Hello, and welcome back to this month's 8-Bit unboxing, where I'm going to unbox all of
the things that you guys have sent me during the month of October 2017.
And by the way, I do film these in chronological order throughout the month as I receive them
in.
So, anyway, let's get started!
The first package of October comes from Ethan Richardson from New Jersey.
I like the box, apparently there is geeky goodness inside.
Well, let’s open it up and see what geeky goodness it contains.
It’s a direct-to-TV paceman game, and one I didn’t already have.
I’ll have to add this to the list for part 2 of the TV games episode that I’ll eventually
be making.
Very cool.
He also sent this Ducktales cart for the NES, which I did not have already!
Thank you Ethan!
Here’s a little package from CJ.
OK, it’s a cartridge for the TI99, one I didn’t already have.
Thank you CJ!Here’s a package with a LOT of stamps!
It’s from Douglas Vernooy?
Let’s hope that’s close to correct!
OOOKK..
Let’s see what treasure we have here.
Oh yeah!
I’ve been wanting one of these for a long time.
It’s a Pilot!
Notice I didn’t call it a palm pilot?
That’s because this is the original that was produced by USRobotics, before it was
spun off under a different brand name!
Let’s open it up and have a look inside!
Here we’ve got a manual.
That looks like an old Packard Bell with all of the branding removed.
Here’s the actual Pilot.
Check it out, there’s not a scratch on this thing!
Here’s the cradle.
The original, of course, used a serial cable.
There was no USB back then.
And the pilot fits in snug just like that!
Very nice.
I’ll definitely do a video on this eventually.
Next up, I have a mystery box from the United Kingdom.
There’s no sender name.
The customs paperwork says it has a floppy disk inside.
Well, let’s see what the mystery man has sent me.
Oh yes..
This is from Alan, it’s the original setup disks for that Compaq portable 386 that I
got in last month.
This should help getting that machine up and running.
Thank you Alan!And next we have a heavy box from Alexander Cmaylo.
Uhh..
Why can’t these packages ever have names like Frank Jones, or Bob Johnson?
You know, something easy for a guy with my limited education to pronounce.
Anyway, ah yes..
I remember this conversation.
He had a load of old manuals and I told him which ones I was in need of.
So this one, for example, is for the C64 obviously.
But this one has the wire binding on the spine, which I like.
And this is a different revision of the manual, also with the spiral binding.
And I really like the cover on this one!
And, actually, I already have a copy of this, but mine is falling apart due to 25 years
of heavy use.
This one is in a little better shape.
This is another one I didn’t have, at least not with the spiral binding.
And these are all various manuals to Commodore’s different disk drives.
And I already have a 128 system guide, but I have a friend who is in need of one.
And last but not least, the Amiga 500 system guide, which I did not have at all!
So, these will be a very nice addition to my collection, thank you Alexander!
Next up is a big and heavy box.
This is from Boris Shpitser from California.
Let’s open this up.
So what we have here… is a mess.
But no, seriously, this is a word processor!
I’ve had 1980s style word processors on my want-list for a while because I’ve been
wanting to take one apart and see what’s inside.
These things are essentially purpose built computers so I’ve always wondered what hardware
they used.
This one, of course, is a Panasonic W1525.
At first I thought the keyboard was not included because normally they go over the screen.
But this one appears to be attached to the rear.
I wanted to go ahead and power this up now because it may be a while before I have a
chance to revisit this in a dedicated video.
So, it did power on, but the screen was rather dim.
Then I realized there was a brightness control here.
Ah yes, that’s much better!
Unfortunately, my camera is picking up a lot of glare and I don’t have a polarizer lens
for this one.
I guess I need to get one.
Anyway, the CRT is nice and crisp!
And I’m impressed!
This one can do spreadsheets.
I thought these things were just word processors only!
Anyway, a big thanks to Boris!
Next box… well, this one doesn’t keep any secrets, does it?
Let’s hope there’s an Odyssey2 inside of the box!
This is from Macie Miller.
And apparently it contains….
A coat?
