Welcome MicroBee Enthusiast,
I created this Microbee web-site in early August 2015 to provide a free and easy to use MicroBee resource for enthusiasts to explore and enjoy. Having incurred a foot injury after a minor car accident I found myself with a lot of free time and not much to do. One thing I did do during this boring time was discover "Kung Fury". This crowd funded comedy short reignited my interest in the MicroBee which was featured through out the movie.
In the early 80's a school mate and I used to trek it to the Microbee Users Group in Burwood. I was only 13-14 at the time and remember our enthusiasm being so great. Catching 6 trams in total and getting home at midnight was a regular occurrence as was the many full days spent at each others homes tinkering with his Microbee and my Vic-20. We used to war over which computer was better. He was a year above me and he was pretty smart. He introduced me to computers and taught me a lot about computers, electronics and logic and used his Microbee and my Vic-20 as a learning tool for me to practice on. Sadly he moved and we lost contact. Those memories never left me though even after 30 plus years. I went on to have a roll in the North West Amiga Users Group, running their PD library and eventually running a 3 line BBS for the club in the late 80's until the early 90s. The club environment at NWAUG was exactly like that of MBUG. Enthusiasts coming together to discuss their computer systems. Over the years I have spent thousands of hours providing free resources for other enthusiasts to enjoy and to increase the interest in whatever my interests were at the time. If I had spent that time doing extra paid work I would have made a lot more cash, however, I have not one regret.
So away I went to the internet to find out what was available in the way of Microbee information and the like. I came across one site that claimed to be the ultimate resource of MicroBee related software and information. With great excitement I registered an account. Verification e-mail doesn’t contain a password. These things happen so I'll persist. E-Mail the admin. A day later I received an email stating that my account was now accessible. So I log-in to their forum and try to access their repository. "You need one post to access the repository". So I post. "Your post must be verified by an Admin". Another day passes and my post is accepted. Great. But still no access to the repository. Emailed the admin yet again. Another day passes. Really? Really?
WOOHOO, I have access. Start downloading a couple of manuals and ROMs. BOOM. 20 files per day file limit and also "Download too many files and you get banned!". WAH? So I post enquiring why this limit is in place and even offer to pay for an archive or better access. The response? Nope, piss off leech. Your access to the repository has been removed. WOW. OK. So I post again explaining how they just killed any interest I had in the Microbee and I also called the admin a "sad old man" out of frustration. Instant PermaBan. At that point I was going to move onto the next thing that might capture my interest.
No wait I thought. If I received that response I'm sure others have also. I wondered how many other Microbee enthusiasts ran into these grouches and lost all interest in the Microbee. That aint right. Over the next day or so I searched for other resources only to find a few pages and a couple of sites available online for this classic Aussie Computer. A lot of sites/pages had disappeared (dead links) from the links section of the MicroBee page on wikipedia. Luckily archive.org had archived these sites and I was able to access them and download the few manuals I have on offer here. I did add my site to wikipedia but it was deleted a few days later by someone. I wonder who? Online Stalking? Anyway I reposted it and also added Microbee Technology as the intellectual property owners which no one else thought to do.
I concluded that there was only one large MicroBee resource and that it was only accessible 20 files at a time and a ban was instituted if you did that a few days in a row. A 4k rom is 1 file. A 1k text file is one file. After 5 days and in the 10 or so minutes I had access I managed to download 18 files which sized up to about 5MB. The other two files didn’t download for whatever reason. "We have worked long and hard to put this site together", could be one argument from them. So what. I have spent, in the last month, a lot of time putting my Microbee site together. I intend to spend a whole lot more. I don’t see the point of doing all that work only to not give anyone access to it. I'm proud to show what I've created and gladly give it away for free. Imagine if full access to their resource was granted to me and how much I would have repaid for that access with my efforts. Instead they now have a critic.
So bugger this I thought. I'll make my own site and hang it off my Commodore fan site, www.uber-leet.com. Give others like me something to enjoy.
Firstly I contacted Silicon Chip Magazine who own the copyright to Electronics Australia and Electronics Today International. Both these magazines featured MicroBee hardware projects, columns and news. After receiving a positive response I began scanning and publishing online MicroBee articles and related information from those magazines.
