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I don’t think the pads are the problem (they seem to conduct) but it’s possible. The rubber has to put a lot of pressure on to activate. I’ll probably try cleaning again and then maybe try to shim the board closer to the membrane.
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Sep 14, 2020 17:36
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I have kind of a weird question. I'm building a floppy disk imaging box, and I'm getting both a KryoFlux and a Supercard Pro for it. The KryoFlux because it's got a bigger community, actually has a Linux client (though I wish they'd fix their Mac client), and has a lot more out-of-the-box tools for working with the flux reads, and the Supercard Pro for making duplicates of some aging disks without modifying them (the KryoFlux writes its own duplicator signature track when it writes out a floppy image), and for an alternative tool, to try if the KryoFlux has issues. However, I'll have to move the floppy cable between them to switch back and forth. That got me wondering . . . has anybody ever made a device to switch what controller a floppy cable is hooked up to? From a quick Google search, I'm not seeing much, but it'd be really nice to be able to push a button or flip a switch or something to swap all the pins between one of the controllers and the other.
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Sep 22, 2020 06:43
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I assume that all you'd really have to do is swap the drive select lines on the two floppy drives, and run a ribbon cable to both drives. This board is a seriously overbuilt thing, but all you really need is an SPST switch that "untwists" the cable in one orientation: https://knm.org.uk/blog/2019/02/floppy-disk-drive-id-switcher/ Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Sep 22, 2020 |
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Sep 22, 2020 16:20
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So, I've been thinking about this, and I'm not sure I'm entirely getting how the drive select lines work. I've got (effectively) two floppy controllers, and I'm hoping to hook both floppy drives up to both of them to be able to be accessed simultaneously by whichever controller is currently active. Untwisting the cable would just affect which drive is selected as the primary, wouldn't it?
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Sep 24, 2020 07:18
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LGR released a really good video showing casing a bunch of TSR-80 ("CoCo") stuff. History, different models, accessories, important games, all in 18 minutes. Recommended, especially if (like me) you don't know much about the system. https://invidious.snopyta.org/watch?v=I3lhtcGzhkc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3lhtcGzhkc
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Sep 24, 2020 19:04
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Kreeblah posted:So, I've been thinking about this, and I'm not sure I'm entirely getting how the drive select lines work. I've got (effectively) two floppy controllers, and I'm hoping to hook both floppy drives up to both of them to be able to be accessed simultaneously by whichever controller is currently active. Untwisting the cable would just affect which drive is selected as the primary, wouldn't it? Oh sorry. I totally misunderstood your initial question. Yeah, if you wanted to switch two drives on one controller that's what you'd do with an SPST. To switch one drive on two controllers... it might work if you wire up both controllers to the same cable and only have one active at a time, but I feel like that's risky since you would potentially be trying to power the turned-off controller through its I/O pins. I know I've seen bus switch chips (like this one which is only good for 8 inputs/outputs so you'd need 3 for each controller; assuming 17 data pins and the rest are ground, although it looks like Nexperia sells a "10-bit" bus switch that would reduce your number of chips to 2-each and TI has a "20-bit" one from the 90s that is slowly being phased out but still available) that could maybe be put onto a custom PCB to switch all the lines, but I bet there's a cheaper way to do this that someone who actually knows electronics well would know. It seems like overkill since you won't be switching live or need fast changeover. Maybe you could co-opt one of those 25-pin printer switchers... they're just big mechanical rotary switches that physically disconnect one side. That way you don't have to make a PCB or worry about powering the bus switch chips. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Sep 24, 2020 |
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Sep 24, 2020 21:12
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Just use four floppy drives.
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Sep 24, 2020 21:21
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Oh sorry. I totally misunderstood your initial question. Yeah, if you wanted to switch two drives on one controller that's what you'd do with an SPST. Yeah, I thought about wiring up both controllers, but I don't really want to take the risk. A bus switch chip might be something to look into. I'm already deep in the weeds on making a custom PCB anyway (an adaptor to use a Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro on a modern computer via USB), so I could probably manage the actual layout if I can figure out a schematic. Or, if that doesn't pan out, a printer switch might work. I didn't know those were a thing. I'd have to think about how best to expose the switching mechanism outside the case. Thanks! Sweevo posted:Just use four floppy drives. The case I have on hand only has room for two drives, unfortunately. I'm doing something pretty similar to this, so if I do four drives, I'll need to get a different case.
