Binary DinoClause
@binarydinosaurs.co.uk
Collecting, repairing and preserving vintage machines since 1998.
W: https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk
F: https://Facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
M: @binarydinosaurs.oldbytes.space
"The king of old weird stuff" - Fuzzweed.co.uk, Nov '25
W: https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk
F: https://Facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
M: @binarydinosaurs.oldbytes.space
"The king of old weird stuff" - Fuzzweed.co.uk, Nov '25
Nowt like the brisk Norfolk coast to blow away the cobwebs of a Boxing Day. A few hundred other people also had the same idea 🌞
December 26, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Nowt like the brisk Norfolk coast to blow away the cobwebs of a Boxing Day. A few hundred other people also had the same idea 🌞
Happy Xmas you lot, I've dressed up an exploded RIFA accordingly.
December 24, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Happy Xmas you lot, I've dressed up an exploded RIFA accordingly.
Also, a series of one that I call 'accidental usage of depth-of-field' taken recently while testing a Mac LC475 thanks to a monitor @devilishdesign.bsky.social gave me. The RAM stick was dead which is why I was getting mournful tones from the machine. No recapping currently required.
December 21, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Also, a series of one that I call 'accidental usage of depth-of-field' taken recently while testing a Mac LC475 thanks to a monitor @devilishdesign.bsky.social gave me. The RAM stick was dead which is why I was getting mournful tones from the machine. No recapping currently required.
My microscope was almost aping a Speccy today 😄
December 21, 2025 at 8:06 PM
My microscope was almost aping a Speccy today 😄
Reposted by Binary DinoClause
a dumb idea i had yesterday
December 18, 2025 at 10:46 PM
a dumb idea i had yesterday
Reposted by Binary DinoClause
Both of my DEC DTC01 Voice synthesis units are working great now. As such, I put a little demo of one of them singing Jingle Bells for the holiday season and #DOScember. I am using an IBM PC AT and Telix as a terminal to run a script.
youtu.be/n5BuiTxDFHY
#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #DEC
youtu.be/n5BuiTxDFHY
#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #DEC
Demo of the DECtalk DTC01 Voice Synthesis Unit singing Jingle Bells
YouTube video by vintagecomputer.ca
youtu.be
December 19, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Both of my DEC DTC01 Voice synthesis units are working great now. As such, I put a little demo of one of them singing Jingle Bells for the holiday season and #DOScember. I am using an IBM PC AT and Telix as a terminal to run a script.
youtu.be/n5BuiTxDFHY
#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #DEC
youtu.be/n5BuiTxDFHY
#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #DEC
#holidayOsborneJapes
I’ll let the pics do the talking. Basically both floppy drives are toast but I worked out the magic runes to get the Gotek working as drive B.
Splendid. So, APART FROM the keyboard and both floppy drives the machine is working 😆
I’ll let the pics do the talking. Basically both floppy drives are toast but I worked out the magic runes to get the Gotek working as drive B.
Splendid. So, APART FROM the keyboard and both floppy drives the machine is working 😆
December 16, 2025 at 12:15 PM
#holidayOsborneJapes
I’ll let the pics do the talking. Basically both floppy drives are toast but I worked out the magic runes to get the Gotek working as drive B.
Splendid. So, APART FROM the keyboard and both floppy drives the machine is working 😆
I’ll let the pics do the talking. Basically both floppy drives are toast but I worked out the magic runes to get the Gotek working as drive B.
Splendid. So, APART FROM the keyboard and both floppy drives the machine is working 😆
#osborneJapes status.
Machine boots. Keyboard toast (as usual). SSDD disk written but boot fails, the original cable has a hole in pin 34 which on this spec is a signal called LATE. With that cable both floppies just seek constantly. New cable fitted and the drive just spins. Puzzlement.
Machine boots. Keyboard toast (as usual). SSDD disk written but boot fails, the original cable has a hole in pin 34 which on this spec is a signal called LATE. With that cable both floppies just seek constantly. New cable fitted and the drive just spins. Puzzlement.
