This little adventure has been a long time coming. Since 1993.
My First Amiga 1200 arrived here in the November of 1993 and she
still sits here switched on every day. The second called TANK
arrived in the winter of 1995. My next was a brand new boxed
Magic Pack from Analogic in 2002 and then the flood gates that
is EBAY launched me into a buying frenzy which resulted in a
grand total of 30 Amiga 1200s finding their way here.
It was never my intention to accumulate so many but at the time
I was very busy at work and hardly at home so I would scour the
auctions in the evening and place bids in for a few quid for
various computers. Most to be truthful were tatty, busted and
incomplete. In those days you really could pick up anything
for £10 or so. I had this old Citroen on the drive that I used
as a parcel box and as I arrived home weary from work I would
joy at the parcels stacked up waiting inside. I really had no
other interests and so a few quid a week on computers was a whole
bag of fun.
Interestingly my collecting stopped in April 2008 when I ran out
of space. I have not made any bids for Amiga computers since that
date. Other Amigas have arrived here but those were gifted to the
collection.
Over the years I have been steadily refurbishing the A1200
collection and only yesterday was setting up another machine ready
for a 2.5" hard drive that is coming off the Bay. I was troubled
by a video cable connector and spent time sorting out one for the
1200. And so it goes on daily.
I have many times hinted at the numbers of A1200s I had but in
truth I have never quite established just how many there are. So
in the heat of July I started to put together a list. The final
number is 30 though in truth the number 30 is subject to a
decision by the dubious goals committee. One sadly is broken but
retrievable and I sense there is still one trapped in a box in
the small store cupboard. Either way 30 is a good number.
Many of these computers were in a bad way when they arrived here.
Some with broken keyboards, disk drives, mouse ports. They
generally had been hammered though some were in very good
condition.
The Analogic computer of 2002 is a complete replica of my 1993
Amiga complete with Blizzard and was purchased in the anticipation
of my beloved original A1200 falling over. That has never happened
so the computer stays in its box.
And I guess some reading this may say, why so many, why not sell
a few or give them to worthy Amigans. The answer to that is simple...
it would make me very very unhappy. I am an Amiga nutter. I have
spent years building up the collection and have spent so much time
not only repairing machines but also putting together all the
various peripherals, disks, books etc that would have gone with
the computers. Nothing but nothing is really ever left in a junk
state. So each and every one of these computers holds a very
special place in my life and I would be heartbroken losing any
of them. As I say I am an Amiga nutter and seriously if you had a
collection of something that valuable why on earth would you part
with any of them.
The Amiga 1200 for me is more than a computer. It is more than
the sum of its parts. It represents a time in my life when I was
on my knees and broken and needed a friend. The computer entered
my life and lifted my spirits and sparked a resurgence in my very
being. She was there every night I returned home from my busy
toils and never let me down. I am sure there are some reading this
that have been taken or bitten by the Amiga bug and even now
appreciate what it is to have a working Amiga in their grasp.
Some will have parted company but still wish deep down they could
again hear that gentle click of the floppy drive. For me I live
the dream every day and will do so until the day I die. BUT and
the big but.... they are all mine. I would not change a thing in
terms of collecting. And in truth if things were different I
would collect another 30.
To anyone that has an Amiga 1200 I say 'well done'. Please look
after your cherished and wonderful computer cus in truth she
represents probably the greatest computer ever made. I believe
that totally. I will not explain why but I will show you 30 of
them. I am so lucky to have so many 'girlfriends'.
A1200 - 16 thro' to 20
Amiga 1200 16
MOOT which runs my Q Drive and 5.25"
39.106 and 39.29 3.0 ROM with internal
2.5" 750MB hard drive. Has 7.5MB RAM.
Stationed atop an Amiga 1000 running
on a shared 1084S monitor. The computer
has the Blizzard 1230IV and external
CD-ROM off the Squirrel. Also has a
5.25" external floppy drive.
Amiga 1200 17
Lara EZ Tower with Blizzard 1230IV.
Is fitted with the ZIP, CD-ROM, High
Density drive and two 3.5" hard drives.
32MB RAM Kickstart 40.68 WB 40.42.
Is able to utilise a Vision Master PC
monitor and PC mouse.
Amiga 1200 18
Meet Graham my A1200 inside a 1500 case.
Needs no introduction and has been featured
a few times now in my blogs.
Amiga 1200 19
Called A500 cus when I acquired
this machine it had a 1.3WB install
on the hard drive. Very strange.
3.1 ROM 40.68 and 44.20. Internal 2.5".
Has an accelerator card unknown with
CPU 68030 and 8MB RAM Cowabunga !!.
The hard drive is another 2.5" that
I recovered by freezing and tapping.
I do not turn this computer over as
last time I lost the HD again... Came
back with the tender tap.
Amiga 1200 20
Dodgik after the garden hedgehog.
Kick 39.106 WB 40.42 85MB internal 2.5".
No card fitted original 68020.
OK that was Amigas 16 thro' to 20.
Only another 10 to go....
Read on
