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Retro geek heaven

5K views 44 replies 6 participants last post by  AtomicTom 
#1 ·
I have ‘flashed’ the SNES Mini with new firmware. Hakchi 2 CE. And put some new games on it. One of them Doom, which was an (ported) arcade game in the early Nineties. All these retro consoles run on Linux and are thus subject to the loving attention of the open source community. It’s just incredible! There are still some issues that have to be ironed out but the foundation is there. All this tinkering takes me back at least 25 years and I like it :D
 
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#2 ·
You inspired me, Frans. Last night I set up my Raspberry Pi 3 with RetroPie. I put the NES Legend of Zelda and Tecmo Super Bowl on it last night. Today, since my job has decided to not give me work to do, I have downloaded:
NES: RC Pro-Am, Super Mario Bros, Tetris
SNES: Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart
Sege Genesys/Megadrive: Altered Beast, Joe Montana Football, John Madden Football, QuackShot (Donald Duck game)
Play Station 1: SimCity2000
N64: 007 Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Starfox, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

I can't wait to show my stepson, he's 11, Goldeneye. He is getting shooters, but I won't let me play Call of Duty because I think it is too realistic. Plus, we can play against one another!

Anyone looking for more information:

https://retropie.org.uk/

I've been getting roms here:
https://www.emuparadise.me/
 
#3 ·
You inspired me, Frans. Last night I set up my Raspberry Pi 3 with RetroPie. I put the NES Legend of Zelda and Tecmo Super Bowl on it last night. Today, since my job has decided to not give me work to do, I have downloaded:
NES: RC Pro-Am, Super Mario Bros, Tetris
SNES: Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart
Sege Genesys/Megadrive: Altered Beast, Joe Montana Football, John Madden Football, QuackShot (Donald Duck game)
Play Station 1: SimCity2000
N64: 007 Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Starfox, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

I can't wait to show my stepson, he's 11, Goldeneye. He is getting shooters, but I won't let me play Call of Duty because I think it is too realistic. Plus, we can play against one another!

Anyone looking for more information:

https://retropie.org.uk/

I've been getting roms here:
https://www.emuparadise.me/

Great minds think alike :D I am downloading RetroPie as I write this as I have a spare PI3. I already have 'acquired' 250GB worth of ROMS and other stuff.
 
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#5 ·
Incredible, I have the exact same case! But I use it to house another Pi that runs Pi-Hole, a network based ad blocker that runs like a jiffy. For RetroPie I have bought a Nespi case that contains a fan and some headers to reroute power and USB. 29 Euro, I will post a photo later on.
 
#6 ·
From left to right: Commodore 64 Mini, NES Mini and SNES Mini. On top of the NES Mini is the Pi 3 running RetroPie in the Nespi case.


 
#8 ·
Thank you (or better we should thank the makers of that gear :D). Today a Pi 3 B+ arrived in the mail and I will have to start all over again because this contains a different chip set so it won’t start EmuStation. But I’m downloading a complete 128 GB image for the 3B+ with all the options and graphics. I also bought a new PSU (3 amps) that will be able to maintain the voltage under the highest load. Now I’m constantly getting ‘under volttage’ warning messages because of the latest kernel. Thank you for the Retropie heads up, this made me finally get it up and running. I had the stuff laying around for months bar the Nespi case.
 
#10 ·
:D I have the same with the minerals, gems and rock collection belonging to one of my colleagues. Two tall showcases full of them, the special LED lighting alone was a fortune. Some of the pieces are over 1,000 Euro and not bigger than a chicken egg. He visits two trade shows per year, one of them in Germany and after that proudly shows pictures of his new finds. He exhibits the same enthusiasm as we do with our watches and, eh, them retro gaming rigs. It’s sometimes hard to suppress a yawn :D
 
#11 ·
Well, it's about 10 months later and my other collection (one of the other collections to be more precise) is steadily growing. I have an original Sega Megadrive Classic Mini on pre-order (will arrive the end of September) and are waiting for the Retroflag GPi case to become available. I will buy every 'classic mini' that will become available. Nintendo Game Cube Classic Mini? Yes please :D Some of them are just rumours, like the Nintendo 64 Classic Mini, but hey, bring it on!





