Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 12:09 pm Yay! At last.
I know!!!

I think I'll use an ST joystick extender so I can push the machine a little further back though.
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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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Just to show off the v2 Analog a bit, it is possible to change the base screen colours via the config utility, which is nice if you want a little green screen nostalgia:

PXL_20230726_144928612.jpg
PXL_20230726_144928612.jpg (255.95 KiB) Viewed 8174 times

Which is nice as it's what we had at school before the BBCs arrived. Normally monochrome means just that and colour was determined by the display.

Or you can go for a bit of a C64 palette:

PXL_20230726_103653860.jpg
PXL_20230726_103653860.jpg (238.43 KiB) Viewed 8174 times

It's also possible to customise the fonts as well, though I have yet to try this.
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...
Tomswork
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by Tomswork »

Another adaptations the vga analog board in through hole


Tom

https://github.com/Retrotink/Apple-II-VGA?search=1

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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Tomswork wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 10:32 pm Another adaptations the vga analog board in through hole


Tom

https://github.com/Retrotink/Apple-II-VGA?search=1

@rubber_jonnie
Very good to know. I believe the v2 Analog was based on this.
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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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

And so the Apple IIe now has serial and parallel adapters:

PXL_20240105_140024330.jpg
PXL_20240105_140024330.jpg (398.78 KiB) Viewed 7917 times
PXL_20240105_140235065.jpg
PXL_20240105_140235065.jpg (301.1 KiB) Viewed 7917 times

All I need to do now is build a parallel port cable I can fit on the pack panel, as it didn't come with one, unlike the serial card, though to be fair it was a fair bit cheaper.

Looking quite full in there, the only thing I might consider is to replace the FDD card with something that can do 'a bit more' like a Liron card.
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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HigashiJun
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by HigashiJun »

rubber_jonnie wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:07 pm And so the Apple IIe now has serial and parallel adapters:
Really looking good !

Such an old machine with so much expansions, all packed internally.

Love it !

8-)
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

HigashiJun wrote: Sat Jan 06, 2024 9:44 am
rubber_jonnie wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:07 pm And so the Apple IIe now has serial and parallel adapters:
Really looking good !

Such an old machine with so much expansions, all packed internally.

Love it !

8-)
Yeah, it is such a great design, and all I need now is the parallel cable to fit to the back and the ports are done. I have a dot matrix printer I'm going to try with it once that's done, and I'm looking for a piece of terminal software and I'll try using it with an ST diag cart :)

If I can find one at a good price I may swap out the homebrew floppy controller for a Liron to work better with my FloppyEmu.
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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HigashiJun
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by HigashiJun »

Have you considered a Yellowstone card instead of the Liron ?

I don't know if they still have some, but it's worth trying;

https://www.bigmessowires.com/yellowstone/
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

HigashiJun wrote: Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:39 am Have you considered a Yellowstone card instead of the Liron ?

I don't know if they still have some, but it's worth trying;

https://www.bigmessowires.com/yellowstone/
Actually, it's certainly something I will consider, BMOW have some decent products, and while Liron cards appear to be a lot cheaper, the Yellowstone is a lot more flexible.
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: Oops, my obsession with computers from my childhood strikes again!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Well the the LS93 for the OSI didn't, but a parallel port did :)

So I'm in a position to build the parallel cable for the Apple II now :)

PXL_20240122_114545332.jpg
PXL_20240122_114545332.jpg (322.68 KiB) Viewed 1423 times

I bought this little doohickey as an experiment, it was something like £13 from Amazon:

PXL_20240122_115648337.jpg
PXL_20240122_115648337.jpg (220.43 KiB) Viewed 1423 times

And TBH it's pleasantly surprised me.

It works great and for small fiddly jobs and quick jobs, it's easier to manoeuvre around without a cable dragging around and heats up very quickly. I certainly wouldn't use it for any large jobs, but for a quick handsfree soldering job it's surprisingly good.

Will see how it goes using it to build the parallel cable and I'll report back 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...
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