Guess I've been lucky; haven't had any issues (AFAIK ;-) with any of the hundreds of ICs I've bought on eBay . On the other hand I've heard folks even have issues with stuff from Mouser etc.
Same here; there's satisfaction in keeping the entire vintage package running, but when it comes to actually working with it and especially moving stuff to and from the modern world the emulators are indispensable and it's amazing just how active and ingenious the folks designing them are. And I'm still blown away that I can store ~10,000 times the amount of data on this IMI 'brick' in front of me (which cost ~$1200 in its day) on a much faster thumbnail-sized SD card costing <$100. m On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 2:24 PM Sellam Abraham via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 11:14 AM Mike Stein via cctalk < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > > I offered some 8" diskettes a while back and didn't have a single > inquiry, > > and there doesn't seem to be a real shortage of other sizes either if you > > don't mind sorting through used ones; even paper and mylar tape seem to > > still be available. > > > > True, eBay always has blank media, lots of it new-old stock still in the > shrinkwrap. I have a pile of such myself. > > When it comes to parts I often read complaints that a certain IC or part is > > unobtainium when a quick look on ebay or even Amazon will find a dozen > > listings; some people get satisfaction from finding parts or > documentation > > that no one else could and sharing with the community. > > > > A lot of that apparently is fake Chinesium, so it's somewhat misleading. > > > > As to the reliability of mechanical devices, again, to each his/her own; > > what is a frustrating experience for someone trying to get something done > > is an opportunity for someone else to repair it and get that > satisfaction. > > At least, unlike some mysterious custom IC you can see what the problem > is > > and repair it. > > > > I prefer using the original hardware myself, but I do enjoy the convenience > of modern high-capacity memory drives and emulators. > > Sellam >
