snarkophony
@snarkophony.bsky.social
Low-level coding. Retro games. DIY synths. May contain traces of cringe. of-ony not o'phony.
How long have I been carting these books around? I was in the UK until about '86 which might be a clue...
There notes in one but I don't know when I'd have built anything because I didn't have a soldering iron until many years later.
There notes in one but I don't know when I'd have built anything because I didn't have a soldering iron until many years later.
August 10, 2025 at 6:23 AM
How long have I been carting these books around? I was in the UK until about '86 which might be a clue...
There notes in one but I don't know when I'd have built anything because I didn't have a soldering iron until many years later.
There notes in one but I don't know when I'd have built anything because I didn't have a soldering iron until many years later.
Nothing like moving house to shine a light on how many half-finished projects are lying around...
August 7, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Nothing like moving house to shine a light on how many half-finished projects are lying around...
Finally got around to wiring up and flashing MiSTeryNano on the nano 20K and it boots. I've been thinking about (re-)buying an ST for MIDI fun but... moving soon, don't need more stuff...
July 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Finally got around to wiring up and flashing MiSTeryNano on the nano 20K and it boots. I've been thinking about (re-)buying an ST for MIDI fun but... moving soon, don't need more stuff...
Didn't realize I bought the creepy baby edition of this synth until now.
July 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Didn't realize I bought the creepy baby edition of this synth until now.
Very tempted. I never had a ZX and IIRC we left the UK around when the QL came out (not that I could have afforded it...)
Funded in about 7 mins and 10 seconds! Next fans are just awesome! Thank you!!!!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/spe...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/spe...
ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3
The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next: the evolution of the Speccy computer, now expanded into the world of the Sinclair QL, C64 and... More!
www.kickstarter.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Very tempted. I never had a ZX and IIRC we left the UK around when the QL came out (not that I could have afforded it...)
This is a fun deep dive into the MIDIVerb design.
I had the schematics from Paul's Patreon but now it's all been open sourced:
github.com/emeb/MIDIVer...
I had the schematics from Paul's Patreon but now it's all been open sourced:
github.com/emeb/MIDIVer...
GitHub - emeb/MIDIVerb_RE: Reverse-engineering the MIDIVerb audio effects processor
Reverse-engineering the MIDIVerb audio effects processor - emeb/MIDIVerb_RE
github.com
July 17, 2025 at 6:07 AM
This is a fun deep dive into the MIDIVerb design.
I had the schematics from Paul's Patreon but now it's all been open sourced:
github.com/emeb/MIDIVer...
I had the schematics from Paul's Patreon but now it's all been open sourced:
github.com/emeb/MIDIVer...
I'd rather be coding now that I've found some spare time, but without coffee?
Bought the machine used and it was working fine, now suddenly it won't switch on. Nothing looks fried and the switch works so I might just order a new controller board.
Bought the machine used and it was working fine, now suddenly it won't switch on. Nothing looks fried and the switch works so I might just order a new controller board.
July 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I'd rather be coding now that I've found some spare time, but without coffee?
Bought the machine used and it was working fine, now suddenly it won't switch on. Nothing looks fried and the switch works so I might just order a new controller board.
Bought the machine used and it was working fine, now suddenly it won't switch on. Nothing looks fried and the switch works so I might just order a new controller board.
Just recently I was wondering if I still had my copies of the early issues. Those "Mode X" articles were put to immediate use in the final project for a course at university.
A few years later I wrote an article for them myself and worked on the (short-lived) German edition of the magazine...
A few years later I wrote an article for them myself and worked on the (short-lived) German edition of the magazine...
#TradeMagWeek DAY 4 BONUS:
Did you know our digital library has the complete run of Game Developer magazine? From 1994–2013, Game Developer was the leading magazine for developers to share their craft and learn about the art of game dev
archive.gamehistory.org/folder/47961...
Did you know our digital library has the complete run of Game Developer magazine? From 1994–2013, Game Developer was the leading magazine for developers to share their craft and learn about the art of game dev
archive.gamehistory.org/folder/47961...
June 28, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Just recently I was wondering if I still had my copies of the early issues. Those "Mode X" articles were put to immediate use in the final project for a course at university.
A few years later I wrote an article for them myself and worked on the (short-lived) German edition of the magazine...
