bsittler
@bsittler.bsky.social
interested in many things, including computers both new and old; find some of my other stuff at https://www.google.com/search?q=bsittler
Also, I always fully fast forward then fully rewind tapes before playing them, it seems to greatly reduce the number of jams
October 28, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Also, I always fully fast forward then fully rewind tapes before playing them, it seems to greatly reduce the number of jams
I recently fished out a tape that separated from a cracked spindle and got tangled within the mechanism. Smooth coated wooden chopsticks worked well for gently untangling it. I reinserted it and taped the spindle and was able to read the tape and recover all the data. Sometimes it's salvageable!
October 28, 2025 at 2:47 AM
I recently fished out a tape that separated from a cracked spindle and got tangled within the mechanism. Smooth coated wooden chopsticks worked well for gently untangling it. I reinserted it and taped the spindle and was able to read the tape and recover all the data. Sometimes it's salvageable!
Aware I typed Acornsoft not Acomsoft but somehow it ended up a typo 🤦♂️
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Aware I typed Acornsoft not Acomsoft but somehow it ended up a typo 🤦♂️
So far on the Acorn side the only tapes I've finished converting are:
- Chuckie Egg (A&F Software) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Hopper (Acomsoft) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Castle Quest (Micro Power) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Chuckie Egg (A&F Software) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Hopper (Acomsoft) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Castle Quest (Micro Power) (UK) (BBC Model B)
October 28, 2025 at 2:40 AM
So far on the Acorn side the only tapes I've finished converting are:
- Chuckie Egg (A&F Software) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Hopper (Acomsoft) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Castle Quest (Micro Power) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Chuckie Egg (A&F Software) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Hopper (Acomsoft) (UK) (BBC Model B)
- Castle Quest (Micro Power) (UK) (BBC Model B)
not quite? i captured audio of some BBC Model B tapes as FLAC, and also made UEF. BBC-oriented tools I found seemed bad at audio-to-UEF so I used MSX tools to convert to MSX CAS format (more or less a "just the bits" solid image format) and then went from there to UEF using github.com/f-fix/cas2uef
GitHub - f-fix/cas2uef: convert MSX-style CAS from DumpListEditor to UEF for BBC Model B
convert MSX-style CAS from DumpListEditor to UEF for BBC Model B - f-fix/cas2uef
github.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:42 AM
not quite? i captured audio of some BBC Model B tapes as FLAC, and also made UEF. BBC-oriented tools I found seemed bad at audio-to-UEF so I used MSX tools to convert to MSX CAS format (more or less a "just the bits" solid image format) and then went from there to UEF using github.com/f-fix/cas2uef
it's good to see the pc-6001 looking so graphical for once! are you going to try animating on it?
June 24, 2025 at 10:16 PM
it's good to see the pc-6001 looking so graphical for once! are you going to try animating on it?
Wow! Is there any way these improved graphics could be patched into the game?
June 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Wow! Is there any way these improved graphics could be patched into the game?
New owner got a nice discount relative to crowdfunding price, this one is sold now!
March 21, 2025 at 6:33 PM
New owner got a nice discount relative to crowdfunding price, this one is sold now!
One hour to go, looks like it might sell cheaper than what I paid for it. A bargain for someone, I guess? www.ebay.com/itm/20535341...
ZX Spectrum Next Accelerated Issue 2 KS Edition, new & unopened | eBay
This is a ZX Spectrum Next Accelerated computer, Issue 2 KS crowdfunded edition.
www.ebay.com
March 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
One hour to go, looks like it might sell cheaper than what I paid for it. A bargain for someone, I guess? www.ebay.com/itm/20535341...
One day remaining and the price is still 8bit in USD! Well, only if you ignore the shipping though...
March 20, 2025 at 4:58 PM
One day remaining and the price is still 8bit in USD! Well, only if you ignore the shipping though...
thank you! just now i removed "make an offer" but also dropped the starting price to 1 USD - though buyer pays shipping (i ship worldwide* from California using eBay's global shipping)
* except to countries eBay's global shipping excludes
* except to countries eBay's global shipping excludes
March 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
thank you! just now i removed "make an offer" but also dropped the starting price to 1 USD - though buyer pays shipping (i ship worldwide* from California using eBay's global shipping)
* except to countries eBay's global shipping excludes
* except to countries eBay's global shipping excludes
that makes sense. the major differences start here, and for all i know may be where the data recovery went awry
March 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
that makes sense. the major differences start here, and for all i know may be where the data recovery went awry
The first two files (the loader and the loading screen) are bit-for-bit identical to the name-your-price version on tonsomo.itch.io/jurl-sinclai..., it's the third file (the game itself) where the differences pop up
March 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The first two files (the loader and the loading screen) are bit-for-bit identical to the name-your-price version on tonsomo.itch.io/jurl-sinclai..., it's the third file (the game itself) where the differences pop up
possibly there is some audio dropout here?
March 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
possibly there is some audio dropout here?
Those have succeeded with both higher recording volume levels for the tape audio, and variants of the Kansas City Standard, which is a lot more tolerant of perceptual audio codecs and works fine even passed through fairly strict band-pass filters. The ZX ROM codec is a fair bit pickier
March 2, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Those have succeeded with both higher recording volume levels for the tape audio, and variants of the Kansas City Standard, which is a lot more tolerant of perceptual audio codecs and works fine even passed through fairly strict band-pass filters. The ZX ROM codec is a fair bit pickier
I have yet to get past the R Tape Loading error, 10:8
March 2, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I have yet to get past the R Tape Loading error, 10:8
This one is sold now
February 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
This one is sold now
12 hours to go on this auction, and it looks like it will sell! hopefully its new owner will get a lot of enjoyment from it
Blue MSXVR Virtualizer Computer w/box, manual, Leicke power supply & cables; MSX | eBay
This computer works well but I find I don't use it often enough to justify keeping it. I believe this blue case is a "special" color which is not currently available from the manufacturer. There are a...
www.ebay.com
February 4, 2025 at 6:14 PM
12 hours to go on this auction, and it looks like it will sell! hopefully its new owner will get a lot of enjoyment from it
This one has a whole GB2312 bitmap font in it stored in columns ("sideways") as one would expect for e.g. LED signs
January 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This one has a whole GB2312 bitmap font in it stored in columns ("sideways") as one would expect for e.g. LED signs
Always good to see a better keybord breathe life into an old machine. Are there affordable Japanese keycap sets that could improve the symbol pairing situation?
January 7, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Always good to see a better keybord breathe life into an old machine. Are there affordable Japanese keycap sets that could improve the symbol pairing situation?