Well, I’ve seen a lot of weird things used for packing material, but this is a new one
for me!
Well, Macie says I can do whatever I want with the coat.. so It’s probably going to
goodwill.
But let’s take a look at the Odyssey 2!
This is pretty new to me as I’ve never really seen or played one of these.
I can’t believe the controllers are hard wired into the machine.
There were also 6 games included, as well as a few Atari 2600 games.
Anyway, thank you very much Macie.
I suspect you’ll be seeing this again in a future episode.
All right!
Another big and heavy box!
This one is from Rook Ascenzo from Illinois.
OK, this is too big so I’ll have to put it on the floor.
I believe this is another word processor.
Things always seem to work out that way.
I don’t know why similar things tend to show up within the same month.
Let’s get this bubble wrap off so we can see which model this is.
Ahh..
This is a Brother model.
And my cat is in here bugging me, so I thought maybe she’d like the giant box of packing
peanuts.
It should be fun right?
Like a ball pit for cats, right?
Well, she doesn’t seem very amused.
I think she wants to jump out, but every time she tries to get her footing, she sinks in
deeper.
OK, she’s going jump!
So, back to the word processor.
This one opens like most I remember.
And it looks like a disk is included.
Well, let’s power it on!
And it works too!
The CRT looks nice.
So yeah, you’ll probably be seeing this again too!
Thank you Rook!
The next donation was from Russel Miller who actually dropped it off in person.
It’s some kind of little weird computer called a Lamba PC.
I’ll have to investigate this further!
Anyway, thank you Russell!
Next up is a box from Jason Putnam from Maryland.
I know what’s in this and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to playing around
with.
So, this is a built-it-yourself kit for a hobbyist computer that he has designed.
It runs on a 6502 processor.
And it’s made from all brand-new off the shelf components.
And yes, you can still buy 6502 processors!
And here’s the actual board.
I’ll be soldering all of the components on here myself.
Also this board is supposed to be Apple I compatible, but in the future it may be able
to run more than that!
So stay tuned for a future video on this guy!
Thank you Jason!
Here’s another giant, heavy box.
This one also has no secrets.
I hope there is really a Model 4 inside of there!
This is from Thomas Powers from Georgia.
I’ll have to move this to the floor as well.
Here’s a note from Thomas.
Wow, there’s like a lot of stuff crammed in here.
However, as I’m taking stuff out, I’m thinking this is not a TRS-80 Model 4 after
all.
So maybe this box does hold secrets after all?
SO it turns out all of this stuff was in that box.
There was no model-4, instead there was this Model 1.
Which is fine, as I didn’t have one of those either.
So this is the original model that was released in 1977.
And it even has the matching monitor.
So I wanted to power this on and see if it works.
The interesting thing is, I powered it on off camera first and it actually did boot
up.
But when I tried to power it on the second time, all it would do is flash the power light.
I think the capacitors in the power supply have gone bad.
The monitor is still working, though.
I imagine you’ll be seeing this again.
Thank you Thomas!
Next donation was from Benjamin Durham, who also delivered his in person.
He gave me an old Powerbook Duo, along with two Powerbook G4 titanium models, and some
weird looking toy keyboard that I’ll have to examine later.
Thank you Benjamin!
Next is a little box from Elija Powell, from Moussouri.
Every day is Christmas if you’re the 8-Bit Guy.
Well, there’s some truth to that!
But every day is also a work day!
So it’s a double-edged sword!
So here’s two game carts, packed in a bizarre method.
So, Football for the Gameboy, didn’t have that.
And here’s another.
Nascar for the N64.
Didn’t have that either.
Thank you Elijah!Up next is a package from…
Griswold?
All right.
So Demon Attack for the Magnavox Odyssey2….
Again, weird since I just got an Odyssey2!
And Enchanter for the TI99.
OK, thank you very much.
This next one is from Andrew Paulo, from Connecticut.
Interesting, a Socrates.
I remember these.
Yeah, so this was like an edutainment computer from the late 1980s.
I’ve never played with one before.
