Retro Computing
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Finally, data (Fun with Transputers)
I finally managed to get data into and out of the transputer module (TRAM). To do this I used an Arduino Micro I had (as it’s 5V) and some breadboard. Now the TRAM pulls 800mA at 5V and the breadboard struggles with this, so I ended up using 4 links for 0V and 4 links for 5V and pushing the power supply to 5.5V to get 5V on the TRAM (not a problem on a PCB). I added some LEDs to various signals just so I had some confirmation that it was actually doing something.I also ran the transputer links at 10Mbps rather than 20 as I was concerned about…
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Retro computing and projects
I have, as many of you probably know, a bit of a thing for retro computing. This doesn’t help with my ongoing stack of projects. But it is what it is. Lately I’ve dived deep into the world of Transputers. I also have a PC104 form factor PC (Celeron).Now I kinda like the PC104 form factor, it’s cute and PCBs are cheap (being under 100mm by 100mm), but it’s not without it’s challenges. The Transputer connects to a host via a Link controller (C012 or C011), this turns 8 bit data into 32bit streams which in turn gets passed to the first Transputer. The Transputer Module (called a TRAM) is…
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Time for a change, just for a while
These days my day-job keeps me very busy, I enjoy what I do but it does mean I have very little energy left by the end of the week. With that in mind, I’ve made a decision; I will be pausing synth development (other than Quadrowave for Isla Instruments) for a while, I don’t know how long that will be. I need a change. I’ve been playing with some old computer tech, including the PJ5 CPU project. I’ve got an old PC104plus style PC up and working (Celeron M) and I can play some games on it (Doom, Monkey Island, etc). It currently has no soundcard (well it has an…
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What’s been happening?
Well I failed at posting once a month, my bad. A lot has been going on since March. I’ve been talking to the new owners of Modal Electronics on and off, since September, and I just stepped away from it. My reasons? There are a few, but mostly because their vision and what I am passionate about in synths are very different things. There were a number of other factors involved, but I won’t go into them. I’ve also not been well, for the couple of weeks I’ve been having major chest pains that come and go, a few days ago I ended up in an ambulance on my way…
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Time flies
It’s been a hectic few weeks, well, month. My mood has been all over the place, and generally trending down. But I have been doing some bits and bobs. I’ve been working on a couple of displays, something retro styled. I wanted to do something like the TIL311 but with a full alphanumeric character set in, so I’ve started on that. It’s slightly shorter than a regular EPROM, but the same 0.6″ wide. When I’m done coding it I’d like to coat it in resin, just to give it that classic TIL311/Retro display kind of vibe. I’ve got a few of these, so it’d be fun to do something with…