w_smith@wookie.DEC.COM (Willie Smith, LTN Components Eng.) (09/15/87)
Ken Wallewein - "kenw%noah.arc.cdn%ubc.csnet%RELAY.CS.NET@SIMTEL20.ARPA" writes: > Is it really nothing special for the average >hobbyist to spend $500 or so on a new board? I guess what I'm >wondering is, how many of the people who read this list are purely >hobbyists in regards to CP/M, as apposed to being able to justify >their expenditures business-wise? Businesses can't afford the time a >hobbyist can spend. I don't know that I'm an 'average hobbyist', but with a few exceptions, all of the boards in my system cost multiple hundreds of dollars. My boards range from a memory mapped video board (many thanks to the net for the help in figgereing out how to make it work!) that I got for $10 at a hamfest to an $1130 Macrotech ADIT board (16 serial ports, DMA, onboard intelligence, probably the most frustrating purchase I ever made, and I'm still fighting with Macrotech to try to get them to fix the firmware!). I have found that Compupro (with the exception of the SPUZ) makes quite nice hardware, though you do have to pay quite a bit, and you are pretty much on your own for software (in the CP/M world anyway). However, you get what you pay for, and I wouldn't have been able to build the system I have today (or learn as much as I have building it) unless I was willing to shell out the cash for the hardware. That's what credit cards are for, right? :+) However, there's no business involved, so since it's just for my own personal enjoyment, I guess I do qualify as a hobbyist. Willie Smith w_smith@wookie.dec.com w_smith%wookie.dec.com@decwrl.dec.com {Usenet_Backbone}!decwrl!wookie.dec.com!w_smith