Stuff and Things.

Blogs & guides and tales of woo by forum members.
stephen_usher
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by stephen_usher »

I'm sure that you can cram more machines in there somehow.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2023 12:33 pm I'm sure that you can cram more machines in there somehow.
It's an almost daily struggle trying...
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

And it's been a bumper post day today:

PXL_20231103_112844569.jpg
PXL_20231103_112844569.jpg (282.63 KiB) Viewed 281 times

The last few caps for the Saturn PSU, the Intellivision composite mod, the ULIfAC and a book by the nice Mr Zaks that I've wanted to add to the library for years!
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
stephen_usher
Posts: 5004
Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:19 pm
Location: Oxford, UK.
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by stephen_usher »

:D
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Well, I've managed to get the Intellivision composite adapter installed, but the video is very noisy. TBH it's just a dual amplifier that takes the modulator inputs and boosts them.

Tweaking the TV settings has improved things, and I know I shouldn't complain too much, since it's from 1979, and the picture on a CRT TV via modulator is pretty damn awful, so anything is an improvement, but I want to give it a better chance, so I'm going to swap the video and audio pickup cables for shielded so at least then I can say I did my best to make the mod work.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

And the results of the shielded cable are in - It's way better, still not perfect, but I can live with it now:

Here's Zaxxon:

PXL_20231104_103305773.jpg
PXL_20231104_103305773.jpg (260.46 KiB) Viewed 235 times

And I received this in the post just now:

PXL_20231104_105032636.jpg
PXL_20231104_105032636.jpg (213.41 KiB) Viewed 235 times
Which also looks good:

PXL_20231104_105047625.jpg
PXL_20231104_105047625.jpg (230.8 KiB) Viewed 235 times
PXL_20231104_105059248.jpg
PXL_20231104_105059248.jpg (282.02 KiB) Viewed 235 times

So overall pleased with the result. Note some interference on the pics is a side effect of taking pics of the screen, and on screen dithering, it looks better in person.

I need to look for an SD card solution next I think.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Hmm, seems to be glitches are us this morning...

First my Apple IIe wouldn't beep/power on - dirty contacts on the FDD controller, so fine now.

Next, my Saturn is no longer reading disks, burned ISOs or genuine games. This is upsetting as it is one of my favourite consoles, so time to think Fenrir, but at least see if I can get it running for now by adjusting the CD drive.

I think it's unrelated to the recap, as it was starting to get flaky before that.

Then last, my work laptop won't power on. Worked fine all week to this point. Meh! Luckily after holding down the power button for 20s it started working, but why? Luckily I'm due to have it replaced soon, let's hope it doesn't become an issue in the meantime.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

At least some more intellivision pickups arrived today:

PXL_20231109_111508560.jpg
PXL_20231109_111508560.jpg (253.28 KiB) Viewed 180 times
PXL_20231109_105906743.jpg
PXL_20231109_105906743.jpg (263.34 KiB) Viewed 180 times
Will test them out later :)
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

This looks appealing: PiStorm Lite

I'm not a big A1200 user, and the accelerator I have installed is problematic in that in memory certain configurations blocks the PCMCIA ports, and I'm thinking this is a relatively inexpensive and flexible option to replace it.

Anybody tried it?
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
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Location: Essex
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

So, I've notice that the image quality on the Intellivision starts off bad, and after about 30 minutes seems to slowly improve, so I sense another console re-cap coming.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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