It began, like most of us, when we bought or were luckily given an Atari console or computer.  Most people would leave it at that.

But the Atari community is a resilient bunch, if not a little sentimental.  Atari probably never realised how loyal their users were (although there have been some within Atari that always knew this) and it is with great pride that many people today still collect Atari hardware and software, as well as maintaining some great websites.  Software is still written for nearly every platform Atari created, and it is a testament to the build quality of the machines, that they still continue to operate many years after their theoretical MTBF (mean-time before failure).

Although active in the Atari community for years, the Atari Historical Society (AHS) was formally created in 1997 by Curt Vendel.  I can still remember finding Curt's first website, "Atari Prototypes and Vapourware", and it was this website that gave me the Atari-bug once again.  Since then, Curt Vendel has been ever active in preserving the history of Atari, and sharing all this information online, and by visiting various shows with his "travelling" museum.

My small contribution to the AHS was made by helping Curt improve sections of his website (still an-ongoing project) and passing on Atari collectables from Europe whenever possible.  I was happy to help the AHS by providing contact and assistance to European users and collectors, and a steady stream of e-mails still come in from old and new users alike.  The most common e-mail query is still about power supplies!

Atari Explorer is still the baby brother of the Atari Museum (the AHS website - www.atarimuseum.com), but we are both working towards a common goal, and that is to remember Atari and it products, and share this information for everybody's enjoyment.

Karl @ AEX