I'll show you mine ...

[Advance]

During some banter on MartinB's Wires? Pah ... topic Mr. Barr used the phrase "beeb playroom" which I thought was a great description of where we retreat to to idle our time away pursuing a hobby from thirty odd years ago..
Now and again we catch glimpses of peoples' playrooms on the forums and I have to say I always find that interesting ...."what sort of a person" etc.
I have vivid memories of Colin McDougall's bed-based set-up and Mark Haysman's pop art tablecloth has become a trademark feature both here and on ebay. So I thought why not have a topic to show this side of our hobby? Let's face it, we are all nosy and we all like looking at 8bit kit.
Unavoidably, this involves putting money where the mouth is and I'm probably only doing this because I recently did a massive re-organisation and you can now actually see the beebs I play with. ( I also found two Elk mainboards I'd forgotten I had. Neither worked though. )
So here we go - the Advance playroom laid bare. If anyone spots a big battery charger in the pix, please let me know.
Anybody else want to play?

play2.jpg (727.65 KiB) Viewed 7153 times

[paulv]

Wow! Tidy! and.. cool

As soon as I can get my Arc back together and off the floor (Tuesday or Wednesday this week hopefully) and a desk instead of the "really useful" storage boxes that are supporting my Beeb (and storing all my other beeb kit), I might be able to post some photos of the "server room" which also houses my Beebs and all our books and our home office servers, firewalls and cable modem etc... We've run out of shelf space so now, less used books are in "really useful" boxes too...

[Advance]

You could really go for it, Paul, and do before and after shots.

[MartinB]

Looking good Hugh

(One thing though, we can see both ends of your Acorn den but did you realise there's no door....)

I might join in with a quick pan round the East Wing of my Beeb cellar when I do the video tonight - don't blink though

[PitfallJones]

This is a great idea!
Here's mine.

the_den.jpg (549.54 KiB) Viewed 7092 times

[paulv]

You could really go for it, Paul, and do before and after shots.

Well then.... here are the before shots... It's not pretty!

In this shot, there are 5 model B's, an Elk, a Master 128, an Arc 410/1 and a DELL PowerEdge 2650 rack mount server....

2 6502 co-processors, 1 TTX adapter, 4 5 1/4 floppy drive units, an Eprom programmer, an Eprom Eraser and a shed load of Acorn related books

20110502_003.jpg (239.63 KiB) Viewed 7083 times

In this shot, its books, books, books! Highlights include:

The Art of Computer Programming Vol 1-3 by Donald Knuth
RiscOS3 Programmers Reference Manuals
Several of Joe Celko's mind boggling SQL books

20110502_004.jpg (246.26 KiB) Viewed 7083 times

This photo shows Mail server, develpment web server, domain controller/router, external router, NAS, cable modem, 1Gbps switch, Econet socket box and a UPS...

20110502_010.jpg (211.58 KiB) Viewed 7083 times

So there we have it, the before shots....

[Advance]

@MartinB

Really did think you were being pushy on the door front but after the data movie and the tour of Bar's Basement how can I say no?

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Exciting, isn't it?

@Paulv

That's a lot of kit Paul. It took me nearly two weeks to sort out and organise my meagre collection so I wish you all the luck in the world. Some of your boxes look bigger than my room. Roll on the after pix.

Hugh

[martinw]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNMrot36NCc

[CMcDougall]

old topic ere
http://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic. ... room+setup

[Dave Footitt]

My work in progress "man den"

[Advance]

Thanks Dave, looks seriously organised. I'm still suffering since re-organising because I don't remember where I tidied everything to so even the most simple task takes ages. I usually forget what I started out to do.

What about the rest of you? C'mon, get your kit out for the lads.

Hugh

[mga1103]

I'm afraid Hugh, that my solitary Beeb is a bit meagre and not really worthy of a place here amongst the serious collectors! (I've included my main workhorse PC to add a bit more to the pic).

