Lucky thrift find

Last weekend I got lucky.

I found myself wandering in a thrift shop, like it often happens, in a cold and humid autumn morning. Nothing special around me, to the point I started thinking of going home soon. In three hours I came across a clearly broken PlayStation 1, and an overpriced Commodore 64 (with overprice I mean they wanted 80€ for the untested unit, without cables, accessories, nor games. No thanks).

Olivetti PCS 286

Anyway, I was heading towards my car, bored and cold, when a dusty metal box winked at me from across the room. I got closer, and TA-DAAA! My only lucky find of the day! I found a slightly beaten up Olivetti PCS 286 computer for 20€. It's an old Italian IBM-compatible PC powered by an Intel 80286 processor running at 12MHz, and support for the 80287 coprocessor. I just had to have it.

As you can see, the unit turns on, and the self test goes through. However I spotted a few defects that will need attention. Besides a thorough cleanup, this machine will need a new battery, as the one installed does not keep any charge for any amount of time. Also, the primary hard drive is not recognized. I want to try to repair it, as from time to time a good cleanup is all that's needed. If the cleanup does not work, I was considering to replace the disk altogether with a compact flash. Moreover, I could not test other peripherals such as serial and parallel ports, the PC speaker, and more. RAM is not properly tested either.

All in all, this machine will keep me busy for a while. I intend to restore it to its former glory, and make a nice video of the whole process.

Have fun,
Kradion.