exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

I've done pretty well with getting projects done this year, most stuff has arrived and come back to life pretty quickly like the Colecovison, or in the case of the Electrons they took a lot longer, but it was worth it in the end.

Then of course there were some projects I hadn't planned on initially but just had to do, like the Science of Cambridge MK14 replica and the very much unexpected Amstrad NC-200 floppy drive belt fix.

So what's left after everything is up to date? Well, in no particular order here goes:

1. I need to build my OSI 610 expansion board. It'll take me up to 32K of ram and give my OSI 600D the option to use floppies with the addition of a data separator board. That will put Goteks on the table. The tape interface is a bit crude. Trouble is it's a big build so I keep putting it off!! I've managed to find the FDD data separator board on PCBWay, but it's not cheap, so this might cause more delays.UPDATE - The data separator boards are on order, less than £30 for 5 so I will have some to sell as I only need 1. The price was originally showing as £61, but as soon as it was approved, the price dropped to less than £5, shipping making up the rest 😮
2. Finish my SoC MK14 cassette interface board. This I think will be next, since the board is built and all I need to do is wire it up to the edge connector. I want this done in the next few weeks as it's daft not to finish it when I'm so close. EDIT - Completed and I'm now messing around with handmade PCB's
3. Build my Cosmac Elf replica. It's a great board as it has a very good silk screen that includes component values, so it's essentially it's own BoM, and I think this may be next after the MK14. My build box is coming along nicely, I have all the sockets and a lot of the other parts, so this is looking positive
4. Properly look at my Epson HX20. It seems to have a power issue (It's an oddity, the PSU only charges the battery, it doesn't power the computer) and sometimes comes on, but it's such a unique machine I have to get it going again.
5. Take another look at the PS4 I have with no HDMI out. I have a donor board to hand that is very dead, so I think it is fixable since it does boot to a white light. Low priority this though as I do have a working PS4.
6. Build another Switch Lite from the hopefully good board I have that I knocked a bunch of components off, and a donor board. This should be relatively simple provided I don't sneeze again and knock tiny components everywhere... I have a new screen, case and battery for this so it's just getting the mainboard sorted and assembling.
7. Finish off the Arche laptop project. this is very close. The HDD is working and I can pull the CF card at any time to install more software if I want. The FDD side of things is frustrating, but not the end of the world, and that leaves the display and keyboard ribbon that are not major issues.
8. Build a Colecovison Megacart. This uses pretty standard components so should be a quick build, but I'll need to order the PCBs at the end of the month when I get back from my holiday.EDIT - Done and works great. I will probably build another 4 carts to sell. I have 2 carts for sale at present
9. Build a PiRTO II for the Intellivision. I already have the purple Pi on order from Ali Express, but like with the Megacart, I'll wait to order the PCB's until I get back from my holiday. EDIT - Done and works great. I will probably build another 4 carts to sell. I have 2 carts for sale at present
10. Install ATPL Sidewise ROM/RAM board into my 2nd BBC B. Board is on the way from eBay
11. Install 1770 based FDD into my 2nd BBC B. Board is on the way from eBay

The week after next is going to be super busy as we are going to be in France completing on a house purchase, so I'm putting quite a bit off until after we get back. Luckily I get back the day after payday, so I can get the PCB's and other bits I need on order once I've had a good sleep after driving for hundreds of miles :)EDIT - House purchase is done all I need to do is sort broadband for when we next go over to stay :) UPDATE - We're off to France at Christmas and the broadband router is waiting for us to arrive :)

And that's not counting the Atari side of things?

Sheesh man, you gonna be busy...! :lol:

Darklord wrote: 11 Oct 2024 14:19 And that's not counting the Atari side of things?

Sheesh man, you gonna be busy...! :lol:

Just the way I like it :)

Spoiler: Good new threads in sight...

:D

You had some great projects this year and I enjoyed reading about all of them.

You're moving to France? Wow big step. At least your wine bill will be cheaper :)

If you're looking for ideas for the future...

3DO? They are affordable, you possibly coveted them when you were a kid? The CD tray mechanism breaks as the rubber belts deteriorate. Bargains to be had.

A Nuon (Atari Jaguar II)? They are going cheap in USA at the moment, do the homework as one model can self destruct and become irreparable, Tempest 3000 and Iron Soldier 3 is great on them.

PSVita - TxK is good on these (aka Tempest 4k)

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 You had some great projects this year and I enjoyed reading about all of them.

I glad you enjoyed them, I've enjoyed doing them :)

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 You're moving to France? Wow big step. At least your wine bill will be cheaper :)

Actually no, it's a holiday home, however I wouldn't entirely rule it out once I've retired :)

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 If you're looking for ideas for the future...

Always :)

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 3DO? They are affordable, you possibly coveted them when you were a kid? The CD tray mechanism breaks as the rubber belts deteriorate. Bargains to be had.

I have had thoughts about these, though they did arrive at a time when I was early in my working life, and as such I didn't really want one (Too expensive) as I was into my 800XL, ST and Amiga. It never really entered my consciousness TBH. One to consider I think. I'll have a look.

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 A Nuon (Atari Jaguar II)? They are going cheap in USA at the moment, do the homework as one model can self destruct and become irreparable, Tempest 3000 and Iron Soldier 3 is great on them.

I'm vaguely aware of it, I'll have a look and see, I presume it'll take standard Jag cartridges?

alexh wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:47 PSVita - TxK is good on these (aka Tempest 4k)

I have a PS Vita :) I'll take a look at TxK though as I'd like to find a decent version of Tempest :)

HigashiJun wrote: 12 Oct 2024 08:13 Spoiler: Good new threads in sight...

:D

I'll do my best :)

rubber_jonnie wrote: 12 Oct 2024 09:25 I'll do my best :)

Great !

Oh, and just in case you're looking for some obscure and exotic consoles, you should get your hands on an Apple Pippin and/or a NEC PC-FX, unless you already have them in your huge collection.

HigashiJun wrote: 12 Oct 2024 10:47

rubber_jonnie wrote: 12 Oct 2024 09:25 I'll do my best :)

Great !

Oh, and just in case you're looking for some obscure and exotic consoles, you should get your hands on an Apple Pippin and/or a NEC PC-FX, unless you already have them in your huge collection.

I'm not sure what it is about he Pippin, but I really don't like the look of them, so I think I'll quietly ignore it :)

The PC-FX on the other hand really ticks my boxes, though it has to be said, they're not cheap! I would like a a Turbo Grafx GT handheld though, but also not cheap.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 12 Oct 2024 11:59 I'm not sure what it is about he Pippin, but I really don't like the look of them, so I think I'll quietly ignore it :)

The PC-FX on the other hand really ticks my boxes, though it has to be said, they're not cheap! I would like a a Turbo Grafx GT handheld though, but also not cheap.

Same for me.

Don't know why, but the Pippin is not my cup of tea.

I'm quite tempted by the PC-FX, but the majority of its games are quite oriented and it's really a niche console. I really like its looks though.

The Turbo Grafx GT (called the PC Engine GT in Japan) is really good, and you can sometimes get one for a good price here.