Welcome to Noah Burney's

Vintage Computer Collection

IMSAI 8080

The IMSAI 8080 was the first “clone” personal computer. Released in late 1975, the same year as the Altair 8800 (widely considered the first personal computer), the IMSAI was fully compatible with the Altair's bus design. But at the same time the IMSAI improved on the Altair it in a number of ways, including a better power supply, more card slots, more ergonomic toggle switches, and, in my opinion, a much better looking design.

The base machine consists of little more than an interface to an Intel 8080A processor and some RAM, which you can directly inspect, edit, and control by directly from the front panel by entering memory address and machine code in binary. In most cases you would have additional boards for serial communication with a video terminal or teletype, and either a floppy disk controller or cassette interface for loading and storing programs and data.

Although you can toggle in bare metal programs directly into memory, a much easier and more powerful option for this and later S100 computers is to run the CP/M operating system.

I was very excited to pick up this iconic computer at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest, along with an ADM-5 terminal and a few S100 cards to go with it.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • ADM-5 Video Terminal
  • CCS 2422 Multimode Floppy Disk Controller
  • Cromemco TU-ART Serial/Parallel Board
  • MITS 88-2 SIO Serial Board
  • Seals 8K Static RAM
  • Tarbell 1001 Cassette Interface rev. D

Modern Upgrades

Apple ][+

The Apple II Plus was a revision to the original Apple II with updated ROMs. Mine came with Disk II card, 80 column card, RAM expansion, a Disk ][, 3rd party disk drive, and puffy stickers.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Apple Disk ][
  • μ-SCI A2
  • Apple Monitor ///

Atari 400

In 1979 Atari introduced its first home computers: the 400 and the 800. They were the first widely available home computers with graphics and sound coprocessors, which gave them truly impressive capabilities compared to their contemporaries. The 400/800 also introduced Atari’s SIO (Serial I/O), the direct ancestor of modern USB.

The 400 was the lower-end machine. It came standard with 16KB of RAM, 1 cartridge slot, and the infamous membrane keyboard which was terrible to type on but good for spill-prone children.

My 400 was upgraded back in the ’80s with an aftermarket mechanical keyboard, the Inhome B Key 400, as well as a 32K RAM expansion from Mosaic.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Inhome B Key 400
  • Mosaic 32K RAM Board
  • Atari 810 5.25" Floppy Drive

Modern Upgrades

Atari 800

Released alongside the 400 in 1979, the Atari 800 was a groundbreaking machine that was built like a tank.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Atari 810 5.25" Floppy Drive

Modern Upgrades

Commodore VIC-20

Despite its limited 5KB of RAM and 22 x 23 character display, the VIC-20 is a surprisingly capable machine. Though not software-compatible, it introduced a lot of design decisions found in later Commodore 64: the “breadbin” form factor, the IEC bus, user port, and datasette connector.

Modern Upgrades

TI-99/4A

The TI-99/4A is a beautifully designed and solidly built machine that never quite achieved its full potential.

It was a revision of the TI-99/4 from 1979, the first home computer to feature a 16-bit processor, and had impressive graphics. Unfortunately it lost the price wars to Commodore and its much the less powerful and more cheaply-built VIC-20, and TI left the home computer market.

The TI had a decent built-in BASIC which was later improved by the Extended BASIC cartridge. Some software was available on cassette or floppy disk, but TI emphasized cartridge-based (“solid state”) software which provided near-instant load times. However, because cartridges were comparatively expensive and TI was somewhat hostile to 3rd party software developers, the 99/4A had a relatively modest catalog of software compared to contemporaries.

The TI-99/4A originally provided for expansion by connecting one or more peripherals in a chain to the expansion port on the right-hand side of the machine. If you were to connect all the available peripherals, such as disk drives, printers, and the iconic voice synthesizer, they'll form a monstrous 6 foot long chain. TI later replaced this with the Peripheral Expansion Box (PEB), which had card slots à la the Apple IIe or later PCs.

I picked up my TI-99/4A for at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest, and later got a PEB through the Chicago TI Users Group.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Peripheral Expansion Box
  • TI Speech Synthesizer
  • Amstrad XR400 Cassette Recorder
  • TI Cassette Interface

Modern Upgrades

TRS-80 Model 100

The TRS-80 Model 100 was released in 1983 and was the first commercially-successful notebook computer. It was a slight update to Kyocera’s Kyotronic 85.

It's a shockingly capable little computer, with built-in Microsoft BASIC, text editor, schedule and appointments, and terminal emulator program. Programs and documents are stored in its built-in battery-backed RAM, so saving/loading is instant.

You can save and load data to cassette, or transfer files over the modem or RS232 serial port in the back. It also has a printer port and a BCR port.

The screen is decent, with 8 rows of 40 character lines, and the full-size keyboard makes writing programs or documents pretty comfortable. It's easy to see why it was popular with journalists and other professionals who spent a lot of time on the road.

Atari 600XL

Released at the same time as the 800XL, the 600XL has a more compact footprint while offering all the same functionality. It came stock with a measly 16KB of RAM and only RF video output, but I've modded mine to have 1MB RAM and composite/s-video. This has replaced my 800XL as my Atari 8-bit daily driver.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Atari 1010 Tape Drive
  • Atari 1050 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • Atari 1020 Plotter
  • Atari 1027 Printer

Modern Upgrades

Atari 800XL

My first and favorite 8-bit computer, the 800XL is Atari’s 1983 update to the original 400 & 800 computers from 1979, featuring sleeker ’80s styling and a smaller footprint.

It has 64k RAM, built-in Atari BASIC, dedicated hardware for graphics/sprites and sound, cartridge slot, and 2 joystick ports. Peripherals—such as floppy drives, printers, or modems—are connected via the Serial I/O (SIO) port and can be daisy-chained. Atari's SIO is considered the ancestor of modern USB by Joe Decuir, who designed both interfaces.

Atari's 8-bit line have the perfect balance of performance, expandability, and fun. There's an amazing catalog of software, available on cassette and floppy disks as you'd expect. But where the Atari really shines, compared to the Commodore 64 or the Apple II, is all the cartridges. They weren't limited to just games—although tons of those were available—but also serious software, like word processors, programming languages and assemblers.

There's a vibrant, active community still making new software and hardware for these computers. I'm a member of ABBUC (Atari Bit-Byter User Group), was founded in 1985 in Germany, which continues to mail quarterly magazine with the latest Atari news.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Atari 1010 Tape Drive
  • Atari 1050 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • Atari 1020 Plotter
  • Atari 1027 Printer
  • Star NX-1000 printer

Modern Upgrades

Commodore 64

If you've only heard of one 8-bit computer, it's the Commodore 64—the best selling computer of all time.

The C64 had a 6502 processor, 64K RAM, a custom graphics chip with hardware sprite support, and a custom sound chip, the SID, which I would argue is the best- and most iconic-sounding of all the 8-bit computers. Though did support cartridge-based software, but floppy disks or cassettes were by far the most common media for its extensive catalog of games and software.

The C64 continues to have a devout and active fanbase to this day.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Commodore 1541 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • AMDEK Color-I Monitor
  • Commodore CM-141 Monitor
  • Star NX-1000 printer

Modern Upgrades

Apple IIc

A beautiful and compact update to the Apple II line, the Apple IIc combined some of the most popular expansions into a compact and portable form factor. It has built-in BASIC, 128k RAM, 80-column support, serial port, external drive connector, and a built-in 5.25" floppy drive.

The matching Monitor IIc is a compact 9" green monochrome display that matches the IIc's modernized styling and displays crisp 80-column text. For color games or graphics, the Apple IIc can also be connected to any TV (RF modulator sold-separately) or color monitor with composite in.

The IIc is probably my favorite 8-bit computer for doing “real” work, like programming, word processing, or working in spreadsheets with the Apple II's “killer app”, VisiCalc. From the hardware (there's a handle!), to the bundled software (e.g. ProDOS), the IIc really has that extra attention to detail and user experience that we've come to expect from Apple.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Apple Monitor IIc
  • Apple ImageWriter II Printer

Modern Upgrades

Goldstar FC-200

The FC-200 is a Korean-made MSX1 computer produced Goldstar (now known as LG). It’s the European localization of the FC-80, which was the first MSX computer released in Korea.

It is a fairly standard MSX1 machine, except for a built-in lightpen holder next to the cartridge slot. However, the planned lightpen was never actually released.

