I write about the past, present, and future of technology across three sites. imapenguin.com explores retro computing and programming fundamentals, milkcrunch.com covers modern software development and engineering culture, and evadot.com examines commercial spaceflight and the new space movement.
Posts
- This week on “dumb calculator races vs the VIC-20” we add the TI-81. Its z80 processor is a much more formidable opponent than the Sharp 9300 from the same period.
- Evening CERBERUS progress. Got all 56 10k Resistors done. I'll wrap up the soldering tomorrow with the taller components with the exception of a transistor I had to order. Still might be working by the weekend if I don't screw anything up.
- And in other news, I bought a working working Plus/4. For now. I've doomed it by posting it here.
- Lunchtime project... Composite video mod on my Coco2. I didn't even blow it up or anything. Haven't used this in many many years, the green is just as horrible as I remember ;-)
- I started flying too late to have been required to use one of these. Modern equivalents are much faster, but I did learn how to use it. I love the big picture understanding of how things work in relationship with each other that only analog tools can reveal.
- New to me UNTESTED Plus/4. Now those are some yellowed keys!
- Morning progress. Couple hundred pins soldered. Not hard, but the pads are tiny so it requires some patience. All of the sockets are done.
- As some have pointed out, the print routines are probably VERY slow on the calculator. I took them out and made the VIC code the same as what's on the calculator as close as I could. VIC-20 is still faster. Pretty fun. Next up, head to head with TI-81
- What do you do when you have a bunch of 25-35 year old calculators than can run BASIC? I know what I'd do, I'd race them with a 40 year old computer. They have pretty similar RAM, but the VIC-20 beats a Sharp 9300c from 1991 easily #commodore
- It’s 72F and low humidity today. Moving my office to the front porch.
- My morning routine is to work out and then spend 15 minutes learning something new. This morning it's @TechTinkering 's tutorial on using screen memory as extra storage to do the 100 door problem on unexpanded VIC-20s. Good stuff.
- The 250407 Replica by @bwack77 arrived today. It's amazing. I now have a trifecta AND the MiniPET 40/80 hasn't even shipped yet. This is gonna be A LOT of soldering...
- Pro tip: AirPods are not machine washable. Sigh.
- When you put VIC-20 CR machines back together, you have to keep the bottom RF shield because it helps with mounting. They are always terribly rusty so I paint them. Apparently my paint supplies are low and I have... white. No one is gonna see it anyway so white it is.
- I’m not huge on multi tasking, but recapping a board during a conference call worked for my brain.
- Oh yeah! VIC cipher decryption on an unexpanded VIC-20 is finally working! This was a lot harder than the encryption part. Now we work on cracking it
- Well I have one of these mystery VIC-42 chips and it doesn't test "good" as a VIC or VICII on the backbit. I think this might be something we just have to make up a story about. "There I was, wire tying a Commodore 264, when I was attacked by a Spectrum…"
- Mechboard64 is almost done. Need to print the key cap adapters and bend some piano wire. #commodore
- I was an AT in the Navy which required extensive color blindness testing. But these things are practically impossible…
- Rainy weekend project number 3. Let’s call this one “preparing for winter”.