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History of overclocking

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing January 11, 2017April 15, 20261980s, 1990s, 6502, amd, amiga, asus, Chuck Peddle, DIY, IBM, intel, motorola, overclocking, pentium ii

Overclocking didn’t start in the 90s, and it wasn’t limited to PCs either. Here’s a history of overclocking from a guy who did it some, and talked to guys who did it a lot in the 80s.

I don’t recommend overclocking, and today Microsoft can prove it’s a bad idea. But overclocking has a long and colorful history. It’s less common than it used to be, perhaps. But it’s not completely extinct.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Hipwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 28, 2016October 22, 20221940s, 1950s, 1980s, american flyer, electric trains, lionel, lionel train, s scale, tin

The Hipwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh was the inventor of the single-cell battery and a venerable producer of flashlights. As recently as 2002, Hipwell produced 2 million flashlights in the United States.

Dave Farquhar

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Tin buildings for train layouts

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 27, 2016January 20, 20221980s, 1990s, antique mall, christmas, estate sales, garage sale, garage sales, o gauge, radio shack, tin, train layout

When it comes to trains, I prefer older ones made of tin, rather than plastic. And I like tin buildings too. Any time I open a magazine featuring someone’s train layouts, the buildings all look the same. I want something a little different, so I look for tin buildings to go with my tin trains.

Many companies through the years made food containers with printing on them that look like buildings. The tins tend to be about six inches wide, around 8 inches tall, and two inches deep. They tend to resemble the two-story commercial buildings you used to see in downtowns, with a storefront on the first story and offices or apartments on the second floor.

You can use these tins to put together a very timeless commercial district for your train layout. If you know what to look for, you can find coffee shops, bakeries, candy stores, florists, and plenty of other stores to make your town a nice place to live and work. And the buildings usually aren’t terribly expensive, either.

In this post, I’ll cover buildings made after 1970. For pre-1970 buildings, see Vintage Tin Litho Buildings.

Dave Farquhar

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Bachmann vs Lionel

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Toy trains December 2, 2016October 11, 20171940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, american flyer, bachmann, Bachmann Plasticville, boxcar, electric trains, HO, ho scale, lionel, lionel train, n scale, o scale, train show

Comparing Bachmann vs Lionel is a contrast between two very old, established names in electric trains. Lionel, in one form or another, has been selling trains since 1900. Bachmann, the largest seller of trains in the world, was founded in 1833, though they started selling trains in 1966.

Ironically, it was Lionel that got Bachmann into the train business. In the 1940s and 1950s, when every kid wanted a Lionel or American Flyer train, Bachmann sold buildings under its Plasticville brand so kids and dads could build towns for those trains to run in. As the focus shifted to smaller scales in the 1960s, Bachmann moved with it, with greater success than the companies it once shared a symbiotic relationship with.

Dave Farquhar

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The old Montgomery Ward building in Kansas City

Dave Farquhar Retail November 4, 2016March 9, 20211980s, atari, Kansas City, marathon, matchbox, Meals, Mississippi River, Missouri

I remember the old Montgomery Ward building in Kansas City. I spent plenty of time in the sprawling complex at 6200 St. John Avenue in Kansas City near the intersection of Belmont Boulevard.

When I was growing up, the three most dreaded words in my (and my cousin’s) vocabulary were “Ward’s over town.” That was what our family called the monstrosity, which was home to a regional distribution center, an outlet store, a catalog store, and corporate offices in a mere 2 million square feet.

When we were eight years old, this store was where Saturdays went to die. I don’t know how many of its 2 million square feet were open to my mom, aunt, and grandmother to look for bargains, but there was plenty of room for bargains to hide, and if there was ever anyone willing to spend the whole day in that store stretching a dollar just as far as it could go, it was my aunt. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Speed up Firefox

Dave Farquhar Software October 3, 2016July 27, 20171980s, chrome, firefox, optimizing windows, ramdisk, Windows 10

I’ve seen a lot of gimmicky hacks to speed up Firefox, and you probably have too. But chances are Firefox ran just fine when you started, then it slowed down over time. Here’s my collection of tips to restore Firefox’s performance if Firefox is slow.

Dave Farquhar

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What does scroll lock do? Or scrlk?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing September 7, 2016August 7, 20181980s, excel, IBM, lenovo

What’s the purpose of the scroll lock key? What does scroll lock do? With modern windowing operating systems we don’t need the scroll lock or scrlk key very often, but it solved a very real problem in the days of DOS.

The scrlk key is an abbreviation for scroll lock. Some keyboards abbreviate it even further. I one keyboard that just says “scr” on that key. However your keyboard abbreviates it, it’s almost always the key in between the print screen and pause keys.

Dave Farquhar

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How to sell baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 15, 2016November 25, 20181980s, 1990s, baseball cards, Cuban Nationals, lyman bostock, New York, recycling

If you want to know how to sell baseball cards, chances are you want maximum value for them. Here are some tips on how to sell baseball cards without getting ripped off.

Selling cards starts with knowing how to value baseball cards. So I recommend you read that first, or at least skim it. Then, come back here to read about your options.

Dave Farquhar

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How to value baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 12, 2016November 25, 20181960s, 1980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, collectibles, Goudey, Jose Canseco, Missouri, Star Wars, Topps

If you have a collection, knowing how to value baseball cards is helpful. That way, if you need to insure or liquidate the collection, you’ll receive a fair price.

But fair also means realistic. A lot of factors go into value. It’s not too different from valuing other vintage collectibles, so if you already know about those, you have a head start.

Also, even though my focus here is on baseball cards, more or less the same principles hold true for any vintage trading cards: football, basketball, hockey, or non-sports cards.

Dave Farquhar

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Types of Lionel knuckle couplers

Dave Farquhar Toy trains June 23, 2016March 10, 20221950s, 1960s, 1980s, lionel, Lionel Scout, marx, old trains, postwar lionel, sakai

There have been three major types of Lionel knuckle couplers produced since resuming train production in 1946. Lionel knew it would have to make a splash when it brought its trains back after the end of the War, and the knuckle coupler was one of the keys.

Two of these coupler types are compatible with one another, but one has a gotcha.

Dave Farquhar

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