Modern Upgrades

Kaypro 2'84

Kaypros were affordable, well-built “luggables”, with solid aluminum cases and full-size keyboards that clipped onto the case for easy transport.

The Kaypro didn't have many frills, but features a built-in 9" green monochrome CRT, two 5.25” floppy drives, serial, and parallel ports. It has a Z80 processor and is a perfect machine for running CP/M, the first widely used general-purpose operating system for personal computers.

Despite lacking any graphics capabilities, in addition to productivity staples like WordStar, there are are some surprisingly fun games using ASCII graphics. I've replaced one of my Kaypro's floppy drives with a Gotek floppy emulator which makes it much easier to load software and files from a modern computer.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Star NX-1000 printer

Modern Upgrades

ZX Spectrum+

The ZX Spectrum line is the UK's most iconic and beloved 8-bit computer, edging out even the C64. It also found success throughout Europe and was the inspiration for innumerable clones in the USSR and elsewhere.

The Spectrum+ updates the original Spectrum's case design and replaces the “keyboard” with something much more usable for touch typing.

The sound is okay, and the graphics have a quirky combo of 1-bit bitmap graphics with large color blocks, giving “Speccy” software its distinctive color-outside-the-lines look. With software almost exclusively distributed on cassette, and the lo-fi aesthetic of the graphics, to me the Speccy is the most punk rock of all the 8-bits.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Amstrad XR400 Cassette Recorder

Atari 130XE

After Jack Tramiel took over, Atari released a final line of 8-bit computers, with a design language that matched the 16-bit ST systems. The 130XE came with 128KB of RAM.

Modern Upgrades

Yamaha CX7M/128

The Yamaha CX7M/128 is a special “Music Computer” variant of the Yamaha YIS-64/128. They came with an FM module (SFG-05) in the side slot, and a the FM Voicing Program II (YRM-502) mini cartridge which plugs into a slot on the front. You can then launch the synthesizer and sound voicing programs from BASIC. Sadly, my machine includes neither of these (hence getting it for a very good price), so it is just a standard MSX2 machine.

Modern Upgrades

Yamaha YIS-503IIIR

The Yamaha YIS-503IIIR is a version of the Yamaha YIS-64/128, produced for use in schools in the USSR and localized with a Russian keyboard.

It has two very interesting features for educational use: it has Serial I/O module, which allowed 1 teacher machine and up to 15 student machines to be networked together, and it includes a special "net-shell" version of CP/M 2.2 built-in in ROM.

Modern Upgrades

Atari 1040STF

Atari's 16-bit ST line have a built-in graphical OS in ROM. My 1040STF has 1MB of RAM and a built-in 3.5" floppy drive. The ST line had a full complement of productivity software, and tons of great games like Another World and Lemmings.

But perhaps what set the ST apart was the built-in MIDI support. This made it a cheap but very powerful computer for any modern music studio in the late 80s and early 90s. The ST is where groundbreaking DAWs Cubase and Notator (later Logic Pro) were born, and was used in iconic tracks like Fatboy Slim’s ‘Rockafeller Skank’.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Atari STM1 Mouse
  • Atari SC1224 15" Color Monitor
  • Atari SC124 15" Hi-Res Monochrome monitor

Modern Upgrades

Commodore 64C

The 64C is primarily a cost-reduced version of the original C64 with an updated beige wedge-shaped design that matched the Commodore 128.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Commodore 1541 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • Commodore 1581 3.5" disk drive
  • AMDEK Color-I Monitor
  • Commodore CM-141 Monitor
  • Star NX-1000 printer

Modern Upgrades

Daewoo CPC-200

The Daewoo IQ-1000 is a Korean-made MSX1 computer. At a time when every other company's 8-bit computers were totally incompatible with all the others, the MSX standard was a radical new approach, and a glimpse into what we take for granted now after the dominance of the IBM PC and its descendants.

The standard was developed jointly by Microsoft and the Japanese ASCII Corporation, and nearly all Japanese electronics companies, from Sony to Casio, built an MSX computer. Though they never took off in the US, MSX machines were very popular in Japan, Korea, Brazil, and the Middle East.

Like all MSX machines, the IQ-1000 has built-in Microsoft BASIC and runs a wide range of software available on cassette, cartridge, or less commonly floppy disk.

