HereBeDragons
@heredragons.be
Also known as @herebedragons3 on the other site. Collector of all things Dragon - and much else beyond. Occasional fixer of computers, more commonly a breaker of them. See also https://retrofest.uk/ and @shortcircuit.org.uk for exciting events info!
I am so happy to see this machine up and running - I'm always worried that this will be the day it doesn't boot or fails with something complicated and hard to repair. But not today! Today this 35yr old beauty just boots like she always has ...
January 9, 2026 at 7:10 PM
I am so happy to see this machine up and running - I'm always worried that this will be the day it doesn't boot or fails with something complicated and hard to repair. But not today! Today this 35yr old beauty just boots like she always has ...
Day 365 - #retrorandom - Let's go out like we came in, with a Dragon! Have a very happy New Year everyone. Next year I'll return to 'normal' posting, but I'll keep sharing my retro adventures with you all!
December 31, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Day 365 - #retrorandom - Let's go out like we came in, with a Dragon! Have a very happy New Year everyone. Next year I'll return to 'normal' posting, but I'll keep sharing my retro adventures with you all!
Day 364 - #retrorandom - Best ... console ... ever. It's got a 6809 processor and a vector display. What more could you ever want? (well, maybe a slightly neater looking controller!)
December 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Day 364 - #retrorandom - Best ... console ... ever. It's got a 6809 processor and a vector display. What more could you ever want? (well, maybe a slightly neater looking controller!)
Day 363 - #retrorandom - It's very unusual to find PETs in the wild. They're elusive creatures, normally only coming out at night to hunt. But we were lucky to catch a glimpse of this older machine in the rain (well, drizzle) forests of south Kent.
December 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Day 363 - #retrorandom - It's very unusual to find PETs in the wild. They're elusive creatures, normally only coming out at night to hunt. But we were lucky to catch a glimpse of this older machine in the rain (well, drizzle) forests of south Kent.
Day 359 - #retrorandom - Santa's been! Happy Christmas everyone!
December 25, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Day 359 - #retrorandom - Santa's been! Happy Christmas everyone!
I don't recommend turning up the volume too loud for this!
December 24, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I don't recommend turning up the volume too loud for this!
Not quite a #retrorandom, as I always post this picture at Christmas ... it's my Spectravideo CompuMate running its Christmas demo (built in!). The Compumate is cute, and makes the Atari into an almost unusably bad computer. But wait, the demo gets better ...
December 24, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Not quite a #retrorandom, as I always post this picture at Christmas ... it's my Spectravideo CompuMate running its Christmas demo (built in!). The Compumate is cute, and makes the Atari into an almost unusably bad computer. But wait, the demo gets better ...
Day 355 - #retrorandom - It's a family of Sharps from 2023's Made in Japan at @computinghistory.org.uk - my Japanese MZ-80K2E, an MZ-80A and the gorgeous MZ-2000.
December 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Day 355 - #retrorandom - It's a family of Sharps from 2023's Made in Japan at @computinghistory.org.uk - my Japanese MZ-80K2E, an MZ-80A and the gorgeous MZ-2000.
Obviously, it doesn't need all three drives (I was just showing off), but you do need 'drive 1' as it also contains the floppy controller. The additional drives are just using a Shugart interface. But the drive with controller is pretty rare, so be warned!
December 21, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Obviously, it doesn't need all three drives (I was just showing off), but you do need 'drive 1' as it also contains the floppy controller. The additional drives are just using a Shugart interface. But the drive with controller is pretty rare, so be warned!
Day 353 - #retrorandom - It's my Triumph Adler Alphatronic again! Sold only through TA's typewriter outlets, this rather expensive 64K Z80 machine was bought by almost no one (and has little to no software either). However, it's a pretty good CP/M machine if you can find the floppy drives for it.
December 19, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Day 353 - #retrorandom - It's my Triumph Adler Alphatronic again! Sold only through TA's typewriter outlets, this rather expensive 64K Z80 machine was bought by almost no one (and has little to no software either). However, it's a pretty good CP/M machine if you can find the floppy drives for it.
It's a Lear-Siegler ADM-3a, which date back to 1976 (although this is quite a late one). Came out just before the VT100. Gorgeous isn't it? Looks just like how a terminal from that era should!
December 19, 2025 at 11:03 AM
It's a Lear-Siegler ADM-3a, which date back to 1976 (although this is quite a late one). Came out just before the VT100. Gorgeous isn't it? Looks just like how a terminal from that era should!
Day 352 - #retrorandom - You can never have too many Cefucoms ...
December 18, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Day 352 - #retrorandom - You can never have too many Cefucoms ...
Day 351 - #retrorandom - Sometimes you need to show the machine who's boss ...
December 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Day 351 - #retrorandom - Sometimes you need to show the machine who's boss ...