[I've no idea who sneaks into this room and untidies and tangles all the cables when I'm not looking ]

PC and Beeb (Medium).JPG (85.79 KiB) Viewed 6917 times

The rest of my kit can be found in another room, not exactly what you're asking to see and way off-topic here, but useful for "bit of banging"

Drums1.JPG (65.85 KiB) Viewed 6917 times

Drums2.JPG (63.6 KiB) Viewed 6917 times

[Slo]

now THATS what i call a keep fit room LOL spot on

[BeebMaster]

Does this count:

[mga1103]

@BeebMaster: Hehe...looks like you get visited by the same gremlins that call on me from time to time...(just as well I'm on a a different power grid too as I don't think my little UPS would cope with the power drain ).

[Advance]

@mga1103 (or can I call you M1?)

That's a serious playroom, and the Beeb looks good too. This is what I like about this idea - I now know why you use the Muppets' Animal for an avatar.

@Beebmaster
And do you think there might be a connection (dreadful not-deliberate pun) between your pic and your avatar?

I had hoped to see the Retroclinic Rooms by now so come on Mark, show us what you got, big boy.

H.

[mga1103]

...(or can I call you M1?)...

M1 sounds good....not sure if M2 will be happy though

...I now know why you use the Muppets' Animal for an avatar.

Goes back a long time...a work colleague of mine had her son at a few gigs I was playing and after that, he always called me animal...can't see the resemblance myself (well, not anymore!)

...I had hoped to see the Retroclinic Rooms by now so come on Mark, show us what you got, big boy....

I think it's gonna take Mark a while to get 'round the entire warehouse(s)

[TopBanana]

I had hoped to see the Retroclinic Rooms by now so come on Mark, show us what you got, big boy.

Yeah , come on Mark, let's see the Granada Storage Facility ......

[MartinB]

Hey Dave (F), that is scarily tidy - I feel all inadequate now...

...but useful for "bit of banging"

Heh - not in the least bit contrived

Nice drums btw - I have to make do with beating the crap out of a Quality Street tin when the <Space> key won't respond.

I now know why you use the Muppets' Animal for an avatar.

Nah, that's just because all Martin's are muppets.

[retroclinic]

Okay, by popular demand.....first is the testbench, nothing Acorn on there (well, except the monitor!)

wb1c.jpg (215.04 KiB) Viewed 6844 times

More to come later.....

[jgharston]

Where on earth do all you people put your legs?

[Advance]

Show us the way you accommodate your legs, Mr. Harston. Show us the way.

@Mark

More! More! you are only teasing us.
What arcane use do you put the Brasso to?

H.

[retroclinic]

In time Hugh.......

I use the Brasso to clean the scratches off the plastic perspex F-Key strips! It's really good and effective at bringing them up like new, just keep it away from the silk screen text on the back. I have to admit learning that tip from Mike Walker (Thankyou if you're reading!).

Mark.

[Advance]

I knew about that trick in another hobby but would never have thought to use it that way on a beeb. Brilliant.
This topic is just a bit of fun but I reckon we're learning from it too. Should we have a Tops and Hints section?

H.

[martinw]

A bit more cluttered these days, lots of piles of Beebug magazines finish off the look Ohh and my baby Lamborghini too

[Advance]

You're setting new standards there, Martin - showing the leg room. JGH will be delighted.

H.

[SarahWalker]

Here's mine. Only the one Beeb, most of the 8-bit stuff's in a cupboard.

Note the traditional lack of legroom at the Acorn desk.

[martinw]

You're setting new standards there, Martin - showing the leg room. JGH will be delighted.

H.

It's all about posture

http://www.laptop-ergonomics.com/bodybi ... chairs.htm

Not that I've got the chair but it's how I tend to sit

[Advance]

I'm off to the brother-in-law's farm to see if I can find a tractor seat - way cheaper than the chair I bet.

[paulv]

It's a bit better than it was... The whole room is next in line for gutting and re-modelling but at least now I have....

legroom.jpg (68.31 KiB) Viewed 6710 times

LEG ROOM!!!

Paul