoping I can fix that using these instructions - deskthority.net/viewtopic.ph...
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It was easy forgive, however, because it's such a gorgeous little machine!
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The bloomin thing actually started PRINTING! Definitely made me jump and I panicked for a moment while I tried to work out how to stop it. I've since discovered everything is a little bit ... different ... in the world of HP computers ... 2/3
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The idea was that all three were plugged into different inputs on the TV, so I could easily switch between them, and each was running a different demo. An over engineered display as usual from me!