So yeah, it came with quite a bit of stuff, including some software, which is useful if
I’m going to review it.
And also a voice synthesizer cartridge.
Very nice!
I imagine you’ll be seeing this again too!
Thank you Andrew.
Here’s a little package from David Emel.
And it’s wrapped up like Fort Knox in duct tape.
Ah yes..
I remember this.
He was offering me some Apple stuff, and I said I could use another disk controller for
my Apple IIe because I can’t get the disk drive to work and I am not sure if it is the
drive or controller.
So hopefully this will either fix the problem, or at least confirm what the problem is.
Oh look, this is from 1978, so this is a pretty early model.
Thank you David!
And the next box is also big.
This is from Eric Hutchinson from Rhode Island.
It’s full of packing peanuts so I’d better put it on the ground.
Look at that!
MORE odyssey stuff!
Are the planets aligned just right.
Oh wait, I don’t believe in astrology.
Still, this is weird.
However, this is the Odyssey 1, the very first.
In fact, this is it guys!
This is the very first home video game console, which came out in 1972.
So this even predates the Atari 2600.
I’ve never played one of these.
So this will be quite an experience.
These controllers are crazy.
And my understanding is that there are actually not any ROMs on these cartridges, rather they
just criss-cross wires to activate various games that are already built into the machine.
Interesting.
Well, expect to see this again too!
Thank you Eric!
OK, we’ve got a box here from Peter Landell.
I can’t remember what he was sending.
Ah yes…
I remember this discussion now.
This is the notorious 16K memory expansion for the Timex Sinclair 1000.
I haven’t seen one of these in 25 years or more..
I have to take it out and look at it.
Ah yes.
I used to have one of these and as I recall it was very temperamental.
If you bumped or touched it just right it would cause the computer to lockup or reset.
Anyway, you’ll be seeing this again when I do an episode on the ZX81 series.
Thank you Peter!
OK, we’re getting close to the end.
This is from Chris Roseberry.
And what the heck is this?
OK, I think this is the card reader for the Gameboy advance that will read those special
cards.
Let’s see what’s in here.
Ok, yeah, that pretty much confirms that is what that is.
OK, cool.
As for this drive, at first I was wondering why he sent this.
Then I realized this was a lightscribe drive.
Which is something I thought I might touch on at some point.
Thank you Chris!
Next up is a moderate sized box from Ken Hargy, or Hargy.
Not sure how to pronounce that.
Ok, I can’t tell what the heck this is.
Ahhhh.
Yes.
This is what is known as the Darth Vader of Apple II computers.
It’s the Bell and Howell version.
However, this one has a really ugly modification done to it.
Look at that.
Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave right now.
He’s going to come back to haunt whoever did this.
Well, this will be an interesting restoration challenge.
I’ve never dealt with a giant hole in the case before.
Also this is interesting…
It appears to be an RF modulator.
Look at that, Channel 33 TV interface unit..
I’ve never seen a modulator that uses Channel 33, or maybe that is a brand name.
Who knows.
Anyway, this should be a fun project!
Thank you Ken!
All right, I want to thank everyone for some of the fantastic donations I got last month.
And sometimes, you know, when I crack jokes about stuff, I'm not trying to be unappreciative,
just in case anybody thinks that.
Because, believe me, if I was not appreciative I wouldn't have shown it in the video.
I also wanted to mention that last month, October, I didn't produce as many videos as
I normally did and some people may have been wondering why.
Part of the reason is because I was gone part of the month to Portland for the Retro Gaming
Convention.
The other reason is because I've also been working really hard trying to finish up Planet
X2.
So, it's basically done now.
This is a prototype and this game is going to be released probably next month.
I've just got a couple of bugs I'm still trying to track down.
And, I'm going to do a full video on the product when it's released.
But I just wanted to let you know that I am still definitely working on it and it is coming.
And I'm looking forward to showing it to you because I'm pretty proud of it.
It's a real-time strategy game for the Commodore 64.
So, anyway, stay tuned for more information on that and I do have some other great content
coming up for November.
So, stick around for that!