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Sep 25, 2020 05:12
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I’ve been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense.       I posted build details over on r/RetroBattleStations.
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Oct 2, 2020 02:17
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Woah, killer job
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Oct 2, 2020 02:23
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Fleedar posted:I’ve been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense. Whoa that looks awesome
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Oct 2, 2020 02:25
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Holy 
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Oct 2, 2020 05:06
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That's incredible.
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Oct 2, 2020 07:07
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I bid six hundred Quatloos for this device
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Oct 2, 2020 09:48
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Tidy copy of Monkey Island there. I have an Atari ST copy of it, but the side that usually shows on a book shelf has been sun damaged
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Oct 2, 2020 09:55
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Fleedar posted:I’ve been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense. 
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Oct 2, 2020 12:37
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Wow, that's 3d printed!? That's amazing! I didn't know this level of detail/quality was possible for regular consumer hardware.Fleedar posted:I've been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense. Are you open to commissions or whatever? I totally need to find someone out there willing to do a Gizmondo shell. I know there's like three people in the world who own this weird handheld system, but all of them have the same issue I got: the plastic of its case is melting (yes, melting) and needs to be replaced.
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Oct 2, 2020 12:56
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Fleedar posted:I’ve been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense. Ummm YES. Having built a few SBC in retro related cases, this is right up my alley.
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Oct 2, 2020 14:08
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Saoshyant posted:Wow, that's 3d printed!? That's amazing! I didn't know this level of detail/quality was possible for regular consumer hardware. And a <$300 printer at that! Although I also spent a lot of time sanding and painting each part to reduce the 3D printed look, the unfinished parts honestly didn’t look terrible considering what they came out of. I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing so I wouldn’t know where to begin with a Gizmondo shell, sorry. The IBM made for a good first project given its relatively simple shapes.
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Oct 2, 2020 20:34
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Thanks for posting that! What a crazy world, that we can just fabricate these things now.
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Oct 3, 2020 11:23
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Fleedar posted:I’ve been trying to learn some CAD and 3D printer stuff since the pandemic started, and I had no choice but to make my first project some kind of retro computer nonsense.  This is the true art.
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Oct 4, 2020 08:28
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Fleedar posted:posted build details over on r/RetroBattleStations.  If you were to make the stls available, even at a small cost, I imagine you'd have a lot of takers!
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Oct 4, 2020 23:06
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 nice right now u hear the golden *dink* in ur mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_qO4qRgV6U
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Oct 5, 2020 01:07
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Well, I just bought an old TI-99 with no power supply. I'll post some pictures when I get it in the mail. I guess that figuring out how to get it running will keep me occupied throughtout the winter. I have a great deal of nostalgia for the TI-99 as we had one at home for a while when I was a kid. I especially enjoyed the system's version of space invaders, TI-invaders. And now you can also get Dragon's Lair for it!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB3oHdSjfCE&t=319s
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Oct 13, 2020 08:54
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All right, I got my slightly beat up TI-99/4A in the mail yesterday. I bought it on the cheap, so no power supply unit and no frequency modulator for the video. This means that right now nothing goes in and nothing comes out. First step will be to build a PSU so that I can power up and see if it works at all.
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Oct 20, 2020 09:42
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Tac Dibar posted:All right, I got my slightly beat up TI-99/4A in the mail yesterday. I bought it on the cheap, so no power supply unit and no frequency modulator for the video. This means that right now nothing goes in and nothing comes out. First step will be to build a PSU so that I can power up and see if it works at all. Showing my ignorance, but I have to ask what the rectangular space to the right of the keys is for... cup holder? Ashtray? Place to set down your “Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy”?
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Oct 20, 2020 14:45
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Possibly all and any of the above in the early 80s, but mostly it’s for cartridges. Most of the programs and games for the TI-99 were on cartridge. I already ordered a copy of TI-invaders so I have something to play in case I actually get it to work.  The cartridge slides into a slot located at the front of the ashtray area. Tac Dibar fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Oct 20, 2020 |
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Oct 20, 2020 17:14
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Mode 7 posted:Three days to go on the Kickstarter second run of the ZX Spectrum Next (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spectrumnext/zx-spectrum-next-issue-2) It's a shame, because like I said the machine itself is a very cool piece of work - it's like something from an alternate timeline where Britain resisted first the ST/Amiga, then DOS. (Or Clive Sinclair accepted that his money was going to come from machines used to play games rather than obsessing over making a "proper grown-up computer" like the crippled and doomed QL.) But if I want to play old ZX games I've got multiple emulators on my laptop, and the Next-exclusive games so far feel like homebrew Amiga demos, nothing I'd play for more than half an hour.
