One of my first assignments with the Amiga 1000 is figure out what’s up with this coiled up bodge wire to nowhere.
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 AM
One of my first assignments with the Amiga 1000 is figure out what’s up with this coiled up bodge wire to nowhere.
My first time seeing the Amiga 1000’s case signatures.
November 10, 2025 at 2:41 AM
My first time seeing the Amiga 1000’s case signatures.
Performed minor surgery this morning on this MacBook Air 2020 (Intel), trying to improve its thermal performance.
Followed the recommendations at fcracer.com/macbook-air-...
Thanks @vga256@tomodori.net for the suggestion!
Followed the recommendations at fcracer.com/macbook-air-...
Thanks @vga256@tomodori.net for the suggestion!
November 8, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Performed minor surgery this morning on this MacBook Air 2020 (Intel), trying to improve its thermal performance.
Followed the recommendations at fcracer.com/macbook-air-...
Thanks @vga256@tomodori.net for the suggestion!
Followed the recommendations at fcracer.com/macbook-air-...
Thanks @vga256@tomodori.net for the suggestion!
Poking around inside my wife’s MacBook Air 2020 (Intel) to see why it’s running so hot. Even before a wipe down, it looks good and fan is not obstructed.
I’m going back to my first assumption that macOS Sequoia was not a good upgrade for this little machine.
I’m going back to my first assumption that macOS Sequoia was not a good upgrade for this little machine.
November 2, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Poking around inside my wife’s MacBook Air 2020 (Intel) to see why it’s running so hot. Even before a wipe down, it looks good and fan is not obstructed.
I’m going back to my first assumption that macOS Sequoia was not a good upgrade for this little machine.
I’m going back to my first assumption that macOS Sequoia was not a good upgrade for this little machine.
Every once in awhile you get lucky and find a good deal. This makes up for my mistake when I passed on a reasonably priced Amiga 1000 years ago.
Now I need to get even luckier and find a keyboard.
Now I need to get even luckier and find a keyboard.
October 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Every once in awhile you get lucky and find a good deal. This makes up for my mistake when I passed on a reasonably priced Amiga 1000 years ago.
Now I need to get even luckier and find a keyboard.
Now I need to get even luckier and find a keyboard.
Getting ready to setup the new Raspberry Pi 500+ as my retro computer emulation station.
October 4, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Getting ready to setup the new Raspberry Pi 500+ as my retro computer emulation station.
I think I finally figured out why the floppy was not working. I have two dead oscillators. The 24MHz crystal is dead, and it feeds the 82077AA floppy controller.
I also discovered the 14.1818MHz crystal is dead too. I can’t find that exact frequency, so I hope a 14.31818MHz replacement will do.
I also discovered the 14.1818MHz crystal is dead too. I can’t find that exact frequency, so I hope a 14.31818MHz replacement will do.
September 14, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I think I finally figured out why the floppy was not working. I have two dead oscillators. The 24MHz crystal is dead, and it feeds the 82077AA floppy controller.
I also discovered the 14.1818MHz crystal is dead too. I can’t find that exact frequency, so I hope a 14.31818MHz replacement will do.
I also discovered the 14.1818MHz crystal is dead too. I can’t find that exact frequency, so I hope a 14.31818MHz replacement will do.
I tempted fate and bought a Bondi Blue iMac G3 from eBay. The plastic needed to be snapped back into position and some clips were broken. Amazingly, the fragile inner bezel looks to be in good shape from the outside. Sadly, it doesn’t start, so I’ll have to open it up and see what going on.
September 7, 2025 at 5:04 AM
I tempted fate and bought a Bondi Blue iMac G3 from eBay. The plastic needed to be snapped back into position and some clips were broken. Amazingly, the fragile inner bezel looks to be in good shape from the outside. Sadly, it doesn’t start, so I’ll have to open it up and see what going on.
Oh no. This CD duplicator just showed up locally at a good price. I have no reason to be want one… yet…
August 15, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Oh no. This CD duplicator just showed up locally at a good price. I have no reason to be want one… yet…
Well, @bigbadbiologist.bsky.social pointed out that the bezel looks like it fits a caddy drive. I hoped that I could remove the front fascia from the tray and it would magically fit, but no such luck.
June 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Well, @bigbadbiologist.bsky.social pointed out that the bezel looks like it fits a caddy drive. I hoped that I could remove the front fascia from the tray and it would magically fit, but no such luck.
I’m thrilled to have an official Apple CD mounting kit for my Quadra 650. We’ll see if it partners nicely with this SCSI Panasonic x2 CD-ROM.
June 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I’m thrilled to have an official Apple CD mounting kit for my Quadra 650. We’ll see if it partners nicely with this SCSI Panasonic x2 CD-ROM.
June 21, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I have finally acquired the monitor that accompanied my first computer, an Osborne One (making up for the Osborne’s ridiculously small built-in screen).
It arrived in decent condition, except for the H-Width potentiometer adjustment, which was snapped off inside the case.
It arrived in decent condition, except for the H-Width potentiometer adjustment, which was snapped off inside the case.
June 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I have finally acquired the monitor that accompanied my first computer, an Osborne One (making up for the Osborne’s ridiculously small built-in screen).
It arrived in decent condition, except for the H-Width potentiometer adjustment, which was snapped off inside the case.
It arrived in decent condition, except for the H-Width potentiometer adjustment, which was snapped off inside the case.
Excited to have this new-old-stock 9-inch CRT in pristine condition!
Never been used with serial number 100835 from March 1982.
Never been used with serial number 100835 from March 1982.
June 3, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Excited to have this new-old-stock 9-inch CRT in pristine condition!
Never been used with serial number 100835 from March 1982.
Never been used with serial number 100835 from March 1982.
Hit a nice round number of 1,000 followers.
I love this vintage/retro/classic computer hobby and all the folks that make it a community.
I love this vintage/retro/classic computer hobby and all the folks that make it a community.
June 3, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Hit a nice round number of 1,000 followers.
I love this vintage/retro/classic computer hobby and all the folks that make it a community.
I love this vintage/retro/classic computer hobby and all the folks that make it a community.
Watching a pro play early electronic music through an AM transistor radio on a PDP-8.
June 2, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Watching a pro play early electronic music through an AM transistor radio on a PDP-8.
Though it may look peaceful now, a great battle was fought here today removing this corroded PS/2 connector.
June 1, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Though it may look peaceful now, a great battle was fought here today removing this corroded PS/2 connector.
The long-suffering Wang EXEC 386 ( 3131) is working with an XTIDE and Sergey Kiselev’s floppy BIOS, but the onboard floppy and IDE are still a mess.
The system BIOS reports a checksum error, so that could be an issue, but the only copy of the BIOS I can find online is the one I uploaded.
The system BIOS reports a checksum error, so that could be an issue, but the only copy of the BIOS I can find online is the one I uploaded.
May 31, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The long-suffering Wang EXEC 386 ( 3131) is working with an XTIDE and Sergey Kiselev’s floppy BIOS, but the onboard floppy and IDE are still a mess.
The system BIOS reports a checksum error, so that could be an issue, but the only copy of the BIOS I can find online is the one I uploaded.
The system BIOS reports a checksum error, so that could be an issue, but the only copy of the BIOS I can find online is the one I uploaded.
Well, I’ll be… the battery was not keeping the CMOS settings when powered down. Sniffed out something odd with transistor Q1 (2N3904), and sure enough, it was the problem.
May be the first time I removed the right component on the first try! 😎
May be the first time I removed the right component on the first try! 😎
May 27, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Well, I’ll be… the battery was not keeping the CMOS settings when powered down. Sniffed out something odd with transistor Q1 (2N3904), and sure enough, it was the problem.
May be the first time I removed the right component on the first try! 😎
May be the first time I removed the right component on the first try! 😎
Once again, I really need to double check everything before ordering replacement ICs. Size does matter!
May 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Once again, I really need to double check everything before ordering replacement ICs. Size does matter!
Peak sound in DOS gaming achieved!
Thanks to @polpo.org awesome PicoGUS paired with the slick WavetablePi, I can enjoy Adlib, Tandy, SoundBlaster, CMS, GravisUltraSound, and Roland MT-32 audio from one amazing card.
Thanks to @polpo.org awesome PicoGUS paired with the slick WavetablePi, I can enjoy Adlib, Tandy, SoundBlaster, CMS, GravisUltraSound, and Roland MT-32 audio from one amazing card.
May 3, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Peak sound in DOS gaming achieved!
Thanks to @polpo.org awesome PicoGUS paired with the slick WavetablePi, I can enjoy Adlib, Tandy, SoundBlaster, CMS, GravisUltraSound, and Roland MT-32 audio from one amazing card.
Thanks to @polpo.org awesome PicoGUS paired with the slick WavetablePi, I can enjoy Adlib, Tandy, SoundBlaster, CMS, GravisUltraSound, and Roland MT-32 audio from one amazing card.
Got a case for my Retro Chip Tester Pro.
Had to replace the tall cap on the power board. Used an SMD cap, but had to remove its plastic base so even it would fit.
Had to replace the tall cap on the power board. Used an SMD cap, but had to remove its plastic base so even it would fit.
April 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Got a case for my Retro Chip Tester Pro.
Had to replace the tall cap on the power board. Used an SMD cap, but had to remove its plastic base so even it would fit.
Had to replace the tall cap on the power board. Used an SMD cap, but had to remove its plastic base so even it would fit.
These little Eyoyo monitors are pretty sweet for conveniently testing stuff on the bench.
April 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
These little Eyoyo monitors are pretty sweet for conveniently testing stuff on the bench.
I bought this USB flash drive sometime around 2005. It cost some money, offering a whopping 2GB of capacity. But this has been my goto USB drive ever since. It works every time, when new and larger drives have let me down. I’m convinced the old drives were made better.
April 6, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I bought this USB flash drive sometime around 2005. It cost some money, offering a whopping 2GB of capacity. But this has been my goto USB drive ever since. It works every time, when new and larger drives have let me down. I’m convinced the old drives were made better.
It’s driving me crazy that my Gotek is not recognizing a drive change unless I reboot the computer. The Gotek display shows the change, but the computer doesn’t see it. It’s like it’s cached by the system (running DOS 6.22)
Any ideas? I’ve loaded the latest firmware.
Any ideas? I’ve loaded the latest firmware.
March 31, 2025 at 1:21 AM
It’s driving me crazy that my Gotek is not recognizing a drive change unless I reboot the computer. The Gotek display shows the change, but the computer doesn’t see it. It’s like it’s cached by the system (running DOS 6.22)
Any ideas? I’ve loaded the latest firmware.
Any ideas? I’ve loaded the latest firmware.