In my project of a modern replica of a retro computer “Agat-7” I needed to generate several different clocks. Some of them can be produced by the PLL built in FPGA, others are a simple division of the main clock. But there is another group of clock signals that are not as simple to get.[…]
I organised a temporary place for my hobby when I moved the house. It quickly became a mess because it didn’t have any drawers or shelves there. So, finally, I’ve decided to build a decent place for my home lab. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it but I needed something[…]
My son got XBOX before Christmas and I couldn’t resist trying it. So, now I have some rest from my electronics hobby. Apart of this I’m building my hobby working place instead of the messy temporary one that I’ve used. I’ll do a post about it as well when it is done. So, after I[…]
Some time ago I’ve got an old computer for free. Nothing happened when I tried to turn it on, so I assumed that the power supply is broken. It is a small IBM computer in a horizontal desktop case. It has a power supply integrated on motherboard. There are some capacitors that look damaged, so[…]
Let’s go to the following part of the schematic. Today it is the CPU, the SRAM and the joysticks. Here it is: “Agat-7” has 96Kb of RAM, so we need 128Kb SRAM chip. We can use 128K x 8bit or 64K x 16bit chips. The second option requires 9 more FPGA pins to connect but[…]
I need a logic probe to troubleshoot some of my designs. I didn’t want to reinvent a wheel, so I checked the existing designs. I found that the design from talkingelectronics.com is most suitable for my needs. The main benefits of this design are sound indication and 3rd LED (for pulses). It is possible to[…]
At the moment I’ve completed the schematics and I’ve started to work on PCB layout. There are going to be some changes caused by discovered mistakes or better layout. So, please, treat it as a draft on this stage. Please, let me know if you notice any mistakes. Today we will have a look at[…]
I’ve spend some time to debug STM32L based 140K “floppy-drive” for my “Agat-7” replica project. It is already perfectly workable in read only mode. I transferred it to SPI interface to save some FPGA pins and now I need only 5 pins instead of 12. For 840K floppy drive it will save even more pins.[…]
HD44780-compartible LCD digital-alphabetical displays are very convenient to use in hobby projects. They exist in different sizes and are quite cheap. The most popular are 2 line modules with 16 characters per line (16×2). Also, 8х2, 16х1, 20х2, 20х4 and 40х2 modules exist. For my “AGAT-7” retro computer project I use 20×4 LCD module. Most[…]
As I’ve promised in one of my previous posts, I’m going to tell how to connect an original Apple Bluetooth module to a Hackintosh. The Apple Bluetooth module has some advantages compared to a Bluetooth USB dongle, because it is 100% compatible with Mac OS and allows perfect work of a wireless Apple keyboard, mouse[…]
For those who is wondering what #SIA is: https://t.co/1pnpzqaLJi
3 years ago
The very promising cloud storage solution #SIA is now integrated with backup framework #Duplicati: https://t.co/OTH0IQyPEL
3 years ago
RT @hackaday: How to Build Your Own Google AIY without the Kit https://t.co/mkFhM1yDSb
3 years ago
It is a great article that shows how to deal with KICAD libraries in each project the most efficient way. https://t.co/JJlJTlPpCM
3 years ago
As you may remember, I’ve designed a universal platform for building retro-computers “Retrobyte”. I have successfully tested it by building the “Mikro-80” computer a few months ago and now I’m working on adapting my other retro-computer project “AGAT-7” to this platform. “AGAT-7” requires more functionality than “Retrobyte” has, so I’ve build an extension board for[…]
A blog format is not very suitable for short status updates of my projects, sharing ideas or interesting facts and news. So, I have created a twitter account to supplement the blog. You can now see the latest tweets on the right side of the home page. The detailed articles are still going to be[…]
The computer “Mikro-80” was made in the Soviet Union in 1980 by a team of enthusiasts before in 1982, the magazine “Radio” began publishing its documentations and schematics. In a nutshell, this was the first accessible personal computer in the USSR; in that era, only single digits of people in the country had the ability[…]
In my previous post, I explained my idea of a modular platform for building modern replicas of retro-computers, of which the Rev.A has already been built and tested. In the process, I found a few things to improve: On the silkscreen, the diode D1 was shown incorrectly (the cathode points to the anode) The voltage[…]
During the time I worked on the “Agat-7” replica, I came across the need for constant changes and improvements; these resulted from either new ideas or troubleshooting. Some of these troubleshoots involve tinkering with the circuit board. Currently, I have four different revisions and modifications of PCB’s for “Agat”; this isn’t even the total amount,[…]
The multimedia center in my car is quite useful – it features a built in GPS navigator, a rear-view camera, an MP3 player and several other handy functions. However, its greatest weakness is the inability to play music via Bluetooth. The only supported option is the hands-free bluetooth phone connection mode. To listen to music[…]
Not so long ago I found out about a very interesting computer under the name of Maximite. It is built on the microprocessor PIC, on which are assigned all the main functions of this computer. This small device was made in 2011 and became popular enough so that now some games and programs were made for[…]
In the previous post, I promised to tell you about the holders that I made for the spool of plastic for my 3D printer. In the original kit, there is no holder or support for the plastic and it just sits there next to the printer. The spool, positioned thus, often tangles and requires constant attention. This[…]
It was always a problem to find a proper enclosure for my devices. So, I decided to build a 3D printer for these purposes. It is a great project to build. It can be used not only for customised enclosures but for all sorts of other projects. I didn’t want to buy a pre-build printer[…]
I’m about to finalise my Rev.0 of the modern replica of the retro-computer “AGAT-7”. The next step will be Rev.A design with fixed mistakes, improvements and some new ideas. In this post I’m going to summarise the Rev.0 experience and share with you with some ideas for Rev.A. At the moment the Rev.0 computer starts[…]
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