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Oct 25, 2020 22:55
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Payndz posted:It's also such a tiny subset of the Spectrum's retro userbase that even if I ever finish it, who's going to play it? I've written a bunch of regular Spectrum games in AGD and The Quill, and even they got a decent response, whereas on the Next I might get, what? A dozen or so people trying it. on the other hand, if there's more neat software for the thing, more people might give it a look.  Field of Dreams that poo poo, you know?
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Oct 25, 2020 23:18
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The Kickstarter for the ZZAP!64 Annual 2021 has just launched. Sadly editor Roger Kean has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease and so this will be the last time he will be involved. Hopefully it will be very successful.
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Oct 30, 2020 11:18
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Thanks for the heads up! I will be receiving my first own c64 in some days, so I will definitely support this.
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Oct 30, 2020 11:38
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Well that was quick - they reached the kickstarter goal already after a few hours.
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Oct 30, 2020 15:30
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Well, I’m starting to work on my TI-99/4a which came without any external power supply. The TI has both an inner and external PSU. The external one transforms wall socket AC into 16 and 8 V AC, whereas the inner one transforms that into 5V, 12V and -5V DC. So what I’m doing is replacing all of this with one single PSU unit that outputs the three required DC voltages directly. On the left, my new unit that does what both the external and old internal unit (on the right) did together.  As you can see, the new unit seems to fit quite comfortably where the old PSU used to be on the left. Tac Dibar fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Nov 4, 2020 |
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Nov 4, 2020 13:52
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Nice setup. Are you still going to retain the original weird power jack or use a barrel?
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Nov 4, 2020 16:20
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No, I’ll be replacing it with an ordinary AC jack. Some purist might be against it, but the TI-99 isn’t exactly a rare computer and I just want to see if I can get it working again. But yeah, it’s a weird machine in many ways. Basically it’s a 16 bit computer from 1979, but due to a set of constraints it’s an 8 bit in practice. I think it has a cool design with the metal top.
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Nov 4, 2020 20:29
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As part of my TI-99 project I'm following Noel's Retro Lab, where he's rescuing another old TI-99. In his last video he went through a quite intimidating process just to transform the computer's component video output into RGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt9odN2m5Vw I really hope that I don't have to do that. Based on the number of pins in my output, it seems I have the US version (Din-5) instead of the Euro version (Din-6). According to the pinout below, it seems that I get direct composite video output, which would be awesome. But I'm not sure yet, we'll see. 
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Nov 6, 2020 09:33
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It will come down to what variant of the TMS99xx video chip you have. In an NTSC region, 9928 has YCbCr RGB, and 9918 has just composite out. Europeans have just the 9929 I think, which is PAL + YCbCr RGB. It appears the 99/4A in North America has a 9918 (same chip I used on my ColecoVision clone) so you should be fine. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Nov 6, 2020 |
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Nov 6, 2020 19:33
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Weird how the video cable has a 12V rail on it
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Nov 7, 2020 00:02
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You Am I posted:Weird how the video cable has a 12V rail on it My PC-8801mkII did the same thing. In the TI99's case, I suspect it's either for SCART signalling (you have to make some pins very hot for old SCART TVs to recognize them as a valid input) or for a lightpen or something. It is also vaguely convenient for my active PC-6001mkII video adapter as that needed a 5V source for its 74 chips, but I was a little nervous about pulling too much current through that port as there's no documentation of how much you can safely source. Probably it's better to have it and not need it, though if I had designed a computer that uses a DIN video output, I definitely would put +12V on a centre pin or something so as to avoid someone getting confused which end of the pinout the picture refers to and hooking +12V into the composite in. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Nov 7, 2020 |
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Nov 7, 2020 04:27
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I had some time to work on the AC jack for my TI-99 today. By cutting down the plastic on the jack a bit i got it to fit quite snugly in the slot where the old jack used to be. 
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Nov 8, 2020 19:58
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