December 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
#osborneJapes status.
Machine boots. Keyboard toast (as usual). SSDD disk written but boot fails, the original cable has a hole in pin 34 which on this spec is a signal called LATE. With that cable both floppies just seek constantly. New cable fitted and the drive just spins. Puzzlement.
Machine boots. Keyboard toast (as usual). SSDD disk written but boot fails, the original cable has a hole in pin 34 which on this spec is a signal called LATE. With that cable both floppies just seek constantly. New cable fitted and the drive just spins. Puzzlement.
#holidayOsborneJapes
Yes, I’m on holiday this week so why not start the way I mean to go on - pulling Osborne RAM chips. So far 8 tested and 3 dead. This doesn’t bode well for the other 24.
Yes, I’m on holiday this week so why not start the way I mean to go on - pulling Osborne RAM chips. So far 8 tested and 3 dead. This doesn’t bode well for the other 24.
December 15, 2025 at 12:25 PM
#holidayOsborneJapes
Yes, I’m on holiday this week so why not start the way I mean to go on - pulling Osborne RAM chips. So far 8 tested and 3 dead. This doesn’t bode well for the other 24.
Yes, I’m on holiday this week so why not start the way I mean to go on - pulling Osborne RAM chips. So far 8 tested and 3 dead. This doesn’t bode well for the other 24.
#osborneJapes continue. Last night I pondered that the 6821 PIA that controls RAM addressing may be causing both machine death and those wild D4-7 scope traces.
Chip pulled and the machine death is identical as expected, but those bus traces are still the same. Bah.
Chip pulled and the machine death is identical as expected, but those bus traces are still the same. Bah.
December 13, 2025 at 11:48 AM
#osborneJapes continue. Last night I pondered that the 6821 PIA that controls RAM addressing may be causing both machine death and those wild D4-7 scope traces.
Chip pulled and the machine death is identical as expected, but those bus traces are still the same. Bah.
Chip pulled and the machine death is identical as expected, but those bus traces are still the same. Bah.
FLEEE! It’s the Osborne Monster!
Pretty sure I saw this in a dream last night.
Pretty sure I saw this in a dream last night.
December 12, 2025 at 7:05 PM
FLEEE! It’s the Osborne Monster!
Pretty sure I saw this in a dream last night.
Pretty sure I saw this in a dream last night.
I’m not entirely sure WHAT’s going on here. Looks a bit wild.
Say hello to D4 on the Osborne. Normally at this point I’d pull every chip it touches but that includes a pair of 6821 PIA 40 pin DIPs that I don’t have spares of. Yet. They’re notorious for going bad over time.
Also checked RAM.
Say hello to D4 on the Osborne. Normally at this point I’d pull every chip it touches but that includes a pair of 6821 PIA 40 pin DIPs that I don’t have spares of. Yet. They’re notorious for going bad over time.
Also checked RAM.
December 12, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I’m not entirely sure WHAT’s going on here. Looks a bit wild.
Say hello to D4 on the Osborne. Normally at this point I’d pull every chip it touches but that includes a pair of 6821 PIA 40 pin DIPs that I don’t have spares of. Yet. They’re notorious for going bad over time.
Also checked RAM.
Say hello to D4 on the Osborne. Normally at this point I’d pull every chip it touches but that includes a pair of 6821 PIA 40 pin DIPs that I don’t have spares of. Yet. They’re notorious for going bad over time.
Also checked RAM.
#osborneJapes It’s always the last tantrum you find on the board innit 🙄
Now we have stable power and I get a floppy click on power up. Result.
Do I have Osborne disks? Hells no. Not yet anyway. I do have a Greaseweazle though.
Hm, wonder if there’s any other boot disks with my Osborne Exec…
Now we have stable power and I get a floppy click on power up. Result.