By doing this I had hoped to create more enthusiasm towards the MicroBee and to also recapture people’s memories of the 1980s Australian computer scene. I still can’t understand why those Admins choose to lock up all the resources in their forum/repository and make people search for them, only to eventually limit or deny them access. I know through the Commodore scene I can download pretty much anything relating to Commodore computers. This is why there is a "SCENE". The more that is out there, the more interest there is in it. And all the Commodore items are free, however, there is also a paid alternative if enthusiasts wish to support the remaining commercially available products. I have supported these products and also link to them from the main site. See www.amigaforever.com and www.c64forever.com. Also see www.bombjack.org/commodore/dvd/dvd.htm. I paid $60 a few years back for both sets of DVDs. I try and support most sites like these where I can because it increases interest and provides me with resources and keeps the whole "SCENE" going. I would gladly pay for a DVD full of Microbee warez but, unfortunately, there isn’t one. I will soon try to convince Microbee Technology to create one and even do it for them for free. Wish me luck.
So over 50,000 Microbees were produced. A lot of people used them in schools. A lot of people purchased and built their first computer this way. I'm sure a lot of people have many fond memories. Where are these people now? I don’t know. By I'm almost curtain that a lot received the response I did and just lost interest. That’s a shame I thought.
My next step was to contact Microbee Technology who are the intellectual property owners of the Microbee brand. I requested permission to put online all copyrighted items relating to the Microbee that I could find online and offer these to the remaining few enthusiast in a centralized location. After receiving a positive response and praise for my Microbee fan site from them I began adding what I could and displaying it in an easy to view and downloadable way. Although a second response wasn’t forthcoming I am continuing to add what I legally think I can in the hope that I may be able to create a truly open and free resource.
Funny story. After the incident with those admins and before I created this site I decided to go thru my old computer brochures to find the Microbee ones that I knew I had. I have quiet a collection of old computers but no Microbee items other than those brochures and my extensive 80s magazine collection. Seeing how I had lost all interest at that point I decided to try and sell those items on ebay.com.au in the vintage computer section. No interest and not one bid on the 10 or so brochures I had. I gave up and didn’t relist them. About a week or so passed and who should contact me? One of those admins from that site! HA! He basically told me they had all the brochures I was offering but I did have 5 single A4 sheets that he was interested in and offered me $5 and $2 postage for them. My response was basically, un-ban me from your repository and give me more than 20 files per day and I will gladly give you those items or provide 300DPI scans or both. He didn’t respond. So about a week later as a shit stir I relisted just those 5 sheets at a price of $256. I will be adding those here soon for all to view. Ya gotta laugh.
So feel free to browse and download everything available here and I truly hope you enjoy your stay. I also hope I have managed to rekindle some old memories of this classic Aussie computer which was my main goal. If you have any Microbee items, no matter how small or large please send them to me or contact me about them. I would love to add them here. I have no access to anything other than what is available here. A forum will be appearing soon!
Also remember to support Microbee Technology and Silicon Chip Magazine which are both Australian owned companies that offer the latest in computer and electronic technology and information.
All comments are welcome.
Kindest Regards,
microbee @ uber-leet.com
MicroBee Basic Startup Screens
Here's a few boot up screens for the MicroBee that I screenied with the MESS emulator.
MicroBee 16/32 System (Kit and Fully Assembled)
Z80 (2MHz), Video (12MHz), 16/32/64K Ram, Text: 64 x 16, Graphics: 127 x 47, 512 × 256
Appears as text,
Applied Technology MicroWorld Level II Basic. Ver 5.10
Copyright Matthew Starr 1982 for MicroWorld
Startup Screen Produced with MESS Emulator.
|
MicroBee IC/Premium System
Z80 (3.375MHz), Video (13.5MHz), 16/32/64K Ram, Text: 64 x 16, Graphics: 127 x 47, 512 × 256
With the faster video clock speed came an 80 x 25 screen which was only usable with the comms package.
Appears as text,
Applied Technology MicroBee Colour Basic. Ver 5.22e
Copyright MS 1983 for MicroWorld Australia
Startup Screen Produced with MESS Emulator.
|
MicroBee PC85 System
Z80 (3.375MHz), Video (13.5MHz), 64/128K Ram, Text: 64 x 16, Graphics: 127 x 47, 512 × 256
With the faster video clock speed came an 80 x 25 screen which was only usable with the comms package.
