Vacuum tube computing

The story of how engineering and electronics pioneers of the last century accelerated computing performance into the electronics we use on an every day basis these days.

PiDP 11/70 build - Day 1

Amiga 500 Ultra build

Amiga 500 Ultra case

Ordered a Crystal (transparent) injection moulded replacement case for my Amiga 500. To complement the crystal case I put the side-car accelerator in.

Teletype / TTY

A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations.

Initially they were used in telegraphy, which developed in the late 1830s and 1840s as the first use of electrical engineering, though teleprinters were not used for telegraphy until 1887 at the earliest.

The machines were adapted to provide a user interface to early mainframe computers and minicomputers, sending typed data to the computer and printing the response. Some models could also be used to create punched tape for data storage (either from typed input or from data received from a remote source) and to read back such tape for local printing or transmission.

One such (deprecated in these days (2022)) computer-based teletype device, was the portable Minitel.

The Minitel was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, and was the world's most successful online service prior to the World Wide Web. It was invented in Cesson-Sévigné, near Rennes in Brittany, France.

The service was rolled out experimentally on 15 July 1980 in Saint-Malo, France, and from autumn 1980 in other areas, and introduced commercially throughout France in 1982 by the PTT (Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones; divided since 1991 between France Télécom and La Poste).

From its early days, users could make online purchases, make train reservations, check stock prices, search the telephone directory, have a mail box, and chat in a similar way to what is now made possible by the World Wide Web (Internet).

In February 2009, France Télécom indicated the Minitel network still had 10 million monthly connections. France Télécom retired the service on 30 June 2012.

The service was purely PSTN-based (aka public switched telephone network / "plain old telephone system") and required a subscription land-line.

Recently I came over a Norwegian model on a Norwegian auction-site (finn.no), which would be the ideal complement to my next hobby-project: a PDP11/70 Unix mini-replica minicomputer. So I bought it.

This is the Alcatel Terminus 258. A Minitel2-clone made for the Norwegian telecom authority at the time (Televerket, branded on the keyboard-latch in the image above).

http://oldcomputer.info/terminal/alcatel258/index.htm

The specimen I have is the Unitel-version, meaning; it is not catered for the Minitel-service, but as a control terminal using either a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or a serial (DIN connector) uplink.

Pinecil - open-sauce solder pen

Finally got a decent (and easily portable) soldering pen, the Pinecil!

"The Pinecil is a smart mini portable soldering iron with a 32-bit RISC-V SoC featuring a sleek design, auto standby and it heats up to an operating temperature in just 12 seconds!"

Paired with a proper A/C adapter that can supply (at least) 3A @ 9V, you'll be able to do some serious mid-tier soldering with the right soldering tips.

Specs:

Dual power input design: 1) USB-C supports both PD and QC 3.0 and; 2) DC5525 barrel DC jack.

Speedy Rapid Warmup: Reaches operating temperature in 12 seconds. Support for on-demand rapid boost feature.

Adjustable soldering tip temperature which can be set between 100° C and 400° C using the adjustment buttons and an easy-to-read OLED display.

Portable: it features a sleek and slim design, comprised of an SAE 304 stainless steel core housed inside a polycarbonate shell.

Auto standby mode engages when it is not in use ensuring the user safety.

Finally got a worktable again 🛠️

MAME / arcade-stick 🕹️ part 2

Time for some Q/A...

...and some game testing :P

MAME / arcade-stick 🕹️ part 1

Assembled the acrylic top + buttons + plastic bottom.

Attached joy-stick assembly to top.

Getting ready to wire up everything control-wise.

Wired up and attached to zero-delay USB controller-board.

Amiga OS 3.2 installation 💾

 

Kickstart ROM v1.3 removed...

Modified Kickstart ROM v3.2 to be installed...

Kickstart ROM v3.2 installed in motherboard...

Kickstart 3.2 + Workbench 3.2 version info

Apparently v3.1 coded applications work on v3.2 👌😎

Amiga OS 3.2 💾

 

Time to upgrade both my Amiga's I guess :P
https://www.ctrlaa.com/#!/pictures

• Amiga 500 (Rev6a)
  w/ACA500Plus 42MHz accelerator
  Dual CF card storage
  
  
• Amiga 600
  w/Furia 44MHz accelerator
  CF card storage

OpenTendo

Oh yes, the OSHW projects are dropping right and left!

The video is showcasing the build of an open-source hardware re-creation of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

AmigaOS C development

Cross-compilation on x64 Linux >> m68k AmigaOS.



AmigaOS C program source-code.

Executing cross-compiled window program on AmigaOS.

 

OSHW

 

Just recently browsed through Open Source HardWare projects online, and to my surprise there have been popping up a lot in later years.

Personally, I haven't been deep in hardware modding or creation. But I've done some soldering on old IC-boards for practise, like: re-flowing ICs, re-capping boards, stripping traces and an occasional botch-wire to repair traces.

Though I have been playing with the idea of making up a modular kit-PC for DOS use.

Happy Dennis M. Ritchie day!

 

Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie (September 9, 1941 – c. October 12, 2011) was an American computer scientist.

He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the Unix operating system and B programming language.

USB 3.0 vs USB-C 3.2

32GB USB 3.0 flash-memory

128GB USB-C 3.2 flash-memory

New hobby

 

Happy 29th Linux!

 

Yet another Amiga...

 Yeah, I definitely have a problem 😂😂

Got a hold of another Amiga computer, this time an A600, basically an upgraded A500+ in a much smaller form-factor.

Visit my A600 Photos album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GpWQ2PTzQ7vjjTgc7

A very fine specimen, re-capped and equipped for many more years of fun and operation 😎

Amiga 500 cap-kits

Got a hold on some spare capacitor-kits for my Amiga 500 Rev 6a, so I should be safe for a couple of more years at least 👌💀

I just love it that in 2020, I can still get replacement supplies for an over 30+ year-old multimedia computer.

Dedicated fans who love the system so much, that they spend their own time gathering together supply-kits to offer back to the community.

The community around Commodore-stuff, is just wonderful 😊 reminds me quite a lot of the Linux community. If you have a need, and there are no available solutions, you MAKE them.

Replacement component kits, replacement chassies, new-old microchip stocks, modification-kits, accelerator boards, "trapdoor" memory-boards and whatever else you could desire.

#BetterSafeThanSorry #CommodoreAmiga

Amiga A500 + 1084S

Finally got my A500 setup complete, like I used to have 😄