How can I cure myself from collecting vintage tech?

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veeb0rg@reddit

You could start working on and collecting vintage cars instead..

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VirtualRelic@reddit

You can’t, this is now your life. All those old computers need saving. They can all be made useful again, they just need good software and the right mindset of the owner.

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I own every old computer that I couldn't afford as a kid in the early 80s. They were so damn expensive that I could just save every one of them because I couldn't bear to see them be thrown out in the late 90s. Now I got a basement full of them, some rare ones too...like a Lisa-1, NeXT, CompuColor II, Kim-1 etc. and don't know what to do with them. What I don't have now is time.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Also, what can help is a strict "test before you store it!" policy, also making a habit of going through misc boxes and actually testing everything. If it works, keep. If you are sure you want to repair it, store it separate(!) from working stuff. If not, part it out now/discard it now!

It helps against the "am I surrounded by junk?" paranoia, while actually keeping you from storing actual junk.

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ebockelman@reddit

If the act of repairing and tinkering is bringing you joy for just a couple weeks, sell them after the restoration and use the cash to move on to your next source of joy. Feel good for extending the life of these great machines.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Problematic in some countries, if you fixed something mains connected (and needed to overhaul mains related parts), you could be in a world of liability if you aren't a certified professional of exactly the right type.

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Flossmoor71@reddit

I inadvertently cured myself by buying things that didn’t work or failed shortly after I bought them. With enough bad luck, you’ll be cured.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Or learn repairing. IMHO, repair and restoration skills are never wasted time.

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4647484950@reddit

Run out of space.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

The irony: Wanting to expand a collection and running out of space teaches you organizing.

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r_sarvas@reddit

You can't. Even if you stop buying hardware now, your hardware will eventually become vintage because you can't part with it.

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stromm@reddit

Get married.

If married, have kids.

If married with kids, get divorced.

If none of that worked, pass away.

/s

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Trigger warning: VERY DARK TAKE ON THINGS.

Never tell someone who healthily likes stuff that they might like people even more.

They will start collecting people. Which usually ends up horribly whether it is successful or not.

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zzzxtreme@reddit

U can

Take a look at pictures of minimalist rooms

Keep few that u really want to use that fits on one table

And keep some for one small cabinet

Other things give away

I gave away 3 vga monitors, 4 composite monitors, and looking to give away some orics. Keep some vintage motherboards in one small cabinet. Just leave one on my pc table

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Minimalism for the sake of minimalism is churn consumerism in disguise, ironically.

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lizardb0y@reddit

That you Carrington?

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BoltLayman@reddit

Well, "the minimalism" is another disorder!!!! When people start throwing out necessary things!. It works while you have some steady income or consumer prices allow you to buy things immediately as you need them.

But if your are is covered with inflation and goods from China are overpriced, then you are in a very great trouble with your "minimalism"

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mega_ste@reddit

Take up Photography, you'll spend all your money on that instead.

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KingDaveRa@reddit

GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

I've had many hobbies over the years; railway modelling, photography, guitar, recording music, DIY, computing, and of course the retro computing.

All of those hobbies have ended up with me acquiring silly amounts of random stuff, often to either result in instant regret, or it just never gets used and just goes into the collection of stuff.

On the other hand I've got LOTS of cool stuff I can call on to perform any number of random tasks. So there's that :D

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liebeg@reddit

Try real railway collecting

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KingDaveRa@reddit

I prefer the 1:1 scale models but I definitely don't have space for them.

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liebeg@reddit

Thats the mistake you make you dont want models you want the real working locomotive.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

This is LIT going off the rails.

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lizardb0y@reddit

Oh, hi! I have ADHD too ;)

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KingDaveRa@reddit

I've never been diagnosed, but I do wonder about myself sometimes.

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lizardb0y@reddit

I was being cheeky obviously, but it's a common ADHD trait to collect hobbies, especially hobbies that involve acquiring things. I do vintage computers, photography, motorcycles, bicycles, mexhanical keyboards, electronics repair and projects, and home DIY.

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jruschme@reddit

Only thing worse than GAS is GAS paired with Hobby Cycling.

I'll throw two more into the hobby pile: iPods and Vintage Wet Shaving Gear.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

That one needs a malicious advice mallard!

Adaptable vintage lenses sometimes can be gotten far too cheap. Actually refurbishing and testing them, however, is a boatload of work.

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50-50-bmg@reddit

Collection can't be cured, but collections can be curated. Make sure you do that.

I always follow one rule when going to hamfests, fleamarkets and all: If I don't see a good and realistic chance that I will actually repair a piece to good working order within half a year, I leave it alone, period.

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korn0051@reddit

I can DM you my shipping address

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DarylMoore@reddit

Buy my collection of vintage Apple equipment and then you'll know you have a real problem.

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ryannelsn@reddit

Start a booth at your closest yearly vintage computing fair/fest and sell.

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John_from_ne_il@reddit

Officially, VCFed has events coming up in NJ and MD. Then VCFSoCal in February.

Unofficially, keep watching sites like this for vintage shows.

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NotAnotherNekopan@reddit

And eBay. It’s not perfect but it reaches a larger audience.

I enjoy the buying and restoration process enough that I’ve got down lists and procedures and standards, and the margins can be quite good even with a selling price that is attractively fair.

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MartinAncher@reddit

Sometimes it's ok to your passion to a subset of old computers.

I have focused on: - Sinclair 8-bit - Commodore 8-bit - Macintosh 68k and early PPC

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lizardb0y@reddit

It was 1996 and I was entirely focussed on getting a working Sinclair ZX81. The first ZX81 I got had a faulty ULA so I kept looking. In the mean time a C64 popped up and I thought I might as well grab it. Then an Atari 2600jr. Then something else...