My most recent addition is the Ninteno Famicom Classic Mini (on the mini disk system, top right).
 
#13 ·
Neat huh? I’m just a 59 year old boy :D The ‘Super Nintendo’ case top left is one of the most interesting. It houses a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and the cartridge is not only removable by a working eject button but is actually a 256 GB SSD. I play all my games on this one, the controller is Bluetooth. In my next post I will explain what my next project will be. For that I will have to source a mid-Sixties television set. Only a decent looking enclosure, it does not have to work because I will get rid of the insides.
 
#14 ·
Those are great setups both of you've shown, very cool! I'm way behind you guys and haven't married my computer with retro gaming. I do have several original consoles though, hooked up to a dedicated monitor and I still play regularly (so do my girls). NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Atari 7800 and also PS1, PS2, PS3.

SO many great games from the early days of console gaming have stood the test of time. Processing power and technical limitations of the era did not slow the ingenuity of those programmers and developers, I'm continually impressed with even the earliest and simplest games. Come think of it, I never owned a Genesis but played my roommate's regularly back in college, maybe that's the next retro geek move for me.
 
#15 ·
I hear you on the great games of yesteryear, my love of gaming and computers started with Clive Sinclairs ZX Spectrum in the eightys.
Learning basic programming and playing some superb platform and arcade games, I still use a simulator for the Spectrum games.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
Holy cow, those systems bring back some memories guys !:happy0065::clap2::rockon:

Look at all of those !!! :eek: :smileyface_hand_cla So so neat !

Totally love all of those old systems, and games they played.
There is just something about them. ..They are almost magical !

I don't have the new mini classic consoles, but do have the
old versions like Atari 2600, Sega Master System, and Genesis,
All of the Nintendos, and Playstations. Plus a lot of games,
but need to maybe get some of these classic versions to play
them on now. :clapping-hands-abov

Amazing stuff Frans, and everyone ! ..Thanks very very much
not only for the pics, and info, but also for taking me back,
and getting me interested in all of this again !!!
 
#19 ·
So, I got a RaspberryPI 4 and I'm getting my retro gaming back together. I turned my PI 3 back into a personal cloud storage. The software for PI4 still isn't great as developers catch up. I've been doing some NES gaming though. I'll have to post pictures when I get it further set up and get a few retro game pads.
 
#20 ·
And now you are my hero! :D I have a Pi 4 as well (4 GB) but are patiently waiting for a complete and tested image to appear on ArcadePunks. I will stick it into my Roshambo Retro Gaming case (SNES lookalike) but that probably need some modification as it now houses a Pi 3B+
 
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#22 ·
The quest continues. In the 70s, the Digital Equipment Corporation launched the PDP-11 mini computer (mini as in not a main frame). It became one of the most successful business systems of that era. And lo and behold, someone made a scaled down version (6/10) of that, powered by a Raspberry Pi. It comes in a kit and I put myself on a waiting list, he makes a new batch every month. The OS that ran the PDP-11 has been ported to a Linux version and original program images can be loaded so it becomes fully functional. The only thing that is missing is a terminal because that is needed to operate it the way it was meant to. It will become a display item (lots of blinking lights :)).

 
#23 ·
I'm pretending I understood everything you said Frans. 😁 But I love
those blinking lights, and even crazy cool colors !😎😀 Even the
shape of the computer puts a smile on the face, and reminds you
of how computers, along with just machines used to look years
ago. It's terrific, and I don't even know anything about all of this
honestly. 😄

Kind of reminds me of watching an old tv show, or movie where
they had all these neat looking machines, computers, along with
those blinking lights in the background. Love it sir ! THX a lot for
sharing !!!
 