What makes the Daewoo IQ-1000 special is that it was on of the first personal computers to support input and display of Korean text, and they are very rare outside of Korea.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Amstrad XR400 Cassette Recorder
  • Talent DPF-555 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • Talent Datasette MC-300D
  • Daewoo DPM-1200 Monochrome Monitor

Modern Upgrades

Sakhr AX-230

An MSX1 computer manufactured by Sanyo and localized for Arabic markets. It supports inputting/displaying Arabic text, and has numerous utilities and games included in ROM.

Modern Upgrades

Talent DPC-200

The Talent DPC-200 is a South American adaptation of the Daewoo CPC-200, produced in Argentina.

Mine was missing the DEL key, which I’ve replaced with a clumsy 3D printed part.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Talent DPF-555 5.25" Floppy Drive
  • Talent Datasette MC-300D

Modern Upgrades

Atari 800XE

The 800XE is effectively a rebadged PAL 65XE, named to capitalize on the recent popularity of the 800XL. It was only released in German-speaking countries and in Czechoslovakia.

My 800XE was upgraded in Czechoslovakia with 320KB of RAM, and a toggle to switch between Atari XL OS and third-party QMEG-OS.

Modern Upgrades

Compaq Portable 386

The ultimate “luggable” PC. Compaq started with IBM-compatible portables, and the 386 is the most powerful of the series.

With its distinctive amber gas-plasma flat panel display, it folded up to be very compact and lightweight compared with other CRT-based luggables of the day.

It has a built-in 5.25" 1.2MB floppy drive and a hard drive which I've replaced with an IDE-to-CF. It also has an expansion box which snaps into the back and provides two ISA slots. A VGA card + sound card are great for circa 1990 DOS games, or VGA + Ethernet card for browsing the web in Netscape 3.

It's a perfect machine for running DOS on the go, and can even run Windows 3.1 in glorious orange monochrome.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • 3Com EtherLink III ISA card
  • ESS ES1688 AudioDrive sound card
  • Paradise WD90C00 VGA card
  • TI TX486DLC/E 486 Processor
  • Logitech TrackMan

Modern Upgrades

  • CF-to-IDE adapter

Sanyo Wavy23

An MSX2 computer in Sanyo's Wavy line, localized for Japan. It has 2 cartridge/expansion slots and support input/display of Japanese Kana characters.

Modern Upgrades

Panasonic FS-A1WX

The Panasonic FS-A1WX is an MSX2+ computer, released only in Japan. It has a built-in 720KB 3.5" floppy drive and supports the MSX-MUSIC standard for FM music synethsis. This particular model also has integrated productivity software in ROM.

My favorite quirk is the "Ren-Sha" turbo feature, which is a hardware auto-fire feature with adjustable speed. Because the MSX platform features so many great shoot-em-ups, it is actually very handy, and reduces the strain on your spacebar/controller/hands.

Modern Upgrades

Apple Macintosh SE/30

1984's original Macintosh may not have been the first graphical desktop environment, but it was the spark that started the trend towards what we think of as a personal computer these days.

The SE/30 has a crisp 9" black & white display, built in 3.5" floppy drive, and is ultimate version of the original compact Mac vision. Compared to previous models, it features updated styling, the much faster 68030 processor, can be upgraded to 32MB of RAM, and can be expanded to support dual displays, ethernet, and much more, letting this 1989 machine survive well into the mid-90's early internet era.

I've replaced my SE/30's dead hard drive with a SCSI2SD and added a RaSCSI for additional disk and emulate an ethernet adapter to get it online and share files with other computers on the network. It's a great machine to relive the desktop publishing revolution (e.g. Photoshop 1.0) or play through the catalog of great classic Mac games. It looks great and is tons of fun.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • 24MB RAM upgrade
  • ADB Mouse II
  • Apple Keyboard MO116
  • Apple ImageWriter II Printer

Modern Upgrades

IBM ThinkPad 760ED

These 90s ThinkPads were a great example of an engineer's ideal of beauty. They were compact, durable, and packed with features. But perhaps the best part is how modular it is. The keyboard lifts up, allowing easy access to slide out the disk drive, hard drive, RAM, etc—all with no tools required.