Startup Screen Produced with MESS Emulator.
|
|
|
|
FOCUS ON MICROBEE
Take a trip down memory lane and
revisit the history of the MicroBee.
|
|
Online Microbee Archives
|
| MBUG |
4719 Files |
| BEEHIVE |
831 Files |
| TESSERACT |
773 Files |
| Total: |
6323 Files |
Delta Plus Kit Computer
(Under development)
A totally new Microbee design is under way. The Delta Plus, like its pre-decessor, the Premium Plus, will be a hybrid kit in that parts of the kit will have to be assembled / soldered but will also include pre-assembled SMD modules that plug in. Based once again on Coldfire & Zilog processors (Coldfire V2 @166Mhz, Z8S180 @33Mhz) but with expanded graphics & all new mechanical switch keyboard. More details soon.
|
| |
EBAY AUSTRALIA
- Vintage Computer Section
- Recently Sold Microbee Items
Visit the ebay.com.au vintage computer section for currently listed Microbee items. The following items have been reposted from there. Please DO NOT contact these sellers as the items have been sold. A single unmodified thumbnail of each item is provided by ebay.com.au who retain all copyrights. If you cant find the item it has most likely been removed from the ebay database. These items are provided for information purposes only and do not indicate the value of any microbee items. You use this information at your own risk. E&OE.
|
| |
 |
Vintage Microbee 128K Computer + Monitor + Disk Drive - Boxed - Australian Made |
| Sold On 28-Sep-16 for AU $530.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee 32 32K ROM based vintage PC With DSE Amber Monitor |
| Sold On 29-Jun-16 for AU $316.00. |
| |
 |
Vintage Microbee Australian PC 1980s with Docs and Floppies |
| Sold On 02-May-16 for AU $203.60. |
| |
 |
Microbee Computer components keyboard and Computer in a Book |
| Sold On 13-Apr-16 for AU $87.00. |
| |
 |
Sold on New Zealand E-Bay |
| Sold On 6-Mar-16 for AU $561.89. |
| |
 |
Microbee dynamic vintage computer gaming system computer video keyboard in box |
| Sold On 18-Feb-16 for AU $154.50. |
| |
 |
Microbee Computer Circa 1984, Disk Drive, Screen, Printer, Manuals & Mags |
| Sold On 14-Feb-16 for AU $105.50. |
| |
 |
Microbee series 3 64 dynamic vintage computer gaming system... |
| Sold On 11-Feb-16 for AU $159.50. |
| |
 |
MICROBEE [...]Vintage Computer Books and Manuals |
| Sold On 30-Nov-15 for AU $24.99. |
| |
 |
Set of four Microbee books |
| Sold On 28-Nov-16 for AU $17.50. |
| |
 |
Retro / Vintage MicroBee PC + Parts |
| Sold On 04-Oct-15 for AU $92.00. |
| |
 |
Vintage Microbee Computer Premium Series 128K with Dual Floppy Drive |
| Sold On 15-Sep-15 for AU $400.00. |
| |
 |
VINTAGE MICROBEE COMPUTER |
| Sold On 13-Sep-15 for AU $280.01. |
| |
 |
Microbee Premium Computer Kit |
| Sold On 05-Sep-15 for AU $848.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Computer Kit |
| Sold On 28-Aug-15 for AU $1,325.01. |
| |
 |
Microbee ONLINE Mag... all 24 issues installed in removable folders. collectable |
| Sold On 18-Aug-15 for AU $51.02. |
| |
 |
MICROBEE HACKER'S HANDBOOK + MICROBEE ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING - RARE AS!! |
| Sold On 14-Aug-15 for AU $59.99. |
| |
 |
Portable 'Backpack' 5.25" disk drive |
| Sold On 29-Jul-15 for AU $15.50. |
| |
 |
Microbee Standard Baseboard - Working |
| Sold On 29-Jul-15 for AU $77.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Premium series Keyboard with 128k Ram - Tested & Working |
| Sold On 24-Jul-15 for AU $195.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee BASIC with advanced programming and reference manual |
| Sold On 24-Jul-15 for AU $16.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Hackers Handbook |
| Sold On 24-Jul-15 for AU $31.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee 256TC case & keyboard *Rare* |
| Sold On 22-Jul-15 for AU $43.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Premium series Blank Printed Circuit boards |
| Sold On 22-Jul-15 for AU $50.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Key cap set + key switches |
| Sold On 22-Jul-15 for AU $68.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Computer-in-a-book disk drive - refurbished. |
| Sold On 21-Jul-15 for AU $145.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Technical Manual. |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $101.99. |
| |
 |
Microbee 128k Disk System Manual. |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $10.00. |
| |
 |
INSIDE CP/M A Guide for Users and Programmer |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $20.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee ONLINE Mag |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $30.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee ausbug |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $27.00. |
| |
 |
MicroBee software |
| Sold On 10-Jul-15 for AU $33.00. |
| |
 |
Microbee Books |
| Sold On 09-Jul-15 for AU $16.50. |
| |
 |
MicroBee PC Motherboard 1982 Vintage |
| Sold On 24-Jun-15 for AU $71.00. |
| |
|
| |
| |
More To Come Soon, Stay Tuned!
|
|
