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USB to ADB Progress – Good News and Bad News
I’m still chugging away slowly on this USB to ADB input translator concept, using a PIC32 starter kit. First the good news: the ADB end of things is pretty much finished. I’ve designed a demo that...
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USB to ADB – Multitasking Two Interfaces
It’s time for a new progress report on my USB to ADB converter project! My goal is to design a simple PIC32 device that enables USB keyboards and mice to be used with vintage ADB-based Macintosh and...
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Macintosh System Boot Disks
Did you find an old Mac system in the attic, but it won’t boot up? Was your Craigslist impulse buy delivered without any software? Do you need SCSI utilities to format your hard disk, or a terminal...
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Too Many ARMs!
While I’ve been working on my USB-to-ADB converter with a PIC32, I’ve received a steady barrage of feedback saying I ought to consider an ARM Cortex-M microcontroller instead. There are several...
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More USB-to-ADB Planning
This must be a record for the number of times I’ve posted about a project, without actually building the project, or even a half-way working prototype. I’m still fleshing out my ideas for a USB-to-ADB...
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Identify the Mystery Components
I’m planning to do a partial capacitor replacement on the power supply of my old Macintosh IIsi computer. After 25+ years, these capacitors aren’t in the best condition, and the PSU doesn’t work...
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Capacitor Replacement in a Vintage Power Supply
Capacitors don’t last forever – an unfortunate fact of life for those who collect vintage electronics. The common electrolytic capacitor is one of the most problematic. It’s the type that looks like a...
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Optimizing Assembly (Fast 68K Decompression)
Are you a 68K assembly language guru, or just good at optimizing code? I’m working on a project that’s a replacement ROM for old 68K-based Macintosh computers, part of which involves decompressing a...
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FC8 – Faster 68K Decompression
Data compression is fun! I’ve written a new compression scheme that’s designed to be as fast as possible to decompress on a 68K CPU, while still maintaining a decent compression density. I’m calling...
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The Amiga Years
I recently watched a new documentary about the Amiga years: From Bedrooms to Billions. It’s a $5 Vimeo rental that will be fascinating for anyone who lived through the 1980’s home computer revolution,...
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AV2HDMI Video Adapter for Apple II
Many retro computers and game systems have a composite video output – the familiar round yellow plug. Unfortunately, composite video inputs are increasingly rare on modern TVs and computer monitors,...
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Discovery Day!
Every year I lead a group of kids in the construction of an “Electric Scribbling Machine”, as part of the local elementary school’s Discovery Day program. The program sessions are run by parents and...
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Dirty PCBs Review
Today’s electronics hobbyists are blessed with many options for custom PCB manufacturing, like Seeed, Elecrow, and OSH Park. For around $1 to $2 per board, depending on size and quantity, these...
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Battery-Powered Apple IIc?
I’ve got the crazy idea in my head to run an Apple IIc system completely from battery power, so I could take it on the road. I know it’s possible – there’s already one person selling a pre-made kit....
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Battery-Powered Apple IIc, Part 2
This funny-looking device is a DC barrel plug to Apple IIc DIN-7 adapter, inspired by last week’s musings on constructing a battery-powered IIc. The adapter makes it possible to power an Apple IIc...
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Fruit + Electronics = Piano
The human body is electrically conductive. A piece of fruit will also conduct electricity, as will basically anything else that’s organic. We can leverage this fact to create a fun little afternoon...
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Managing Multiple Power Supplies
I’ve been investigating ways to handle multiple supplies and consumers of +5V 500mA power in a single project, and it’s surprisingly complicated. My circuit may have up to three simultaneous external...
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Electronic Junk Mail Teardown
I recently got some very surprising junk mail that contained a full-fledged embedded computer. This was a first for me, but I wonder if there will be more to come? Of course I couldn’t resist the...
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Bay Area Maker Faire Meetup
The Bay Area Maker Faire is this weekend. Who’s going? I’ll be there today – and if you want to meet up and say hi, I’ll be at the Make: Electronics stage in building 2 at 3:00 PM. Look for the guy in...
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The Emerging Retrocomputer Industry
While visiting the Bay Area Maker Faire this past weekend, I was struck by something: we’re seeing the emergence of a full-fledged retrocomputer industry. There were at least two...
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