Do I have Osborne disks? Hells no. Not yet anyway. I do have a Greaseweazle though.
Hm, wonder if there’s any other boot disks with my Osborne Exec…
December 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
#osborneJapes It’s always the last tantrum you find on the board innit 🙄
Now we have stable power and I get a floppy click on power up. Result.
Do I have Osborne disks? Hells no. Not yet anyway. I do have a Greaseweazle though.
Hm, wonder if there’s any other boot disks with my Osborne Exec…
Now we have stable power and I get a floppy click on power up. Result.
Do I have Osborne disks? Hells no. Not yet anyway. I do have a Greaseweazle though.
Hm, wonder if there’s any other boot disks with my Osborne Exec…
Osborne restoration day 1.
Hello my old friend, we meet again.
This is my nemesis, the Astec AC8151, beloved of system builders in the early 80s and very disliked by me in the 2010s 😆
All original caps too, so C9 (startup) is probs dead. First task though is to clean up the ex-RIFA.
Hello my old friend, we meet again.
This is my nemesis, the Astec AC8151, beloved of system builders in the early 80s and very disliked by me in the 2010s 😆
All original caps too, so C9 (startup) is probs dead. First task though is to clean up the ex-RIFA.
December 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Osborne restoration day 1.
Hello my old friend, we meet again.
This is my nemesis, the Astec AC8151, beloved of system builders in the early 80s and very disliked by me in the 2010s 😆
All original caps too, so C9 (startup) is probs dead. First task though is to clean up the ex-RIFA.
Hello my old friend, we meet again.
This is my nemesis, the Astec AC8151, beloved of system builders in the early 80s and very disliked by me in the 2010s 😆
All original caps too, so C9 (startup) is probs dead. First task though is to clean up the ex-RIFA.
So! Bring&Byte at @computinghistory.org.uk. Me at 10am: "not buying anything, not buying anything, NOT BUYING ANYTHING"
Me 3:30pm: *leaves with Osborne 1, Sideways ROM/RAM BBC boards, plus Apple Performa monitor from @devilishdesign.bsky.social"
That was a success then 😆
Me 3:30pm: *leaves with Osborne 1, Sideways ROM/RAM BBC boards, plus Apple Performa monitor from @devilishdesign.bsky.social"
That was a success then 😆
December 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM
So! Bring&Byte at @computinghistory.org.uk. Me at 10am: "not buying anything, not buying anything, NOT BUYING ANYTHING"
Me 3:30pm: *leaves with Osborne 1, Sideways ROM/RAM BBC boards, plus Apple Performa monitor from @devilishdesign.bsky.social"
That was a success then 😆
Me 3:30pm: *leaves with Osborne 1, Sideways ROM/RAM BBC boards, plus Apple Performa monitor from @devilishdesign.bsky.social"
That was a success then 😆
Progress! I’ve found my stepdown transformer and the Northstar powers up 💪🏻
Bonus, none of the tantrums went up either.
Now, has anyone seen my venerable DEC BC22D-25 serial cable so I can run a terminal? 😆
Bonus, none of the tantrums went up either.
Now, has anyone seen my venerable DEC BC22D-25 serial cable so I can run a terminal? 😆
November 29, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Progress! I’ve found my stepdown transformer and the Northstar powers up 💪🏻
Bonus, none of the tantrums went up either.
Now, has anyone seen my venerable DEC BC22D-25 serial cable so I can run a terminal? 😆
Bonus, none of the tantrums went up either.
Now, has anyone seen my venerable DEC BC22D-25 serial cable so I can run a terminal? 😆
My car charger can boil water really fast
YouTube video by Technology Connections
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Afternoon off, so why not get the Northstar Horizon out for some board pics. Why not indeed.
This is a 48k machine thanks to the 3x 16k boards, and there’s a floppy controller for the Shugart 400 floppy drives.
