Les Pounder
@biglesp.bsky.social
Associate Editor at Tom's Hardware.
I've worked with
Raspberry Pi Foundation
BBC
No Starch Press
TechRadar
The MagPi
Hackspace
Electromaker
Linux User & Developer
Linux Voice
Linux Format
No Starch Press
All views are my own
I've worked with
Raspberry Pi Foundation
BBC
No Starch Press
TechRadar
The MagPi
Hackspace
Electromaker
Linux User & Developer
Linux Voice
Linux Format
No Starch Press
All views are my own
Reposted by Les Pounder
That's done! Psion Pi project. Kept the orange (nice and bright). The top plate doesn't friction-fit wonderfully so I'm not sure what the next step is to make it better, short of having a hole to screw it down with. I don't want to glue it just in case I need to get at the SD card. Ideas welcome!
January 3, 2026 at 2:48 PM
That's done! Psion Pi project. Kept the orange (nice and bright). The top plate doesn't friction-fit wonderfully so I'm not sure what the next step is to make it better, short of having a hole to screw it down with. I don't want to glue it just in case I need to get at the SD card. Ideas welcome!
Reposted by Les Pounder
My #RaspberryPi project - the PsionPi. A Pi 4 is underneath the screen. Then, I have a 3S Waveshare UPS giving power to the whole thing, over which is a #Psion 5 keyboard. A small adapter board converts the keyboard signal to USB. 2 3D printed halves of the case are held together with M2.5 screws.
December 31, 2025 at 4:46 PM
My #RaspberryPi project - the PsionPi. A Pi 4 is underneath the screen. Then, I have a 3S Waveshare UPS giving power to the whole thing, over which is a #Psion 5 keyboard. A small adapter board converts the keyboard signal to USB. 2 3D printed halves of the case are held together with M2.5 screws.
The final #MakerAdvent is live!
Join me as I connect up and write code for the new Commodore 64 Ultimate's user port accessory. I show you how to use BASIC to control an LED, because once we know how to do this, we can do anything!
Thanks for watching, happy holidays!
youtu.be/TfAd-KbOVqY
Join me as I connect up and write code for the new Commodore 64 Ultimate's user port accessory. I show you how to use BASIC to control an LED, because once we know how to do this, we can do anything!
Thanks for watching, happy holidays!
youtu.be/TfAd-KbOVqY
December 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The final #MakerAdvent is live!
Join me as I connect up and write code for the new Commodore 64 Ultimate's user port accessory. I show you how to use BASIC to control an LED, because once we know how to do this, we can do anything!
Thanks for watching, happy holidays!
youtu.be/TfAd-KbOVqY
Join me as I connect up and write code for the new Commodore 64 Ultimate's user port accessory. I show you how to use BASIC to control an LED, because once we know how to do this, we can do anything!
Thanks for watching, happy holidays!
youtu.be/TfAd-KbOVqY
Where's the final #MakerAdvent ? Well, Santa just dropped off a parcel and completely flipped my scheduled videos. It will be out later today!
December 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Where's the final #MakerAdvent ? Well, Santa just dropped off a parcel and completely flipped my scheduled videos. It will be out later today!
Reposted by Les Pounder
The penultimate day of #MakerAdvent 2025 and today I show you how I write code for a PSION 3A via my Windows XP virtual machine and a janky USB to serial setup! I do love the old PSION machines!
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
December 23, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The penultimate day of #MakerAdvent 2025 and today I show you how I write code for a PSION 3A via my Windows XP virtual machine and a janky USB to serial setup! I do love the old PSION machines!
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
The penultimate day of #MakerAdvent 2025 and today I show you how I write code for a PSION 3A via my Windows XP virtual machine and a janky USB to serial setup! I do love the old PSION machines!
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
December 23, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The penultimate day of #MakerAdvent 2025 and today I show you how I write code for a PSION 3A via my Windows XP virtual machine and a janky USB to serial setup! I do love the old PSION machines!
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
youtu.be/2C157rSvqIs
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent I go Back to BASICs (pun intended) and create an application to show and image and play audio using QB64 Phoenix Edition, a modern day version of QBASIC.
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
December 22, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I go Back to BASICs (pun intended) and create an application to show and image and play audio using QB64 Phoenix Edition, a modern day version of QBASIC.
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
Today on #MakerAdvent I go Back to BASICs (pun intended) and create an application to show and image and play audio using QB64 Phoenix Edition, a modern day version of QBASIC.
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
December 22, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I go Back to BASICs (pun intended) and create an application to show and image and play audio using QB64 Phoenix Edition, a modern day version of QBASIC.
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
It's a great BASIC editor and something that I could spend hours tinkinering with.
Have fun!
youtu.be/4kDrb5QcBU8
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent I am "Cleared Hot" to take a day off, so join me as I fly an Apache AH-64A attack helicopter gunship. I bought Cleared Hot the other day on Steam for £12 and it is proving to be a fun distraction.
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
December 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I am "Cleared Hot" to take a day off, so join me as I fly an Apache AH-64A attack helicopter gunship. I bought Cleared Hot the other day on Steam for £12 and it is proving to be a fun distraction.
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
Today on #MakerAdvent I am "Cleared Hot" to take a day off, so join me as I fly an Apache AH-64A attack helicopter gunship. I bought Cleared Hot the other day on Steam for £12 and it is proving to be a fun distraction.
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
December 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I am "Cleared Hot" to take a day off, so join me as I fly an Apache AH-64A attack helicopter gunship. I bought Cleared Hot the other day on Steam for £12 and it is proving to be a fun distraction.
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
youtu.be/FBP8iJC-Y98
Reposted by Les Pounder
Day 20 of #MakerAdvent, already? Wow. Today I am taking apart my USB powered vacuum cleaner to fix it, because now it really does suck!
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
December 20, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Day 20 of #MakerAdvent, already? Wow. Today I am taking apart my USB powered vacuum cleaner to fix it, because now it really does suck!
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
Day 20 of #MakerAdvent, already? Wow. Today I am taking apart my USB powered vacuum cleaner to fix it, because now it really does suck!
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
December 20, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Day 20 of #MakerAdvent, already? Wow. Today I am taking apart my USB powered vacuum cleaner to fix it, because now it really does suck!
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
youtu.be/Wh1kdpfzlug
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got a plethora of soldering irons to show you!
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
December 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got a plethora of soldering irons to show you!
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got a plethora of soldering irons to show you!
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
December 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got a plethora of soldering irons to show you!
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
As is tradition each #MakerAdvent, I talk at length about soldering irons.
From £7 USB soldering iron, to the mighty, and expensive £280 iFixit soldering iron hub. They're all on show for your amusement.
youtu.be/jRTLnmo1yUI
Bit of a delay with today's #MakerAdvent as I had time sensitive jobs to do this morning. So the episode will be out later this afternoon UK time.
December 19, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Bit of a delay with today's #MakerAdvent as I had time sensitive jobs to do this morning. So the episode will be out later this afternoon UK time.
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on day 18 of #MakerAdvent I use @Adafruit wonderful #circuitpython to create an MP3 player hidden inside a Christmas present. The best part, it activates using a magnetic switch, to surprise the receiver.
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
December 18, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Today on day 18 of #MakerAdvent I use @Adafruit wonderful #circuitpython to create an MP3 player hidden inside a Christmas present. The best part, it activates using a magnetic switch, to surprise the receiver.
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
Today on day 18 of #MakerAdvent I use @Adafruit wonderful #circuitpython to create an MP3 player hidden inside a Christmas present. The best part, it activates using a magnetic switch, to surprise the receiver.
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
December 18, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Today on day 18 of #MakerAdvent I use @Adafruit wonderful #circuitpython to create an MP3 player hidden inside a Christmas present. The best part, it activates using a magnetic switch, to surprise the receiver.
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
youtu.be/ZoM-Ix2Q0lU
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent I show the build for a Commodore 64 (and Commodore 64 Ultimate) joystick that I started in 2020! The videos went unreleased for five years, until now!
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
December 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I show the build for a Commodore 64 (and Commodore 64 Ultimate) joystick that I started in 2020! The videos went unreleased for five years, until now!
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
Today on #MakerAdvent I show the build for a Commodore 64 (and Commodore 64 Ultimate) joystick that I started in 2020! The videos went unreleased for five years, until now!
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
December 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I show the build for a Commodore 64 (and Commodore 64 Ultimate) joystick that I started in 2020! The videos went unreleased for five years, until now!
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
youtu.be/tJ4DkrCVu3s
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got the new Commodore 64 Ultimate on the bench!
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
December 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got the new Commodore 64 Ultimate on the bench!
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got the new Commodore 64 Ultimate on the bench!
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
December 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent I've got the new Commodore 64 Ultimate on the bench!
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
An FPGA powered Commodore 64 but it does so much more than play games that you copied on your stereo.
youtu.be/HsRK0W4a5Jo
Read the review on Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
Reposted by Les Pounder
On #MakerAdvent today we learn how to write BASIC code on a humble Arduino Uno. To be specific, a Cytron Maker Uno becuase it has built-in LEDS that we can use to create a quick light sequence.
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
December 15, 2025 at 8:00 AM
On #MakerAdvent today we learn how to write BASIC code on a humble Arduino Uno. To be specific, a Cytron Maker Uno becuase it has built-in LEDS that we can use to create a quick light sequence.
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
My review of the new Commodore 64 Ultimate (Beige and Starlight editions) is live on Tom's Hardware. Simply put, I love it. It brings back all the retro memories while offering new features. www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
December 15, 2025 at 2:30 PM
My review of the new Commodore 64 Ultimate (Beige and Starlight editions) is live on Tom's Hardware. Simply put, I love it. It brings back all the retro memories while offering new features. www.tomshardware.com/video-games/...
On #MakerAdvent today we learn how to write BASIC code on a humble Arduino Uno. To be specific, a Cytron Maker Uno becuase it has built-in LEDS that we can use to create a quick light sequence.
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
December 15, 2025 at 8:00 AM
On #MakerAdvent today we learn how to write BASIC code on a humble Arduino Uno. To be specific, a Cytron Maker Uno becuase it has built-in LEDS that we can use to create a quick light sequence.
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
#BASIC was my first programming language, way back on the Commodore 16.
youtu.be/0XuV6-_UGYk
Reposted by Les Pounder
Today on #MakerAdvent we build 'The Internet of Dings' using an ESP32 C3 Super Mini to power a MicroPython IoT doorbell that uses ntfy.sh to send notifications to phones. Now I won't miss a delivery!
youtu.be/e34e2iSflNg
youtu.be/e34e2iSflNg
December 14, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Today on #MakerAdvent we build 'The Internet of Dings' using an ESP32 C3 Super Mini to power a MicroPython IoT doorbell that uses ntfy.sh to send notifications to phones. Now I won't miss a delivery!
youtu.be/e34e2iSflNg
youtu.be/e34e2iSflNg