Kevin Edwards, a friend and ex-colleague from Software Creations, suggested I put a request out on the stardot.co.uk forums in February 2020 for an Electron, as I’ve always fancied one, and it seemed like a cheap way to get a 6502 basied computer that ran BBC BASIC. I’d also been inspired by a couple of my Twitter followers, 0xC0DE and Electron Greg.

I got this response from Dave Hitchens.

I can supply you with an Electron – I clean and ensure everything is working – but I don’t Retrobright! I can also socket the CPU in case you consider a MRB in the future – Master RAM Board – a remake of the original Slogger unit. It provides Normal, Turbo and Turbo operation with Shadow RAM.

It’s not going to be ‘pristine’!! I charge £40 plus P&P and give you a years RTB warranty.

Seemed like a good offer, so I paid my dues and also asked for a jumper to be soldered onto the motherboard so I could select between monochrome and colour composite video out, which cost me another £1.

Anyway, as often happens, we were away in the Lake District when it was finally posted out end of February, but no worries, I got a notification that it had been delivered. I assumed our next door neighbours had taken it in.

Upon arriving home, the package was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully it turned up eventually. Dave had missed out a number on the address. It had been posted to number 3 on our street, not number 13. I vaguely knew the family who lived there from conversations in passing. He asked about the parcel, and that started a brief conversation about his computer history.

The Electron itself was in very good condition. One of the shift keys is a little sticky, but it works just fine. The power brick has been modified with what looks like an inline lamp switch so that I can switch the unit on and off without unplugging it.