Bits and Bobs

Well, here we are again.

Amiga 2000

I built up the -5v rail for the A2000 and fully reassembled it. Unfortunately the A2000 is presenting with a black screen. No synch or other signs of life. Not the end of the world, but it does mean it’s on hold until my new Oscilloscope arrives.

Mac Quadra 950

I got the last SIMM off with no further damage. I’ll be ordering some more SIMM sockets eventually, but for now it’s on hold. I have a second one already fully working, so this one is a long term project.

The black circles are “Here be damaged traces”

VIC 20

My “Final Expansion 3” finally arrived today. It’s awesome! It combines many different devices into one. It’s a RAM expansion! It’s a cartridge emulator! It’s a disk drive! I’ve been playing a lot of classic VIC 20 games today. (Special shoutout to “Attack of the Mutant Camels”. Jeff Minter, I salute you!)

Why yes, I am planning on 3D printing a new case for the Final Expansion 3. It’s the red thing extending from the back.

Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro

I built up another board from Necroware. This one uses a Arduino Nano as an adapter from modern USB to the mixture of analog and digital formats understood by the 15 pin joysticks of the day. This has allowed me to dust off my old Sidewinder 3D pro. Now I wanna play a Mech game to give it a proper test! Oh well. OOLITE will have to do.

Microbee

Started work on a laser cut case for this wee beastie. Not perfect, but this is why we do the prototypes out of MDF. Speaking of which, it’s almost impossible to get MDF these days. Strange times indeed.

Creativision

I’ve finished off a keyboard to PS/2 adapter for this. Unfortunately one of my MT8808AE chips is dead. I have ordered spares. Otherwise it works perfectly. I believe it will be open sourced shortly.

I tested the MT8808s by swapping them. Different faults happened.

Amstrad CPC 464

I modified a connector for this to better attune the video signals. It’s the same as the one I use on my BBC Master and my Acorn Electron. It lets me plug into my LCD monitor.

For some reason, the colour on the screen here is very washed out. It’s much more vibrant “in real life”.

The Workbench

I’ve done a minor upgrade in the form of downlights. These are IKEA bedside lamps, with the bases removed, and screwed into some bits of spare pine instead. Unfortunately these seem to be discontinued, which is a pity.

Finally, don’t eat the Forbidden Sprinkles. They are Forbidden for a reason.

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply