Ben Ryves
@benryves.com
Croydon-based web developer, retro gaming and computing enthusiast and electronics hobbyist
I replaced my second monitor with this bucket back in July and the immediate feedback on just how heavily it's raining outside beats any weather gadget I would have shown there.
January 12, 2026 at 10:09 AM
I replaced my second monitor with this bucket back in July and the immediate feedback on just how heavily it's raining outside beats any weather gadget I would have shown there.
Killing time in town yesterday I wandered into the game shop and picked up a game I'd not played before for a fiver. For some reason the previous owner really didn't want you to know the title of the game or system it was for, though...
January 11, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Killing time in town yesterday I wandered into the game shop and picked up a game I'd not played before for a fiver. For some reason the previous owner really didn't want you to know the title of the game or system it was for, though...
Boards from JLCPCB, components from Bitsbox, soldering iron from... Aldi. It'll do, there are Dreamcast racing wheel dead-zones to defeat! Normally make these in batches of five, but I've already got eight requests in.
January 8, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Boards from JLCPCB, components from Bitsbox, soldering iron from... Aldi. It'll do, there are Dreamcast racing wheel dead-zones to defeat! Normally make these in batches of five, but I've already got eight requests in.
Last tape loading issue resolved on one of these so that's now four (mostly-)working Sharp CE-125s, shown here with a range of compatible pocket computers. The only outstanding issue is two dead elements in one of the print heads, but that's not exactly something I can repair. Love this form factor!
January 6, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Last tape loading issue resolved on one of these so that's now four (mostly-)working Sharp CE-125s, shown here with a range of compatible pocket computers. The only outstanding issue is two dead elements in one of the print heads, but that's not exactly something I can repair. Love this form factor!
2026 is going to be a year of new and exciting projects, which is why I'm kicking things off by repairing yet another CE-125. In my defence I did buy the replacement Ni-CD cells in October last year and they only turned up yesterday.
January 4, 2026 at 5:46 PM
2026 is going to be a year of new and exciting projects, which is why I'm kicking things off by repairing yet another CE-125. In my defence I did buy the replacement Ni-CD cells in October last year and they only turned up yesterday.
It's that time again. Merry Christmas! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugv1...
Jeremy Lion 12 days of Christmas
YouTube video by YOUAGETUBE
www.youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 11:30 AM
It's that time again. Merry Christmas! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugv1...
Putting together a PSION Organiser II pak reader/writer seemed like a good project for a wet and windy Sunday afternoon, following Martin's plans on hackaday.io/project/1766...
A cheap boost converters seems to provide a suitable 21Vpp instead of 2x 9V PP3s (the datapak contains an EPROM).
A cheap boost converters seems to provide a suitable 21Vpp instead of 2x 9V PP3s (the datapak contains an EPROM).
December 7, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Putting together a PSION Organiser II pak reader/writer seemed like a good project for a wet and windy Sunday afternoon, following Martin's plans on hackaday.io/project/1766...
A cheap boost converters seems to provide a suitable 21Vpp instead of 2x 9V PP3s (the datapak contains an EPROM).
A cheap boost converters seems to provide a suitable 21Vpp instead of 2x 9V PP3s (the datapak contains an EPROM).
When I am king, it shall be unlawful to sell RS-232 adaptors without including a full wiring diagram so you can be certain as to whether it does what you want rather than guessing based on the gender of the connectors.
December 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
When I am king, it shall be unlawful to sell RS-232 adaptors without including a full wiring diagram so you can be certain as to whether it does what you want rather than guessing based on the gender of the connectors.
Two sets of lights front and back (flashing and static), high-vis jacket with reflective stripes, reflective sidewalls on the tyres, reflective stripes on trunk bag. Motorist still fails to see me and drives into me. "I looked, but didn't see you, there must be something deficient in your lighting".
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Two sets of lights front and back (flashing and static), high-vis jacket with reflective stripes, reflective sidewalls on the tyres, reflective stripes on trunk bag. Motorist still fails to see me and drives into me. "I looked, but didn't see you, there must be something deficient in your lighting".
Superb gig from @espritdair.com last night, really good to hear the new album and some older favourites nice and loud.
November 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Superb gig from @espritdair.com last night, really good to hear the new album and some older favourites nice and loud.
I bid on a Psion Organiser II on eBay earlier this week. I paid about the going rate, as something about the ending time called out to me, and rather more than I was expecting just turned up...
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I bid on a Psion Organiser II on eBay earlier this week. I paid about the going rate, as something about the ending time called out to me, and rather more than I was expecting just turned up...
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
November 17, 2025 at 2:25 PM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I picked up a couple of Sharp ZQ-770 organisers this week. Both had succumbed to very severe battery leaks (hence the discoloured paintwork) but I was able to get both powering up after a thorough clean. Both have the usual LCD failure issue, this one being the worst.
November 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
I picked up a couple of Sharp ZQ-770 organisers this week. Both had succumbed to very severe battery leaks (hence the discoloured paintwork) but I was able to get both powering up after a thorough clean. Both have the usual LCD failure issue, this one being the worst.