#24 ·
With a PC you are the only user working on it at a given time. With systems like the PDP-11, multiple users can use multiple programs at the same time. To make that work, each user operated a computer terminal, a dumb device that allowed you to login and use programs running on the main computer. Connections to that main computer used coax, serial or proprietary cabling. To put things into perspective, the first PDP-11 had 4K internal memory. When I started work my company still operated an IBM mainframe computer (390 I think) and we used terminals as well, PC's were just invented and only sued for word-processing. Below the PDP-11 replica with DEC terminal (not a PC):

 
#25 ·
It's incredible how far things have come in just a few decades Frans.
Just the look, as well as size of things years back was amazing, and
not something you even noticed right?! 😵But now, you look back,
and can actually see the time it came from. 🤖It's fantastic just to
learn about sir, and honestly appreciate Frans. There seriously is
such an awesome aura around these machines, and just a real
charm if you ask me. :):cool:

Cool stuff Frans. Thanks a lot !!!
 
#26 ·
It's incredible how far things have come in just a few decades Frans.
Just the look, as well as size of things years back was amazing, and
not something you even noticed right?! 😵But now, you look back,
and can actually see the time it came from. 🤖It's fantastic just to
learn about sir, and honestly appreciate Frans. There seriously is
such an awesome aura around these machines, and just a real
charm if you ask me. :):cool:

Cool stuff Frans. Thanks a lot !!!
It goes well with my Alsta :D. same year. These things make me happy Tom. I know I'm a bit of a 'strange potato' as we say over here, an almost 61 year old teenager but I want to live my life as I chose. When I'm in the office I'm almost like all my other colleagues (apart from owning > 30 watches :)).
 
#27 ·
 
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#28 ·
 
#30 ·
My son in law is co-owner of a digital print shop and as it is my birthday today he surprised me with this: a reprinted copy (372 pages) of the PDP-11/70 instruction manual. (The PDF can be freely downloaded). My daughter told him I ordered the kit although he hadn't a clue what it actually represents. I cannot tell you what a great gift this is to me. And he told me this is just a first try, he will make another in a ring binder.

 
#31 ·
My son in law is co-owner of a digital print shop and as it is my birthday today he surprised me with this: a reprinted copy (372 pages) of the PDP-11/70 instruction manual. (The PDF can be freely downloaded). My daughter told him I ordered the kit although he hadn't a clue what it actually represents. I cannot tell you what a great gift this is to me. And he told me this is just a first try, he will make another in a ring binder.
Happy Birthday, Frans!! May this year provide you with many days of health, happiness, love, and awesome retro gear!
 
#33 ·
Hey, wow Happy Birthday Frans !!! :D 🎂:) (y)(y)

Well that is just amazing Frans, and boy oh boy, does your
daughter, and son in law know you well?! Or what?! It’s so
nice, and so thoughtful it’s unbelievable actually. 🥇🏆 😉
I mean when you think about it, it’s easy to pick out a card,
or some item for a present. However, it means so much to
put so much thought into something like this right?! So in
this case, it really IS the thought that counts !

Awesome Frans! Happy Birthday there to you !!! 😃😉
P.S. Mega cool Esso guy too by the way ! ..ENJOY !
 
#34 ·
Esso Max isn't in my possession, it is an example of the things you can buy (replicas).
 
#35 ·
Got it Frans, and hey 2021 is still so young, you just might
be able to get him sir, and add him to the collection ! :D :)

It’s honestly just neat seeing ‘Esso’ by the way sir. 😎 (y)

Here in the U.S. it’s Exxon, and I swear I only found out
about it being called Esso as well by watching hockey
games broadcast from Canada. Cool stuff sir. Thank you !!!
 
#38 ·
"You crazy geek". A badge of honour! :D I keep convincing myself this keeps me young and special. (Yeah, he's 'special' allright :)).
 
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