A few years later I wrote an article for them myself and worked on the (short-lived) German edition of the magazine...
I ended up with two of these stm32f4-based DIY synths so a while back I wrote an experimental firmware using reSID.
So far it runs two "chips" and is playable over MIDI (with rough ASID support!) but editing is clunky and it lacks basics like patch storage. Not sure how/whether to continue...
So far it runs two "chips" and is playable over MIDI (with rough ASID support!) but editing is clunky and it lacks basics like patch storage. Not sure how/whether to continue...
May 1, 2025 at 7:38 AM
I ended up with two of these stm32f4-based DIY synths so a while back I wrote an experimental firmware using reSID.
So far it runs two "chips" and is playable over MIDI (with rough ASID support!) but editing is clunky and it lacks basics like patch storage. Not sure how/whether to continue...
So far it runs two "chips" and is playable over MIDI (with rough ASID support!) but editing is clunky and it lacks basics like patch storage. Not sure how/whether to continue...
Mechanical assembly is no fun when everyone is staring at you. I think they're laughing at me.
April 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Mechanical assembly is no fun when everyone is staring at you. I think they're laughing at me.
Well it was bound to happen eventually: ripped two traces when desoldering. Had to desolder one of the 289 LEDs (twice, don't ask) and applied to much force...
Somewhat dodgy bodge wire to the rescue for now. Next up, assembling 289 switches...
Somewhat dodgy bodge wire to the rescue for now. Next up, assembling 289 switches...
April 4, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Well it was bound to happen eventually: ripped two traces when desoldering. Had to desolder one of the 289 LEDs (twice, don't ask) and applied to much force...
Somewhat dodgy bodge wire to the rescue for now. Next up, assembling 289 switches...
Somewhat dodgy bodge wire to the rescue for now. Next up, assembling 289 switches...
How about a nice game of chess?
March 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
How about a nice game of chess?
Just the premise of that story makes me smile.
Would that be the "argumentum ad ursum"?
Would that be the "argumentum ad ursum"?
we tried this before
it ends with bears moving in
it ends with bears moving in
March 8, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Just the premise of that story makes me smile.
Would that be the "argumentum ad ursum"?
Would that be the "argumentum ad ursum"?
"Look, a three-headed monkey" is an increasingly attractive answer when aliens arrive and ask "Take us to your leaders!"
March 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM
"Look, a three-headed monkey" is an increasingly attractive answer when aliens arrive and ask "Take us to your leaders!"
I'm trying not to start new builds before I've wrapped up some of the backlog but between this and the Ulti-PET I'm sorely tempted.
Some kind of tracker sounds like a fun coding project too...
Some kind of tracker sounds like a fun coding project too...
⚠️ New track drops this Friday (March 7) The final single before the album 👾
March 4, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I'm trying not to start new builds before I've wrapped up some of the backlog but between this and the Ulti-PET I'm sorely tempted.
Some kind of tracker sounds like a fun coding project too...
Some kind of tracker sounds like a fun coding project too...
I suspect that game had a measurable impact on my grades.
Can't believe I still have one of these t-shirts. Bit worse for wear and a few more wrinkles than back then...
Can't believe I still have one of these t-shirts. Bit worse for wear and a few more wrinkles than back then...
March 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I suspect that game had a measurable impact on my grades.
Can't believe I still have one of these t-shirts. Bit worse for wear and a few more wrinkles than back then...
Can't believe I still have one of these t-shirts. Bit worse for wear and a few more wrinkles than back then...
"Public money should produce public software, for public inspection."
Genau das sollte man auch hierzulande fordern und fördern. Leider wurde 18F wohl gerade auf dem Altar des Unsinns geschlachtet...
Genau das sollte man auch hierzulande fordern und fördern. Leider wurde 18F wohl gerade auf dem Altar des Unsinns geschlachtet...
For any devs wondering what 18F does (did), here’s its GitHub org page, with 1,210 repos. A few were mine! All the work they did for all their agency partners was open source. Public money should produce public software, for public inspection.
Those days are over, starting today.
Those days are over, starting today.
18F
18F builds effective, user-centric digital services focused on the interaction between government & the people it serves. Provided by GSA. - 18F
github.com
March 1, 2025 at 4:53 PM
"Public money should produce public software, for public inspection."
