Amstrad PCW8256

[@markorollo.]

i can honestly say i wasnt a fan of school, wasn't my best time, Kaskenmoor in Oldham, but every time i see these i get a massive dose of the nostalgias for school.

[@SimDeck]

Great video! When I was 16, I really wanted one of these but my family couldn't afford it. Watching this video reminds me of those times. I loved the monochrome output and still do.

[@66mhzbrain]

Thanks. Yes its a cool little thing and the display has a character all of its own. I need to get back to it, I plan to put a gotek on it and there are lots of games that run on it and from what I've seen look great on that display.

[@JayDee-iy5be]

Other systems used those disks too, the one that springs to mind is the Tatung Einstein.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Used to see those loads at the car boot sales, parents didn’t think I should get one because ‘it’s just a word processor’ which is a shame, would have loved poking around with CP/M and basking in the glory of that green screen!

[@66mhzbrain]

Yes, its a cool little thing. The green screen is awesome looking😁

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Nice Amstrad video! I picked up a PCW 8256 back in July 2020. They are not very common here in the USA, however Amstrad did have a small business presence back in the 1980s in America. My floppy drive belt was destroyed, so I needed to replace it. I have a few original 3" floppy disks, but nothing to exciting. After doing the belt replacement and testing the drive, I ended up going with a GoTek which has been wonderful.

[@66mhzbrain]

Cool. Thanks for watching it!. Ill probably use the drive as long as it lasts and keep an eye on the belt. I was thinking of trying to get a gotek in as a b drive and see if I can run images from there, though I think the machine may be fussy about that.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

@@66mhzbrain you can add a GoTek in the drive b slot, however I wanted to keep the Amstrad branding on that slot cover. I can help you with how to do it no problem. I show some of it on my channel too.

[@66mhzbrain]

@@geekwithsocialskills cool thanks! , ive just subscribed and will take a look

[@geekwithsocialskills]

@@66mhzbrain Not a problem. Thanks for the sub, I also subscribed to you as well. It's been a couple of years since I've done videos with my Amstrad PCW 8256, however I've got some new things I want to show off, like a Wi-Fi modem I built for it. Using a PCW 8256 to connect to a BBS using Telnet over Wi-Fi in the modern day is amazingly cool!

[@66mhzbrain]

@@geekwithsocialskills cool, sound amazing, can't wait to see!

[@Llamarama100]

I recently got one of these but it was damaged in transit, the CRT is ok so I just need to get the rest of it working now. Seems like a good machine

[@66mhzbrain]

Yes they are cool and there's tons of games files online. Thats crap😔 hioe you get it up and running again

[@n057828]

Had a Vic20 in 82 then Amstrad 6128 in 86 nice systems

[@66mhzbrain]

Cool. I've always wanted a cpc.

[@JosipRetroBits]

What a beautiful machine :) Great video.

[@66mhzbrain]

Thanks! Yes should be a lot of fun messing about with this one.

[@JosipRetroBits]

@@66mhzbrain I know it's a business machine and a low price was the selling point, but if it had some colour...

[@66mhzbrain]

Yes, makes you wonder, if they'd put a colour screen on it and still kept it affordable it could have become quite something.

[@JosipRetroBits]

@@66mhzbrain Exactly :)

[@Doug_in_NC]

Those 3” drives were pretty unusual, but Amstrad wasn’t quite the only company that used them. I know Tatung had them on the Einstein, and I think there were some other obscure machines that used them too.

[@miked4377]

very good! i ddnt know much about this coavoumputer..but i like what you said about it .looks good as well

[@66mhzbrain]

Thanks! Its an interesting machine, I neednto get into it a bit more.

[@miked4377]

@@66mhzbrainyes that would be good...

[@collectingretrotech]

Another great video, may I ask where best to purchase those dram modules from please? Thanks

[@66mhzbrain]

Thanks😊 they are just standard dips and cheap on ali express but theres a dude on ebay sells them as a kit which is quicker (at least here in the uk) but a bit more expensive, www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195382581778

[@atlanticx100]

I used to have a light pen on mine.

[@atlanticx100]

I also had a helicopter game "Apache"

[@66mhzbrain]

I'd love a light pen , think there was a mouse too.

[@Doug_in_NC]

It runs CP/M, so you have to try Zork on it, right?

[@66mhzbrain]

I will 😁, just as soon as I figure out how to transfer stuff to disk, or fit a gotek in the b drive

[@Aieou472]

Do you know where i can get games for one of these? Looked around the internet but couldent find a disk.

[@66mhzbrain]

There arent many around, a few crop up on ebay. If you replace the floppy drive with a gotek then there are a bunch of images around online and you can load them from a usb. I plan to do this when I get time.

[@dalerichardson3412]

I have on about to go to scrap in USA. It should work fine as it was mine new for school. We have the original box, printer, discs... would anyone really want this?

[@66mhzbrain]

Yes people collect and pay good money for things like that

[@refurbs1971]

i like your video but , it seemed you was narrating over the top and at times didnt go with what you were doing , good vid tho

[@66mhzbrain]

That would be because i do this for fun and am definately not a pro. I made that a while back so hopefully have gotten better😁 Thanks fornchecking it out!

[@laurencecope7083]

Except the tube irradiated the user.