Retro Computing
erco
Posts: 20,257
I must be old now because I'm interested in getting an old Compaq LTE286, one of (if not) the first laptops/notebooks. I used one of these on my first BASIC Stamp projects, robots for the Trinity Home Firefighting Robot Contest. My BS-1 robot won the very first contest in 1994.
A bit of searching led to this interesting retro computer shop in New Mexico. Several pictures in that Reddit post show dusty shelves of old tech, likely familiar to other old timers here. A shame the comments say that the owner knows what everything is worth and prices accordingly. 
https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/comments/thsbdg/edgar_digital_over_in_las_cruces_new_mexico_is/
Another good source of old (and new) tech is the TRW Swap Meet at the end of each month, this coming Saturday. @JonnyMac , this would give you two good reasons to scoot down here Saturday morning to see this and Torrance Electronics!
https://w6trw.com/w6trw-amateur-radio-club-swap-meet/
Comments
I think I will be there @erco. I will send my contact info via DM so we can connect.
Sometimes the forums seem like virtual reality... we have online acquaintances and friends that we don't see face-to-face. Erco and I broke that VR wall today and got together -- only the second time in more than a decade of our online friendship via the forums. Eric invited me to a last-Saturday-of-the-month tech swap meet where I met up with Eric and his friend/colleague Keith. We told lots of stories (mostly Eric and me) while enjoying the vendors' wares -- lots of stuff from our younger years. Next stop was a fantastic lunch at Havana Mania in Redondo Beach that is owned by Eric's friend, Luis. Delicious food, wonderful service, and more great conversations, this time with Luis, too (he told a great story about an invisible Hot Wheels car gag he pulled off at Mattel). Finally, it was off to Torrance Electronics. What a great resource for people like us.
What the world has gone through the last couple years just blows. When you get the chance, get out and spend time with family or a friend -- and if you can, meet an online friend and see how that goes. I can say with all honesty, today was a great day for me. I was able to cap it off by stopping at SpaceX on the way home to see the 1st stage that they have on on display outside their office. Amazing.
Thanks, Eric, for what you do for the Parallax community, and for extending our online friendship to the real world.
LIkewise Brother Jon, I had a super fun day hanging out with you and showing you my stomping grounds! We swapped plenty of stories about a variety of things for 7 hours, the time just flew by. As you said, we're all adjusting to like after lockdown and it's so doggone pleasant to meet up with like-minded people, especially Parallax fanboys like us! Hard to believe it's been 10 years since the Parallax Expo, which was SO great https://www1.parallax.com/news/2012-04-17/parallax-expo-was-huge-success Hopefully that can happen again soon and this great community can get together again fer reelz. Looking forward to seeing you again to talk shop and solve more of the world's problems!
Another good "gab & grub" day was this 2016 lunch with forumistas (L-R) Jon Hapeman (AKA xanadu) and robot author & guru Gordon McComb, who sadly passed in 2018.
Big smiles all around in those pics! 👍 Wonderful mischief!
How many times have I said to the GF that I wish that the entire Parallax community lived in the same town
I go to the pub with a Windows tablet and an Android tablet and dread that a local wants to start up a conversation....it's always a bunch of nothingness
So jealous. I wish I could get together with my two favorite guys and sorry I missed meeting Gordon. He is missed.