I can’t power it up because it’s 110v and I can’t find my stepdown transformer 🙄 /n
This is a 48k machine thanks to the 3x 16k boards, and there’s a floppy controller for the Shugart 400 floppy drives.
I can’t power it up because it’s 110v and I can’t find my stepdown transformer 🙄 /n
November 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Afternoon off, so why not get the Northstar Horizon out for some board pics. Why not indeed.
This is a 48k machine thanks to the 3x 16k boards, and there’s a floppy controller for the Shugart 400 floppy drives.
I can’t power it up because it’s 110v and I can’t find my stepdown transformer 🙄 /n
This is a 48k machine thanks to the 3x 16k boards, and there’s a floppy controller for the Shugart 400 floppy drives.
I can’t power it up because it’s 110v and I can’t find my stepdown transformer 🙄 /n
Anyone interested in the Apple Lisa but either unable to get one or successfully run LisaEm can have a play with this - LisaOS in your browser! (Needs JavaScript)
Https://lisagui.com/info.html
Https://lisagui.com/info.html
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Anyone interested in the Apple Lisa but either unable to get one or successfully run LisaEm can have a play with this - LisaOS in your browser! (Needs JavaScript)
Https://lisagui.com/info.html
Https://lisagui.com/info.html
This is exactly what happened with the drive in my Acorn R140, and attacking it with a magic eraser obviously didn't occur to me. I just put the top back on with a sigh.
Guess I need to get it out again as Technight is right - I have nothing to lose.
Guess I need to get it out again as Technight is right - I have nothing to lose.
Lithium battery fumes got inside the HDD and oxidized the platter. I actually was able to clean this off with a magic eraser AND IT READS... Plenty of bad sectors, but i am getting an image!
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM
This is exactly what happened with the drive in my Acorn R140, and attacking it with a magic eraser obviously didn't occur to me. I just put the top back on with a sigh.
Guess I need to get it out again as Technight is right - I have nothing to lose.
Guess I need to get it out again as Technight is right - I have nothing to lose.
Speaking of RIFA madness, I’ve been collecting every non-exploded one I’ve pulled out of PSUs over the years. Every summer I say I’ll wire some up and slo-mo film the detonation and every summer I fail to do this.
Next year eh.
Next year eh.
November 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Speaking of RIFA madness, I’ve been collecting every non-exploded one I’ve pulled out of PSUs over the years. Every summer I say I’ll wire some up and slo-mo film the detonation and every summer I fail to do this.
Next year eh.
Next year eh.
Sorted out the Beeb PSU that smoked during RetroFest last weekend. It blasted the incoming mains cables with its guts, which took a LOT of cleaning up. Tsk.
November 23, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Sorted out the Beeb PSU that smoked during RetroFest last weekend. It blasted the incoming mains cables with its guts, which took a LOT of cleaning up. Tsk.
Something I wanted to test before RetroFest was this Toshiba HX10, aka the only MSX that really sold in the UK. A common complaint about them these days is that the keyboard no longer works and I had a clue as to why when I was refurbishing my Sony HitBit HB75.
First though, the machine.
First though, the machine.
November 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Something I wanted to test before RetroFest was this Toshiba HX10, aka the only MSX that really sold in the UK. A common complaint about them these days is that the keyboard no longer works and I had a clue as to why when I was refurbishing my Sony HitBit HB75.
First though, the machine.
First though, the machine.
Post-RetroFest tidying continues, and we dig out the Commodore CHESSmate complete with crimes against plug wiring. I need another bag of 3A fuses now.
History of the CHESSmate is here, from the designer himself. benlo.com/microchess/c...
History of the CHESSmate is here, from the designer himself. benlo.com/microchess/c...
November 23, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Post-RetroFest tidying continues, and we dig out the Commodore CHESSmate complete with crimes against plug wiring. I need another bag of 3A fuses now.
History of the CHESSmate is here, from the designer himself. benlo.com/microchess/c...
History of the CHESSmate is here, from the designer himself. benlo.com/microchess/c...