I'm still entirely focused on Sinclair. I have just over 1400 items in my collection. Only some of them are Sinclair.

Help.

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Wu_Fan@reddit

Hey pal

Got any 48K Spectrums

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MartinAncher@reddit

Not yet. It's mostly ZX81s and Lambda 8300s.

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lizardb0y@reddit

There is no cure. I've been collecting for almost 30 years now. I have counted 180 computers, game consoles and handhelds, with another 1200 peripherals, tapes, floppies, cartridges, books and other ephemera in my collection, with maybe 1/3rd of the collection still to be documented. In this 30 years I have deaccessioned maybe 20 or 30 major items. At best just hope you can slow down.

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GaiusJocundus@reddit

Build some modern designs like rc2014, Small Computer Central, zeal-8-bit computer, and rosco-m68k.

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Slim_Chiply@reddit

I was a big collector as was my uncle. What cures me of being a big collector of things was overseeing his estate sale. When I saw all his cherished items that he spent a lifetime collecting laid out on tables with price tags, it hit home that this is just stuff. I stopped collecting and got rid of much of what I had.

I still collect things, but only if it is something that I will actually make use of. I really like vintage tech, but I'm not going to replace my Atari 400 or buy an Apple ][. My vintage tech collection consists of a Coleco Electronic Quarterback.

I have a vintage stereo system and a couple Phonographs and an Edison Cylinder player. The later 2 are mostly for display.

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rcampbel3@reddit

Is your hobby causing you problems in your life? Is it clutter? Is it holding you back? If so, join the declutter subreddit.

Specialize on a fraction of vintage tech that you're particularly attached to or one that gives you the most joy. Choose something small if you can. Divest of the rest.

Pare your collection down.

Try selling your stuff on ebay and see what it's really worth and where the demand is. You might be in for a good or bad surprise.

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bigredradio@reddit

Wait...this is a problem? Sure, I've moved things into a storage unit due to lack of space but I can stop at any time. Really!

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carlMRcat@reddit

Electroshock Therapy might help. It would certainly be appropriate.

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eulynn34@reddit

I’m considering rotating items out of the collection. Like I’ll get a 90s pc motherboard, play with it for a while and maybe instead of it sitting in a drawer for forever, I could get it back into the livestream and acquire something else to dick around with for a week and repeat that process forever.

That way I get to experience the maximum amount of retro tech in the least possible amount of clutter.

Or maybe I just rent an office.

Hmm…. Decisions.

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ultimatebob@reddit

Eventually, you'll run out of space to store it in your house. At that point, the "problem" either resolves itself or you find yourself looking for other climate controlled storage options :)

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Megaman_90@reddit

Sometimes you just need to take a step by and analyze why you are keeping some items. If something you have isn't getting much use, or no longer brings you much joy why not sell it off? That way you can focus on the things you really want instead of being surrounded by extraneous junk that you don't use.

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soulless_ape@reddit

You get married

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MJRPC500@reddit

The first step is admitting you have a problem. I had a bad habit of collecting old motorcycles for a while. The 1st wife was barely ok with it, the 2nd wife was a hard "no." Sold all but one of the bikes, and miss almost all of them. Wife #2 asked me one day what was the plan for all "that stuff" after I was dead. Made me think about the burden of stuff we put on ourself and the people around us. Didn't want to burden her or my kids with the stuff. Having just gone through my Dad's stuff (he was a bit of a hoarder, too) I'm glad I'm getting rid of stuff.

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BoltLayman@reddit

Start collecting sewing machines and sell your hoarded electronics.

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BoltLayman@reddit

PS: mostly I overfilled my old-tech IT needs with PCem, recreated my late 90s surrounding and..... I literally did nothing with it for weeks. Lauching Win98/Linux od late 90s... gazing at the screen... and realizing - fuck, that time is gone forever.

THe onyl thing that would work somehow - old AutoCADs, say 14-2002. BEcause they are simlply cough cough cough.. to use if someone needs a thing for drafting.

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Colonel_Barker@reddit

You can always pass them onto other people in the hobby or swap. Joining local groups has really opened my eyes to what's out there and what's humdrum and dull for you can be very exciting to someone else.

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BenJaminKnoxville@reddit

For me it was the raspberry pi. Once I could emulate all those vintage systems on a tiny sbc I was done collecting older systems.

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cealild@reddit

I haven't stopped yet. But when I try to start fixing them, I know that will help me to stop buying more. Start repairing, it will stop you or you will fix them and give them to others and free up space....

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SilverDem0n@reddit

Start collecting vintage guitars and synths, and then you will have no money or space for vintage tech.

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bloodem@reddit

You don't need a cure, my guy. Having a hobby that you enjoy can literally save your life. Just try and keep it healthy and only spend money that you can reasonably afford!

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kissmyash933@reddit

It sounds like you’re like a lot of us here that are infected with the “tinkering” virus. You’ve found a good support group, though! There’s nothing wrong with collecting and repairing older tech if you’re enjoying it, you could have way worse hobbies, like smoking crack!

I find that occasionally when I have a flare up, going and tinkering with something modern scratches the itch without the money spending. I recently rebuilt my AD Certificate Services environment, and it was great to learn and spend days on that project! If you really want to cut back, maybe instead of tinkering, sit down and play with your restored machines and get lost in an old game or something. But maybe also really interrogate yourself on what itch this hobby is scratching for you, and apply it to other areas you’re interested in. (Stay away from amateur radio.)