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What is it?

This one is a bit different. My Dad dropped this by and asked if I could work out what it was. Being new year time, I was still in bed and missed talking to him so I had no background information to work with.

January 2, 2023 · 1 min · 44 words · TassieBob

PiDP11 - preparing the Raspberry Pi

In this video I’m preparing the Raspberry Pi for the PiDP11 project. I’m doing this up-front so I can use it to test the hardware build during construction.

December 25, 2022 · 1 min · 28 words · TassieBob

Acorn Electron part 1 (ULA)

In this video I take a look at the Acorn Electron, and more specifically the ULA. It’s the heart of the system and creates one major difference from the BBC machines the Electron is derived from. A few references: Stardot - https://stardot.org.uk ULA schematic thread - Electron ULA Schematics - stardot.org.uk FPGA ULA project - Electron FPGA - stardot.org.uk

October 26, 2022 · 1 min · 59 words · TassieBob

New equipment

Some new equipment has arrived for the workshop, primarily to let me make better video content. First up is some truss clamps (pictured with some custom machined light spigots) that will allow me to attach lights to the new truss tube I’m about to suspend from the ceiling. I’m also hoping to hang a camera from this too - just need to come up with some sort of flexible arm I can mount it so I can rapidly position it as required....

October 20, 2022 · 2 min · 286 words · TassieBob

Logitech G413 keyboard weight loss tip!

In a previous video I repaired a Logitech G413 keyboard. After that video went live a viewer asked about the weight of the keyboard and suggested a video on the weight removal process. So, here it is :-)

October 19, 2022 · 1 min · 38 words · TassieBob

Colour Maximite

This time around I’m building a Colour Maximite computer kit, originally bought from Altronics and dating back to 2012. I bought it on eBay for no other reason than I thought it’d be fun to build :-) The design originated with Geoff Graham and published in the Silicon Chip magazine in September/October 2012. Geoff’s own documentation on the project is at https://geoffg.net/OriginalColourMaximite.html

October 12, 2022 · 1 min · 62 words · TassieBob

New Commodore 64 PSU

This time around I’m replacing the innards of this old Commodore 64 power supply. I’m not entire sure if this is one of the “PSU’s of death” that are so common, but let’s rejig it just in case. It’s derived from a reference design I found online, but in the end I was missing one crucial piece - see how many of you pick the obvious mistake before I do :-)

August 15, 2022 · 1 min · 71 words · TassieBob

SVI-328 80 column card - take 2!

In this video I revisit the Spectravideo SVI-328’s 80 column card, after the false start we had last time (where we ended up fixing the Super Expander instead). I also look at whether we can teach the old dog a new trick (new for the SVI, not new for the 6845 CRTC) :-)

June 9, 2022 · 1 min · 53 words · TassieBob

Apple IIc monitor repair - part 2

Finally! The little Apple IIc monitor is back together! All 9 inches of it!

May 26, 2022 · 1 min · 14 words · TassieBob

Tauntek Logic IC tester upgrade

In video #22 a month or two back I built a Tauntek logic IC tester. These are firmware upgradable, and while there were no new features in the latest release that I felt a burning desire to have, I thought I’d run through the process of doing the firmware upgrade so we could see how it’s done.

May 19, 2022 · 1 min · 57 words · TassieBob