Genau das sollte man auch hierzulande fordern und fördern. Leider wurde 18F wohl gerade auf dem Altar des Unsinns geschlachtet...
Genau das sollte man auch hierzulande fordern und fördern. Leider wurde 18F wohl gerade auf dem Altar des Unsinns geschlachtet...
34 LEDs down, 255 to go...
...and then the same again for the switches.
Eventually there will be clicky blinkenlights but this is a bit of a slog.
...and then the same again for the switches.
Eventually there will be clicky blinkenlights but this is a bit of a slog.
February 26, 2025 at 8:35 AM
34 LEDs down, 255 to go...
...and then the same again for the switches.
Eventually there will be clicky blinkenlights but this is a bit of a slog.
...and then the same again for the switches.
Eventually there will be clicky blinkenlights but this is a bit of a slog.
Geez, has it really been over four years since I built this 4HP #eurorack module prototype with a tiny OLED, STM32F373 and 16-bit DAC?
It mostly works, but once I'd written the driver code I lost motivation to add actual functionality or fix the (many) PCB quirks. It's a tight squeeze!
It mostly works, but once I'd written the driver code I lost motivation to add actual functionality or fix the (many) PCB quirks. It's a tight squeeze!
February 24, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Geez, has it really been over four years since I built this 4HP #eurorack module prototype with a tiny OLED, STM32F373 and 16-bit DAC?
It mostly works, but once I'd written the driver code I lost motivation to add actual functionality or fix the (many) PCB quirks. It's a tight squeeze!
It mostly works, but once I'd written the driver code I lost motivation to add actual functionality or fix the (many) PCB quirks. It's a tight squeeze!
Naively I thought moving to KiCad from Eagle for new projects would be easier, but apparently the few small-ish projects I made with Eagle over the years (still using 7.x!) ingrained stronger habits than I realized.
February 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Naively I thought moving to KiCad from Eagle for new projects would be easier, but apparently the few small-ish projects I made with Eagle over the years (still using 7.x!) ingrained stronger habits than I realized.
Stuck in the void of procrastination between fear of a blank project and refactoring a massive amount of legacy code.
...and I can't even complain about "who wrote this mess" because it was me.
...and I can't even complain about "who wrote this mess" because it was me.
February 21, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Stuck in the void of procrastination between fear of a blank project and refactoring a massive amount of legacy code.
...and I can't even complain about "who wrote this mess" because it was me.
...and I can't even complain about "who wrote this mess" because it was me.
Spontan klingt das irgendwie 1000x besser als alles was ich bisher zur ePA und einer Verwendung der Daten gelesen habe.
If you've been wondering where I went: my team in Oxford (60 of us!) build beautiful tools for NHS data. We help researchers work on the whole nation's GP records while protecting - provably - everyone's privacy. It's big potatoes!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRjR...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRjR...
OpenSAFELY in a nutshell
YouTube video by Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science
www.youtube.com
February 10, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Spontan klingt das irgendwie 1000x besser als alles was ich bisher zur ePA und einer Verwendung der Daten gelesen habe.
New year's resolution: 1280x1024.
January 3, 2025 at 11:38 AM
New year's resolution: 1280x1024.
Not sure where the computer ended up but I think it was technically on loan from Dad's office.
I believe this is what I learned BASIC on, it wasn't until I changed schools that I had access to a BBC...
I believe this is what I learned BASIC on, it wasn't until I changed schools that I had access to a BBC...
December 11, 2024 at 8:32 AM
Not sure where the computer ended up but I think it was technically on loan from Dad's office.
I believe this is what I learned BASIC on, it wasn't until I changed schools that I had access to a BBC...
I believe this is what I learned BASIC on, it wasn't until I changed schools that I had access to a BBC...
There's a special hell for whoever decided "yes" and "maybe later" are sufficient options. And those who keep doing it.
Now that I think about it, it's bad enough in a popup dialog but would seem to be pretty generally applicable.
Now that I think about it, it's bad enough in a popup dialog but would seem to be pretty generally applicable.
November 30, 2024 at 8:37 AM
There's a special hell for whoever decided "yes" and "maybe later" are sufficient options. And those who keep doing it.
Now that I think about it, it's bad enough in a popup dialog but would seem to be pretty generally applicable.
Now that I think about it, it's bad enough in a popup dialog but would seem to be pretty generally applicable.