I’ve printed two books using the Lulu service. (One for Tyrone) When they arrived, I noticed some faults. Lucky Lulu will be printing them again for me.
The book has over 500 pages and has a nice hardcover.
And I’ve been busy building a Mega Tower with 4 Motherboards. This will have a superb processing power! .. not. It houses some old motherboards for hardcore machine coding on real old hardware.
From top to bottom: 8088, 8086, 80386, 80484
Todo:
Rework on the cables
3D print an information plaque on the front of each board
Add a control panel on each board
Maybe some dust cover would be nice
I can remove the boards, and place them on a table. I’ve made some custom feet for them. Twist and lock by my own design.
Padded feet
The openscad files:
The locking is done by making the cylinder slightly oval by 0.5mm
Having my own business means having a more professional electronics lab is a must. So I’m moving from the attic to our outside workshop. That also means I have to make our Music Studio smaller.
So moving, printing a lot on my new 3D printer and designing EuroCards.
Part of the Address decoding eurocard with din41612.
Above card will hold two address decodes parts, selectable using jumpers. ( Old skool TTL using 74xx and a new solution using ATF22V10.
We like Low Poly models, so I printed one using marble PLA.
In the back my 100yr old highhat from my Grandfather (moleskin)
I’ve cleaned my old 3D printer, and I am planning to convert this printer to a 2D plotter and a CNC machine.
I’ve already printed a pen holder and a dremel holder. (The filament head will be removed)
I’m working on a Gcode writer to plot drawings using a pen, or using a Gyro-cut knife to cut paper. And the biggest project using this old 3D printer, a CNC machine!
Test Code:
import time
import serial
arduino = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 115200, timeout=.1)
# Motor stuff
arduino.write(str.encode("M84 X Y Z S12000\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("M92 X160 Y160 Z800\r\n"))
# Extrude fix
arduino.write(str.encode("G92 E0\r\n"))
# Go home
arduino.write(str.encode("G28\r\n"))
# Move to x,y,z
arduino.write(str.encode("G1 Z90 X50 Y50\r\n"))
# Wait
arduino.write(str.encode("M400\r\n"))
Sin wave fun:
import time
import serial
import math
from time import sleep
arduino = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 115200, timeout=.1)
arduino.write(str.encode("M84 X Y Z S12000\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("M92 X160 Y160 Z800\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("G92 E0\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("G28\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("M220 S100\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("G1 Z10 X60 Y60\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode("M400\r\n"))
sleep(10)
count = 0
while True:
newx=(math.sin(math.radians(count))*50)+60
newy=(math.cos(math.radians(count))*50)+60
newz=(math.cos(math.radians(count))*10)+20
count = count + 1
mystring="G1 Z" + str(newz) + " X" + str(newx) + " Y" + str(newy) + "\r\n"
print(mystring)
arduino.write(str.encode(mystring))
arduino.write(str.encode("M400\r\n"))
# Not waiting for answer yet
print(newx)
sleep(0.1)
I’ve got two friends who make old retro computers.
They like to use old chips and use only THT.
What is my take on this?
I like to use THT when possible. Exceptions are:
Size constrains
No THT parts available
New gadgets
Old versus new chip solutions
CPU : never a new alternative (I’m not going to replace a 6502 using Arduino emulation, for example)
Yes, I’m using static ram instead of dynamic
Address decoder using 74xx ? Yes, I want to test at least once. But using a ATF22v10 has my preference. (Not using GALs anymore)
I only replace with newer alternatives when it does NOT interfere with how a system is performing. CPU has its own quirks, also chips like the SID. I never emulate when it can be avoided. Address decoding, RAM or ROM yes please 🙂 Old untrusted UV Eproms are sh*t. Give me the new flash-able alternatives any time
I can emulate everything, but I need real hardware.
Real 6502
Real 68000
Real 8088
Real 8086
Real 80386
I still want a real VGA monitor because I used to write VGA manipulation programs which only work on CRTs.
While testing on a breadboard is fast, I still want my 68000 on PCBs.
Breadboards are nice for testing, and I use them in the design stage. But they will fail in the end. Loose wires, oxidated contacts and alike.
So when I was testing using breadboard, I drew the schematics in KiCad.
I wanted to use Eurocards for this one. If I divide the whole system in system blocks, I can exchange and experiment parts. (My 6502 uses another method to connect different cards)
I was making a re-arrangement of a bagpipe tune. Designing a blender 3D printed light box. Cooking a Mexican BBQ dinner. Visiting a textile place with old and new weaving looms. (Which gave me some great ideas). And working on my 68000 computer.
A great weekend.
No embellishments yet, and no lights in de blender logo.
My little record player project is also in the picture, I need to re-print the parts using my new printer!
Emulates a floppy drive:Â Meatloaf plugs into the Commodore 64’s IEC serial port and acts like a virtual floppy drive. This allows you to load software and data stored on its internal flash memory, sd card, or stream it via WiFi using various protocols from servers all over the world.
Supports multiple virtual drives:Â Unlike a single floppy drive, Meatloaf can be configured to emulate up to 26 virtual drives (IDs 4-30). Each virtual drive can have a different disk image loaded, essentially offering the equivalent of having thousands of floppies connected to your C64.
Supports additional virtual device types:Â Printers, a network interface, and more.
Connects to the internet:Â Meatloaf also functions as a WiFi modem, enabling your Commodore 64 to connect to Telnet BBS (bulletin board systems) for communication and sharing information.
load from urldebug outputmy own repo testOnly a Lolin D32 and a cable with din connector.