Category Archives: Computer

Webcam plus OpenCV fun

While attending Bornhack 2024 in Danmark, I came up with the below fun ideas.

Using Python and OpenCV, I made some funny webcam hacks.

Note: My laptop webcam is very bad, a better webcam should give you a more stable result.

First, a virtual workspace flipper. Just using my head movement to flip through my virtual desktops. (Turning left and right)

Next, an image viewer.
Using your head movement up, down, left and right to control the image.
Note : this is not the same movement as above. This won’t use rotation of your head!

Just back from Denmark

The 15th, we got in our car and drove to Denmark.

We went to Bornhack2024, a hackers camp.

Although there are bad hackers (black hat), the term hacker is being used to describe people who are using technology alternative or even hack food and drinks.
Create something new or improve. Mostly using computers, but think of it in a broad way.
Programming, 3D designing or printing. Learning new things.

We (me and my girlfriend) went with Bigred (and his girlfriend) and Tyrone. Both good old friends.

With Bigred I made a mini C64 Badge in the last few months.
With Tyrone I started coding 6502 Machine Language again.
(Planning to release a demo at X2025)

Stuff I did there:

  • Programming demo parts (Sprite multiplexing, Music Sync)
  • Made some demo graphics
  • Programmed some shaders
  • Circuit Python hacking on the Badges, no new one this year 🙁
  • Soldering my Bus Manipulator
  • Python to generate SIN tables (acme output)
    !byte $CA,$FE,$BA,$BE
  • Coding 101 with Tyrone (Acme pipeline, Git and MircoPython on his MCH badge)
  • Drank too much
  • Slept too short
  • Removing gallons of rain water from Tyrone’s tent.
Mini shader in GLSL language

After a week of hacking, we went for a short holiday in Denmark.

Visiting Viking Museums, Old cosy towns, WWII bunkers, the Beach and more.
Driving back to the Netherlands, we visited the only surviving VII-C U-boat in the world.
(Same as I 3D printed for the Uboot game)

Working on a demo part

Started coding a demo with a friend of mine.

I made a part that uses raster interrupts and gives the illusion that the picture is up in the border.

  • Opening the borders
  • Changing the border colour midway
  • Using NOPs to get a stable rastersplit
  • Sprites in the border
  • Fixing the sprite mirroring in the bottom part
  • Learning a lot about bad raster lines, I had to make a lot of workarounds to get it working

Hopefully I’ve got some rastertime left to play music. But I learned a lot!
UPDATE: Yes also with SID music!

Not shown: Bad raster lines, split colors background and bordercolor.
Maybe I’ll add these later.

UPDATE: 20240720

Sprite multiplexing done and self modifying code.

Keyboard switcher part 2

I’ve connected the rotary encoder directly to the zero.
Although many websites state that you need pull-up resistors, there is no need. Just use the internal pull-up resistors in the Pi.

Example code

        GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)					# Use BCM mode
        GPIO.setup(self.24, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP)
        GPIO.setup(self.25, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP)
NOTE: Between 24 and 25 is a GND connection

Besides USB HID below XT, C64 and Amiga connectors will be emulated

PCBs !

Got my new PCBs in.

My Bus Manipulator, Backplane for 6502, and C64 PLA replacement.

I’m selling the leftover PCBs if you are interested.

These are not the final versions.
They should work, but they lack holes for stand-offs or feet.

Example setups for the backplane.
Using a flatcable or direct connection to my 6502 SBC.

The backplane was designed to be chained together.
(Horizontal female – male connection)

The vertical cards I’ve planned to make are:

  • ACIA – Serial Interface
  • Sound Card (SID/AY-2-8910)
  • External Display
  • ?

Keyboard switch part 1

Testing the first keyboard. It is the 8085-SDK hex matrix keyboard.

It is running on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2, without X server.
So the images are displayed using the framebuffer.
Also the touch data is read using evdev and the raw devices.

Todo:

  • HID part
  • Add a rotary button for the selection of the different Keyboard Layouts
  • Improvement keyboard matrix calculation to find out which key is being pressed.
  • Code to control AT/PS2 computers directly using GPIO pins
  • Add a controller to use Raw controlling of matrix pins ( 6502 C64 hardware for example )

Bash test and configuring the OS for testing.

cat <<EOF >> /boot/config.txt
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=87
hdmi_timings=400 0 100 10 140 1280 10 20 20 2 0 0 0 60 0 43000000 3
display_rotate=3
EOF

# Image testing
apt-get install fbi
sudo fbi -d /dev/fb0 -T 1 8085.png  -a --noverbose

apt-get install python3-evdev python3-uinput evtest
evtest

First simple python test

import select
from math import floor
import sys
slot = 0

keysname=[["F","E","D","C","vect-int","reset"],
          ["B","A","9","8","GO","Single-Step"],
          ["7","6","5","4","Exam-reg","Subst-mem"],
          ["3","2","1","0","Exec","Next"],
          ]
keysnames=[["F","E","D","C","vect-int","reset"],
          ["B","A","L","H","GO","Single-Step"],
          ["PCL","PCH","SPL","SPH","Exam-reg","Subst-mem"],
          ["3","2","1","0",".",","],
          ]

for path in evdev.list_devices():
    device = evdev.InputDevice(path)
    if evdev.ecodes.EV_ABS in device.capabilities():
        break
else:
    sys.stderr.write('Failed to find the touchscreen.\n')
    sys.exit(1)

while True:
    r, w, x = select.select([device.fd], [], [])

    id_ = -1
    x = y = 0

    for event in device.read():

        if event.code == event.value == 0:
           if id_ != -1:
                yy = floor(( x - 600 ) / 700)
                xx = floor(( y - 1377 ) / 226)
                if yy < 4 and yy >=0 and xx < 6 and xx >= 00:
                     if slot == 1:
                         print(keysnames[yy][xx])
                     else:
                         print(keysname[yy][xx])

        elif event.code == ABS_MT_TRACKING_ID:
            id_ = event.value
        elif event.code == ABS_MT_SLOT:
            slot = event.value
        elif event.code == ABS_MT_POSITION_X:
            x = event.value
        elif event.code == ABS_MT_POSITION_Y:
            y = event.value

I came up with a simple matrix calculation

Pressing the 4 corner keys gave me x and y.
I took averages for min and max reading.
I don’t need pixel-perfect reading, and I noticed values between 960 and 3080 vertically.
We want 960 – 3080 into 4 blocks, but the middle should start @ 960.

