Help:Getting Started

Getting started on the RetroTechCollection Wiki
A guide for new editors

New to wikis? This guide takes you through creating an account, making your first edit and writing a new page. Take it one step at a time.

🚀 Quick start checklist

✓	Task	Why
☐	Create an account	Your edits are credited to you and you can upload files
☐	Set up your user page	Introduce yourself
☐	Read what the wiki covers	Know what content belongs here
☐	Learn the core principles	Know the basic rules before editing
☐	Make your first edit	Start with something small
☐	Join the community	Meet other vintage tech enthusiasts

📝 Creating your account

Why create an account?

You can read the wiki, and even edit it, without an account, but anonymous edits wait in a moderation queue. Registered users can also:

upload images and documents
take part in discussions under their own name
have a user page and a contribution history
use a watchlist and receive notifications
use editing tools such as Twinkle once their account is established

New accounts are moderated too: your first edits appear once a moderator has approved them.

How to register

Click Create account at the top right.
Choose a username that is easy to remember, does not impersonate anyone, and is not a company or website name (see section 2.3 of the Terms of Use).
Enter a password twice.
Enter an email address. It is optional, but without one you cannot reset a forgotten password or receive notifications by email.
Complete the security check.
Click Create your account.
If you gave an email address, click the confirmation link in the email you receive.

By creating an account you agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy policy.

⚠️ Age requirement: you must be at least 13 years old to create an account on the RetroTechCollection Wiki.

👤 Setting up your user page

Your user page is where you introduce yourself and your interest in vintage technology.

Once logged in, click your username at the top right.
Click Create to start your user page.
Add some basic information, for example:

== About me ==
I collect and repair 8-bit home computers.

== My collection ==
* [[Apple IIe]]
* [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum]] 48K
* [[Atari 2600]]

== Current projects ==
* Recapping a [[Commodore PET 2001]]

== Contact ==
Leave a message on my [[User talk:YourUsername|talk page]].

Keep it about vintage technology, and do not share more personal information than you are comfortable with.

🎯 What the wiki covers

The RetroTechCollection Wiki is about repairing, maintaining and documenting vintage computers, game consoles and their peripherals, mostly from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

Page type	Examples
Machine pages	Commodore 64, Apple IIe, Atari 2600
Repair guides	General maintenance, troubleshooting and capacitor replacement guides for each machine
Cross-machine guides	CRT Discharge Procedure, Capacitor Failure Symptoms, Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
Documentation	Scanned service manuals, schematics and technical references, each with its own page
Peripherals	Disk drives, monitors, printers, mice and keyboards

Browse the platform categories from Help:Categories to see what exists.

What makes a good page

It is accurate, and every figure can be checked against a cited source.
It is written plainly, in short declarative sentences.
It has photographs where possible.
It follows the structure of the other pages of its type (see Help:Writing a repair guide).

📚 Core principles

Accuracy and citations

Every figure (voltage, capacitor value, part number, date) needs a citation to a source that says it.
Prefer the manufacturer's own service manual or schematic. Many are already hosted here: see Category:Service Manuals.
If you cannot find a source for a figure, leave it out. A gap is better than a plausible guess.
See RetroTechCollection:Citing sources and RetroTechCollection:Reliable technical sources.

How to cite, using a manual hosted on the wiki:

The +5 V supply is specified at ±3 %.<ref>''Apple II Reference Manual – For //e Only'', Apple Computer, 1982,
Table 7-2. Hosted as [[:File:Apple IIe Reference Manual 1982.pdf]].</ref>

Your own findings

Measurements you have taken yourself, repairs you have done and parts you have designed are welcome. Say that they are your own and give the details: the board revision, where you measured and what with. Do not present a guess as a measured value.

Neutral, plain writing

Present facts, not opinions, and do not advertise.

Not this: "The Amiga was the best computer of the 1980s."
This: "The Amiga 500 uses a Motorola 68000 processor."

Avoid filler phrases such as "plays a pivotal role" or "a testament to"; state the fact instead. Help:Writing a repair guide has more examples.

Free content and copyright

Text you add is released under the licence in the Terms of Use.
Only upload images you took yourself or that are freely licensed, unless the copyright policy allows otherwise.
See RetroTechCollection:Copyrights.

Civility

Treat everyone with respect and assume good faith.
Discuss the content, not the contributor.
Settle disagreements on the talk page.