Day 350 - #retrorandom - Who needs the internet when you have Micronet on your ZX Spectrum?! Sadly, the Spectrum turned out to be poorly so I got no further than this ...
December 16, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Day 350 - #retrorandom - Who needs the internet when you have Micronet on your ZX Spectrum?! Sadly, the Spectrum turned out to be poorly so I got no further than this ...
Day 349 - #retrorandom - Here's the box to my Prologica CP400, a Tandy Color Computer clone from Brazil. I love the enormous floppy drive, which until recently I thought was just a mockup and wishful thinking on behalf of Prologica ... but no ...
December 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Day 349 - #retrorandom - Here's the box to my Prologica CP400, a Tandy Color Computer clone from Brazil. I love the enormous floppy drive, which until recently I thought was just a mockup and wishful thinking on behalf of Prologica ... but no ...
Day 348 - #retrorandom - The problem with buying a bigger car (back in 2023) was that I could take even more stuff to shows. Here I am, off to Made in Japan, I think. Then again, best to not to speak about the years I've hired a van ...
December 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Day 348 - #retrorandom - The problem with buying a bigger car (back in 2023) was that I could take even more stuff to shows. Here I am, off to Made in Japan, I think. Then again, best to not to speak about the years I've hired a van ...
Day 347 - #retrorandom - NOTHING is going to stop me being able to program this EPROM!
December 13, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Day 347 - #retrorandom - NOTHING is going to stop me being able to program this EPROM!
Time to recreate it! The Sparcstation 2 (many thanks to @thejpster.org.uk for finding me this) will be my server and the LX pictured below will ultimately be the diskless workstation. It's funny to think these machines are older now than my PET 2001 was when I bought it in the late 90s ...
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Time to recreate it! The Sparcstation 2 (many thanks to @thejpster.org.uk for finding me this) will be my server and the LX pictured below will ultimately be the diskless workstation. It's funny to think these machines are older now than my PET 2001 was when I bought it in the late 90s ...
An emotional evening installing SunOS 4.1.3 for the first time in 30 years! I've been getting nostalgic for Sun workstations - if the ZX81 was my first home micro, the Sun was my first work machine. My first job as a junior systems manager was to install a server and network of diskless clients ...
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
An emotional evening installing SunOS 4.1.3 for the first time in 30 years! I've been getting nostalgic for Sun workstations - if the ZX81 was my first home micro, the Sun was my first work machine. My first job as a junior systems manager was to install a server and network of diskless clients ...
Got it 100% right, @anderszapac.bsky.social ! And there was a Hitachi there, on my table. You can barely see it in this photo (look under the clock), but here's a bonus photo of me getting it ready too.
December 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Got it 100% right, @anderszapac.bsky.social ! And there was a Hitachi there, on my table. You can barely see it in this photo (look under the clock), but here's a bonus photo of me getting it ready too.
Day 346 - #retrorandom - It's the Made In Japan Festival at the @computermuseum in 2023. Who (aside from @loudscotsbloke, whose table this is) can name all the computers in this row?!
December 12, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Day 346 - #retrorandom - It's the Made In Japan Festival at the @computermuseum in 2023. Who (aside from @loudscotsbloke, whose table this is) can name all the computers in this row?!
Day 345 - #retrorandom - It all started here. On the right, the first home computer I ever saw. On the left, the first one I ever used. It brings a tear to my eye to see them together!
December 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Day 345 - #retrorandom - It all started here. On the right, the first home computer I ever saw. On the left, the first one I ever used. It brings a tear to my eye to see them together!
Day 344 - #retrorandom - I may be biased, but I do think the Dragon 200 is one gorgeous computer. This Dragon 64 in a funky case wasn't enough to save Spain's Eurohard - too little, too late - but it's still a beauty.
December 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Day 344 - #retrorandom - I may be biased, but I do think the Dragon 200 is one gorgeous computer. This Dragon 64 in a funky case wasn't enough to save Spain's Eurohard - too little, too late - but it's still a beauty.
Day 343 - #retrorandom - It may be naked, but I'm sure you all know what this - it's a VIC-20! Or actually it might be my German VC-20 ...
December 9, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Day 343 - #retrorandom - It may be naked, but I'm sure you all know what this - it's a VIC-20! Or actually it might be my German VC-20 ...
Day 342 - #retrorandom - Setting up for the Retro Computer Festival in 2023 and if it's not obvious, the theme is French computers! So much AZERTY! And before anyone points at the interloper Dragon, it's also French, modified to have the RGB SCART output you see on all French machines ...
December 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Day 342 - #retrorandom - Setting up for the Retro Computer Festival in 2023 and if it's not obvious, the theme is French computers! So much AZERTY! And before anyone points at the interloper Dragon, it's also French, modified to have the RGB SCART output you see on all French machines ...