Really enjoying the new album Aeons from @espritdair.com and very much looking forwards to seeing them live soon! Thank you, Kai. :)
November 14, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Really enjoying the new album Aeons from @espritdair.com and very much looking forwards to seeing them live soon! Thank you, Kai. :)
I couldn't find any replacement ink rollers for this printing calculator but a few drops of endorsing ink seems to have got the old roller working again and the violet seems to be a good match. Now I just need to find a source of 37mm-wide plain paper rolls, else I'll have to get the scissors out!
November 13, 2025 at 7:10 AM
I couldn't find any replacement ink rollers for this printing calculator but a few drops of endorsing ink seems to have got the old roller working again and the violet seems to be a good match. Now I just need to find a source of 37mm-wide plain paper rolls, else I'll have to get the scissors out!
Richard Russell's "Z88 BASIC Patch" adds graphics support to BBC BASIC. It can also print out the graphics area, but this requires an Epson-compatible printer which the Serial 8056 isn't. I've developed a patch for a patch, in other words. benryves.com/bin/z88/8056...
November 11, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Richard Russell's "Z88 BASIC Patch" adds graphics support to BBC BASIC. It can also print out the graphics area, but this requires an Epson-compatible printer which the Serial 8056 isn't. I've developed a patch for a patch, in other words. benryves.com/bin/z88/8056...
Of all the components I'd expect to go bad, a quartz resonator is pretty far down the list. I bought this very cute printing calculator as faulty, expecting leaking Ni-Cd cells inside. A previous owner had removed them (hooray!) but the seller couldn't get the calculator to run on external power.
November 9, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Of all the components I'd expect to go bad, a quartz resonator is pretty far down the list. I bought this very cute printing calculator as faulty, expecting leaking Ni-Cd cells inside. A previous owner had removed them (hooray!) but the seller couldn't get the calculator to run on external power.
I was told to avoid smoking the RIFA, so not sure if I should pre-emptively remove these - at least they're on a separate board and have a plastic shield over them to contain any explosions!
November 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I was told to avoid smoking the RIFA, so not sure if I should pre-emptively remove these - at least they're on a separate board and have a plastic shield over them to contain any explosions!
I've been hearing an unnerving creaking when putting force into the pedals for the past 2-3 weeks. I guess that would explain it! Only had solid axles before where a snapped axle failure is rather more obvious and catastrophic, the quick release skewer has put up a good fight...
October 9, 2025 at 11:03 PM
I've been hearing an unnerving creaking when putting force into the pedals for the past 2-3 weeks. I guess that would explain it! Only had solid axles before where a snapped axle failure is rather more obvious and catastrophic, the quick release skewer has put up a good fight...
Another weekend, another CE-125 on the workbench... I don't intentionally buy them, but it seems most of the time you buy another Sharp pocket computer or accessory it comes attached to a CE-125 full of leaking Ni-CD batteries and gooey disintegrating belts.
October 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Another weekend, another CE-125 on the workbench... I don't intentionally buy them, but it seems most of the time you buy another Sharp pocket computer or accessory it comes attached to a CE-125 full of leaking Ni-CD batteries and gooey disintegrating belts.
I should have bought a decent solder sucker years ago. I suspected a bad RAM(1) in this PC-1211 and had replacements (and built a RAM tester) but couldn't get the old chip out with my regular solder sucker. The Engineer SS-03 made it an absolute doddle to remove, and another PC-1211 lives again.
October 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I should have bought a decent solder sucker years ago. I suspected a bad RAM(1) in this PC-1211 and had replacements (and built a RAM tester) but couldn't get the old chip out with my regular solder sucker. The Engineer SS-03 made it an absolute doddle to remove, and another PC-1211 lives again.
I did pick a couple of new Sharp devices in the month of #sharptember - a programmable scientific calculator, the surprisingly small EL-512, and a "faulty" PC-1251 for parts to replace the front cover on the one I damaged when replacing the LCD. Amazingly, the original LCD on the 1251 fully works!
September 25, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I did pick a couple of new Sharp devices in the month of #sharptember - a programmable scientific calculator, the surprisingly small EL-512, and a "faulty" PC-1251 for parts to replace the front cover on the one I damaged when replacing the LCD. Amazingly, the original LCD on the 1251 fully works!
Spent a lovely few days on the Isle of Wight last week.
September 6, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Spent a lovely few days on the Isle of Wight last week.
A 1983-vintage Ni-CD battery pack strikes again!
August 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
A 1983-vintage Ni-CD battery pack strikes again!
I had been putting a little preferred resistor value program on the PC-1211. DEF S sets the series (e.g. E12), DEF L prints a list of values in the series, DEF F finds the closest match (here I asked for 500Ω resistor in the E12 series). benryves.com/bin/sharp-pc...
August 15, 2025 at 7:52 PM
I had been putting a little preferred resistor value program on the PC-1211. DEF S sets the series (e.g. E12), DEF L prints a list of values in the series, DEF F finds the closest match (here I asked for 500Ω resistor in the E12 series). benryves.com/bin/sharp-pc...