So 3080/3 = about 700
700 / 2 = 350
block 1 starts 350 sooner than 960 is ~ 600
Upper key y coords = 600-> + 700
Next is 1300 -> + 700
converting to whole numbers using floor gives me:
floor(( y – 600 ) / 700)
NOTE: My x and y are rotated

Example using coordinates
1600, 1600
floor(( 1600 – 600 ) / 700) = floor(1,4…) = 1st row
(from row 0,1,2,3)

C64 Assembly, KiCad PCB design, and Keyboard Layout switcher

I’ve been busy programming Python and NodeRed for a client.
But these are the things I’ve done in the last days.

C64 Assembly:
Breaking borders, using sprites and multicolor font intro.

It does not look impressive, but I’ve learned a lot.
Found a new way (for me) to open borders and change border colours on predefined raster lines.
Sources will be posted.

KiCad tutorial, posted on YT also because I could not find many resources about the subject online. Maybe it’s helpful

Video editing using Kdenlive.

Edit: Even faster, use Netlabels, no need to join pins.
Press L (uppercase) select pin 1, name 1.
Press and hold insert until all pins named.
Copy paste socket 5 times and goto your PCB tab.

This movie is about creating a backplane for a 6502 SBC I’m building.
It is real-time and below 4 minutes.

Multi Keyboard

My small multitouch screen came in.
This is for my previously mentioned multi-computer case.

It is going to show multiple keyboard layouts for different systems.
(See previous posts about this)

Waveshare display, Raspberry Zero as HID device, using USB and pin emulated keyboards. (c64 matrix, AT (DIN) keyboard, ps2 keyboard)

Some example screens

Vic-20
Photo-realistic
Petscii C64
Another C64

I’m also going to make a layout like the keyboards on my 8085

64×64 Etch a Sketch

In the past I made a Etch a Sketch with my lasercutter.

Using two rotary encoders and the 64×64 matrix display I recently bought, I made a drawing thingy.
Like a Etch a Sketch.

Some Circuit Python code.
Now I have to fix an out of memory issue using below.
And make a colour selection button??? 🙂

import time
import board
import displayio
import math
import vectorio
import rgbmatrix
import framebufferio
import array
import bitmaptools

import rotaryio
import board

encoder1 = rotaryio.IncrementalEncoder(board.GP27, board.GP26)
encoder2 = rotaryio.IncrementalEncoder(board.GP18, board.GP19)

last_position1 = 0
last_position2 = 0

# Release any existing displays
displayio.release_displays()

# --- Matrix Properties ---
DISPLAY_WIDTH = 64
DISPLAY_HEIGHT = 64

# --- Matrix setup ---
BIT_DEPTH = 2
matrix = rgbmatrix.RGBMatrix(
    width=64, bit_depth=2, height=64,
    rgb_pins=[board.GP0, board.GP1, board.GP2, board.GP3, board.GP4, board.GP5],
    addr_pins=[board.GP6, board.GP7, board.GP8, board.GP9, board.GP22],
    clock_pin=board.GP10, latch_pin=board.GP12, output_enable_pin=board.GP13)
colrs = 13
display = framebufferio.FramebufferDisplay(matrix, auto_refresh=True)
b1 = displayio.Bitmap(display.width, display.height, colrs )
palette = displayio.Palette(colrs )
palette[0] = 0x000000  # black
palette[1] = 0x964B00  # brown (light yellow) 
palette[2] = 0x00FFFF  # cyan
palette[3] = 0x850101  # deep red 
palette[4] = 0x7F00FF  # violet
palette[5] = 0xC46210  # orange
palette[6] = 0x3D9140  # Cobalt green  
palette[7] = 0x004225  # british racing green 
palette[8] = 0x8B008B  # dark magenta 
palette[9] = 0x1F75FE  # crayola  blue
palette[10] =0x00308F  # air force blue US air force    
palette[11] =0xBF00FF  # electric purple 
palette[12] =0x08E8DE  # turquoise
g1 = displayio.Group(scale=1)
display.root_group = g1 

bmp = displayio.Bitmap(64,64, 2)

tilegrid = displayio.TileGrid(bitmap=bmp, pixel_shader=palette)
g1.append(tilegrid)
display.auto_refresh = True

tilegrid = displayio.TileGrid(bitmap=bmp, pixel_shader=palette)
while True:
        position1 = encoder1.position
        if last_position1 is None or position1 != last_position1:

            if position1 > last_position1:
                position1 = position1 + 1
            if position1 < last_position1:
                position1 = position1 - 1
            if position1 < 0:
                position1 = 0
            last_position1 = position1
        position2 = encoder2.position
        if last_position2 is None or position2 != last_position2:
            if position2 > last_position2:
                position2 = position2 + 1
            if position2 > last_position2:
                position2 = position2 - 1
            if position2 < 0:
                position2 = 0
            last_position2 = position2

        bmp[position1,position2]=1
        tilegrid = displayio.TileGrid(bitmap=bmp, pixel_shader=palette)
        g1.append(tilegrid)
        display.auto_refresh = True