Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
[🇬🇧 Sinclair QL] Full post is on my Patreon. The spare motherboard finally arrived from Slovakia today ... travelled to Sydney, then down to Melbourne, then back up to Sydney, and finally got delivered today in Port.
It turns out to be a working Issue 6 board (with nice ceramic 6808 CPU and "JS" version ROM) whereas my faulty board is an Issue 5 (with "JM" version ROM). Swapping parts made no improvement on my board, so I decided to just swap them over (after giving the filthy Issue 6 board a good wash).
I removed the rusty RF modulator can from the Issue 6 board as well as the 7805 linear regulator and massive heatsink.
As I was removing the Issue 5 board from the case I discovered a bunch of bodge wires connected to the 8-pin DIN video output socket ... huh? I wonder if they could've been shorting and causing the problem all this time ... ? Will try the board again tomorrow.
Video hopefully coming tomorrow (Tue 7-Jan) ... trying to re-install the Microdrives was getting too fiddly for my patience tonight ...
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Quick Update (28-Dec-2024): I posted a quick update over on my Patreon page (free to join, or join a paid tier to help the channel out). It's much easier to write blog-style posts there with interspersed images.
www.patreon.com/c/TheCluelessEngineer
Summary is:
[1] Stuck trying load software on the East German KC87 hence why the next video hasn't come out yet and,
[2] sent some PCBs off to PCBWAY for fabbing:
[a] Tandy MC-10/Matra Alica internal 8KB RAM upgrade board,
[b] updated Amstrad Plus PicoROM design, and
[c] new external keyboard for the Husky Hunter.
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🇲🇩 Москва 128 (Moscow 128): the first Soviet clone of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum with 128KB of RAM. This example came from Moldova.
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[🇬🇧 BBC Master Compact] Working on a simple DB25-to-IDC34 converter board that'll plug into the Compact's DB25 floppy interface and present a 34-way pin header for connecting to a Gotek. Yeah, no doubt done before but this way I get Kicad practice.
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[Robotron KC 87] Should I try to convince wifey to start a companion channel to mine, but doing explanations in ASMR style? 🧐
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[🇸🇰 SMEP PP01] Big thanks to MARTIN who sent me some NOS key switches for the SMEP PP01 keyboard all the way from Slovak Republic. If you remember, the key switches used were from telephones, soooooo ... 🫣 ... anyway, we'll take a closer look at their action during our next PP01 video.
I've added Martin to the channel outro/thanks segment of each new video but I can't find our original discussion (email or Discord?) ... if you're reading this Martin could you get in touch again? Thanks
Update: ended up shooting a quick video for my paid Patreons
www.patreon.com/posts/smep-pp01-key-115453856?utm_…
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[VIC-20] I found an ad for the AUTOTRAK satellilte antenna aiming hardware and associated VIKTRAK software, from World Radio magazine Aug 1987.
A compatible rotor manual is here - refer to DIN pinout on p6:
dk3wn.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/kr5400.pd…
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[Patreon Post] Fiddling around with interfacing the two Soviet-era mice I have. First is doing some very quick & dirty testing with an Arduino, then trying to interface with an 8-bit machine and existing software (like the Amstrad CPC) where the digital joystick port was often used with 3rd party mice (like AMX and dk'tronics).
[TCE #0316]: Марсианка Мышь (Martian Mouse)
[TCE #0537]: ЕС1841.A002 Мышь (ES1841.A002 Mouse)
www.patreon.com/posts/es1841-a002-mysh-114930296?u…
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[ebay] Oh baby ... 😍
Buy-now price is €1200 (AU$1960) or starting bid of €800 (AU$1308) ... yikes
- KC85/4 Base Device
- KC85 BUSDRIVER
- V24 module 003 + original packaging and documentation
- 3x EXPANDER RAM module 022 + original packaging and documentation
- Original keyboard (some keys a bit difficult but functional)
- Data recorder LCR-C autostart
- Connector EXPANSION INTERFACE
- 1x cleaning cassette
- 9x cassettes with programs (not all are for KC85/4 but also Atari, KC85/1-3)
www.ebay.com/itm/335627751705
archive.is/4y9WY
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🇦🇺 OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG ... so, I loved Polly Waffle chocolate bars when I was growing up, but they got discontinued in 2009 ... but now, they're kinda back ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polly_Waffle
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Hi, I'm Brett.
I'm Australian.
I live in Australia.
This is my main channel ... see links for other channels.
I studied Japanese for seven years (in the 80-90s) and lived in Finland for three years (in the 00s).
So I can read Japanese poorly and sometimes speak bad Finnish when I'm thinking-out-loud. I also mangle Russian.
I have Bachelor & Master degrees in Electrical Engineering but not necessarily common sense.
I don't really take myself seriously, nor should you.
I don't proclaim to be an expert in anything particular, and I'm always happy to receive constructive feedback - just don't be a dick about it.
A wiser man once paraphrased, "If I wanted my electronics to have a cushy life, I wouldn't have bought them." ... I'm not a damn museum. Things will be opened & modified if I fancy.
I won't pester you to "smash that like button" or subscribe or try to trick you into leaving a comment ... I'll leave all that to your discretion.