Picked this one up from an estate sale.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • IBM 29H9230 1.44MB FDD
  • IBM PS/2 Mouse

Apple iMac G3/400 DV Special Edition

The G3 iMacs marked the return of Jobs to Apple, and were a radical departure from other home computers of the time. The distinctive visual design ignited an industry-wide trend, they were dead-simple to set up, and were a huge driver in making both the Internet and USB commonplace.

My iMac is a "DV", meaning it has a slot-loading DVD-ROM, Firewire, and VGA out. Its Graphite case might be less colorful than the others but it matches my iBook G3 and is extra-translucent for the maximum Y2K-era aesthetic.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Imation SuperDisk Drive USB Floppy Drive - Clear

Handspring Visor Deluxe - Ice

Apple iBook G3/466 SE - Graphite

I still remember the first time I saw the iconic iBook G3 in person, when a student teacher brought one to my school. I've wanted one ever since. The clamshell iBook continued the new aesthetic introduced with the the G3 iMac, featuring colorful translucent cases which looked radically different from—and much more fun than—the ubiquitous dull beige boxes of the era. It also has a handle.

Beyond the striking visual design, the iBook was also revolutionary in that it had a built-in internal WiFi antenna. Something we take for granted now, this was mind-blowing at the time. The iBook G3 was the first mainstream laptop that really allowed you to freely move around and work from anywhere, untethered and free from wires. With a DVD drive, Firewire, and USB, you can really feel the transition into the 21st century and the current era of computing.

Mine is a second edition with a 466MHz processor and 320MB of RAM. Though it can run Mac OS X Tiger (barely), it really shines running Mac OS 9, which feels just as snappy and responsive as my current machines—if not more so. It looks great and is a lot of fun to use.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Imation SuperDisk Drive USB Floppy Drive - Clear

Apple iMac G4 15" 800Mhz

The most beautiful computer ever made.

I don't remember many computer ads, but I'll never forget the TV spots for the iMac G4. In it, a passerby stops to look through the window at the iMac. As he moves his head, the iMac, with its flat panel LCD perched on a long chrome neck, mirrors his movements. After a few seconds of trying to trip the iMac up, he makes a funny face and sticks out his tongue. After a beat the iMac pops open its disk tray. I loved it.

The G4 iMac is a great all-in-one computer. It runs Mac OS X Tiger (or Sorbet Leopard) quite well, and has a surprisingly large number of ports given its compact size. For me, it's the perfect machine for running early '00s Mac software, and looks terrific on the desk with its custom Harman Kardon Pro speakers, Pro keyboard, and Pro mouse.

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • Apple Pro Speakers
  • Apple Pro Keyboard
  • Apple Pro Mouse
  • Imation SuperDisk Drive USB Floppy Drive - Clear

Compaq Presario 5310US

In the Y2K area millions of American homes had a Compaq Presario as the family PC, including my own. They were budget-friendly with everything you needed to get started surfing the web or printing homework. While earlier Presario models were 90s beige, the later models featured glorious colorful translucent plastic like everything else at the time.

My 5310US is a later model that I acquired from an estate sale where it had been stored under plastic covers for two decades. It came with a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron, 256MB of RAM, a 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, 3.5" floppy, 56K modem, 10/100 Ethernet, “internet” keyboard and mouse, and had Windows XP Home pre-installed. It also boasts “Coloreal”, which was a short-lived technology that claimed to present accurate colors when shopping online for compatible sites, such as Big Dog Sportswear.

I tried to run Windows Me on it, as that's what my family Presario had, but after having to re-install Me twice in one week I ended up restoring it to Windows XP. I've upgraded it to a mediocre graphics card and 512MB of RAM, making it perfectly adequate for Y2K-era PC gaming.

PAL-1 (KIM-1 Replica)

A modern replica kit of MOS Technology's 6502-based KIM-1 kit computer from 1976. I had a lot of fun soldering the main computer together, as well as the expansion kit and cassette interface.

Programs can be entered directly into the computer's memory in machine code by inputing one byte at a time using the built-in hexadecimal keypad. Less tedious is using a serial connection to another computer to load programs in paper tape format.

More info

Peripherals & Upgrades

  • 3D printed case
  • ADM-5 Video Terminal
  • 2nd RIOT Board Expansion
  • Cassette Interface Board
  • Motherboard Expansion
  • Amstrad XR400 Cassette Recorder

ImageWriter II-inspired font by John H. Isles