✏️ Making your first edit

Finding something to edit

Good first tasks:

Fix typos and grammar in an article about a machine you know.
Add a missing citation, from a manual you own or one already hosted here.
Add a photograph of your own hardware (see Help:Photographing hardware).
Fix broken links or formatting.

How to edit

Open the article.
Click Edit (visual editor) or Edit source (wikitext).
Make your change.
Click Show preview and check it.
Write an edit summary saying what you did.
Click Save changes.

Basic wiki markup

What you want	What you type	What you get
Bold text	`'''bold text'''`	bold text
Italic text	`''italic text''`	italic text
Internal link	`[[Commodore 64]]`	Commodore 64
External link	`[https://example.com Example]`	Example
Section heading	`== Heading ==`	(creates a section)
Bullet list	`* Item one` `* Item two`	• Item one • Item two
Numbered list	`# First` `# Second`	1. First 2. Second

More in Help:Editing, Help:Wikitext and Help:Formatting.

Before you save

Is the information accurate, and is it cited?
Is it written neutrally?
Did you preview it?
Did you write an edit summary?

🖼️ Working with images

Uploading images

Go to Special:Upload.
Make sure you have the right to upload the image: your own photo, a freely licensed image, or public domain material.
Give it a descriptive filename, such as Atari 520STM motherboard.jpg.
Fill in the description with {{Information}}:

{{Information
|description = Front view of an Apple IIe
|source = Own work
|date = 2024-01-15
|author = [[User:YourUsername]]
|permission = CC BY-SA 4.0
}}

Good images

Sharp and well lit, at a sensible file size (under about 3 MB).
Showing the machine, board or part the article is about.
With a caption that says what and which revision it shows.
Several related images go in a <gallery>.

See Help:Photographing hardware.

📖 Creating new pages

Before you start

Search to make sure the page does not already exist.
Check that you can find sources for it.
Check that it is within the wiki's scope.

Creating the page

Click a red link, or search for the new title and click the link to create it. The Article wizard and Help:Your first article walk you through it. A machine page has this shape:

{{Infobox computer
|name = Computer Name
|image = Computer Name.jpg
|caption = Computer Name (1985)
|manufacturer = Company Name
|release_date = 1985
|discontinued = 1990
|cpu = CPU and clock speed
|memory = RAM
|storage = Storage
|display = Display
|os = Operating system
}}

The '''Computer Name''' is a personal computer made by Company Name from 1985 to 1990.<ref>...</ref>

== History ==
== Specifications ==
== Hardware ==
== Known faults ==
== Documentation ==
== Related pages ==
== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Platform category]]

Repair guides have their own templates: see Help:Writing a repair guide. For the infobox fields, see Help:Infoboxes; for categories, see Help:Categories.

🤝 Getting help

Where to ask

Help pages: the full help index
Village Pump: questions and discussion
User talk pages: leave a message for an experienced editor
RTC Forum: the community forum

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it is a problem	Instead
Adding figures without a source	Readers cannot check them, and some turn out to be wrong	Cite a manual or schematic, or leave the figure out
Copying text from websites	Copyright violation	Write it in your own words and cite the source
Adding opinions	Not neutral	Stick to facts with sources
Edit warring	Disrupts the wiki	Discuss on the talk page
Promotional content	Not encyclopaedic	Write neutrally

🛠️ Useful tools

Watchlist: follow changes to the pages you care about
Contributions: your own edit history
Preferences: set up your account and turn on gadgets
Your sandbox: practise without affecting articles
Editing tools: Infobox Generator, Spec Importer, Twinkle and HotCat

🎓 Next steps

Once you are comfortable with small edits:

add citations to an uncited page
expand a thin section with sourced detail
write a missing repair guide for a machine you own
upload a service manual you have scanned (see Help:Uploading service manuals)
help other new users on the Village Pump

📋 Quick reference

Useful pages

Recent changes: what is being edited now
Random article: discover a page
Wanted pages: pages linked but not yet written
Short pages: pages that need expanding

Keyboard shortcuts

In most browsers on Windows and Linux, hold Alt+Shift; on a Mac, hold Ctrl+Option. Then press:

E: edit source
V: edit in the visual editor
H: page history
T: talk page
M: move page
W: watch page

🎉 Welcome

Be bold in editing, but careful with figures.
Everyone was new once. Ask if you are unsure.
Mistakes can be fixed.
One well-sourced edit is worth more than ten unsourced ones.

Ready to make your first edit?
Try a random article or the wanted pages, or use the RTC Article wizard to create your first page.

Still have questions? Visit the RTC Forum or leave a message on the talk page.