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General Stuff(tm)

Blogs & guides and tales of woo by forum members.
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HigashiJun
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by HigashiJun »

stephen_usher wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 6:45 am As someone once said, “Managers rise to the level of their incompetence”
Yes, and that's what is tragic...
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Remember, dear friends, if you wish to shoot yourself in the foot do it properly...

Use a telescopic sight and 40 calibre, armour piercing, explosive ammunition.

Do not do things by half.
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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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Some good news... The sale of my Dad's house is starting to get moving and may be in its last three weeks.

Of course, it's likely to potentially clash with the one weekend where I have a fixed event this whole Summer.
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: General Stuff(tm)

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2024 6:21 pm Some good news... The sale of my Dad's house is starting to get moving and may be in its last three weeks.

Of course, it's likely to potentially clash with the one weekend where I have a fixed event this whole Summer.
I'll keep my fingers crossed it all goes through as planned, I know the nightmare of this situation well.
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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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Thanks.

Once I know a date I can take a week off work and get the house clearance company in etc.
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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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Preparing to retrobright the Mega 2 ST tomorrow. Really the first opportunity I've had this year.

As I had to dismantle the machine I decided to recap the low voltage side of the power supply as I have all the caps necessary.

Testing all the old caps they were all good. Perfectly within spec, low ESR and low V loss. I'm still not going to use them again though.

Anyway, all ready for nice weather tomorrow hopefully.
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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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Retrobrighting day.

IMG_3827.jpeg
IMG_3827.jpeg (443.62 KiB) Viewed 794 times
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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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

Unfortunately it's come out blotchy along the flow lines in the plastic. None of the lines corresponded with the wrinkles in the cling film.


IMG_3828.jpeg
IMG_3828.jpeg (279.87 KiB) Viewed 777 times
IMG_3829.jpeg
IMG_3829.jpeg (212.4 KiB) Viewed 777 times

Amazingly the clock kept the time since I took the batteries out yesterday afternoon, just stopping the clock.
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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russellnash
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by russellnash »

I have found varying results with retrobrighting. The worst case was at about 30 degrees direct in the sun. I could see the colour changing by the second. It was very blotchy. I think the main problem is that the cream dried out very quickly.
The results have been the best for me when it is much cooler, about 20 degrees and leaving it longer, checking that the cream doesn't dry.
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stephen_usher
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Re: General Stuff(tm)

Post by stephen_usher »

The cream was most definitely not dry, and I was redistributing and rubbing the cling film every 10 minutes or so over the 5 hour period.

As for the temperature, the reaction doesn’t really start until the surface gets to around 50C as that’s the activation energy of the reaction. From experiments (by others) the optimum temperature is ~60C.

The issue on this case is that a lot of the plastic hasn’t reacted at all but other parts have.

This seems to be something I’ve found common on Atari cases but I’ve had no issue with other manufacturer’s plastics.
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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