Recently, we looked at a simple LFSR and how it works.

What is an LFSR?

An LFSR is a Linear Feedback Shift Register. It’s a simple way of generating a sequence of numbers that look random.

Can we get a little more speed from a 6502 than we did last week? Almost certainly.

Bill Gates has been a controversial figure in the Computer World for 50 years now.

I’m doing a year-long project to reverse engineer the output and functionality of a VIC-20’s video chip, and create a drop-in replacement. At the start of this project (a few days ago), I only actually know how to do a percentage of the things I’ll need to complete this project. Writing a long series on how things work as I learn will help the project along. Plus, maybe having all of this information in one place would be nice, right?

I’ve been on the prowl for an HP-16c for quite some time to add to my rather large calculator collection. My daily driver for the last 25 years is an HP-32SII. Simple, rugged, reliable, and does everything I need it to do.

Sometimes there’s an absolute joy in doing something the hard way to REALLY understand what’s happening.

In mid-2021, I built a MiniPET 40/80. It’s one of the best replica kits I’ve ever seen. Even the keyboard is wonderfully awkward to use, just like a real Chicklet PET keyboard is.

I’m a Commodore guy through and through. This isn’t tribalism, it’s what was in my room from 1983 to when I graduated High School in 1993.

In the inside baseball realm of vintage computer enthusiasts, a few hashtags have emerged to support one’s favorite retro computers.

One of my first ever real programs was a blackjack game I made in BASIC on a Sharp 9300 calculator to impress my Adv. Algebra teacher. I have seen the handwritten copy of this somewhere around here recently, but I’ll be darned if I can’t find it now.

A few months ago, I stumbled on a project that really caught my attention. Mr. Bernardo Kastrup, aka TheByteAttic finished a video series on a computer he designed and built “by hand.”

One of my main goals in sharing retro computing is to help people DO things with these machines. They are useful for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is education and demonstration. The constraints are wonderful for this.

Concept Cyberdeck

I’m fortunate to have a number of vintage computers I’ve collected over the years. Some were fun finds, others donated. One I’ve had since 1983 (we think) and it’s one of my most prized possessions.

I have several items from DIY Chris that we’ll review over the next week including a GAL PLA and flash-able ROM drop in that can hold kernal, character or BASIC ROMs.

If you REALLY want to get into the weeds on how I figured out the Easter Egg(s) inside the Easter Egg on a 35 Year old album on a 35 year old computer then you’re in luck! This video is for you!

Just the BASICs, please

Our friend in retro @NoelsRetroLab has a simple BASIC benchmarking tool that’s fun to use to compare different basic systems execution speed.

Ahh, the quest for a better Vintage computer picture never ends. I’m having fun with it anyway.

The output on my newest Commodore 64 (1989) is pretty marginal. The colors are okay(ish) but the text lines are clearly bleeding and the picture is very muddy. Most vintage computers don’t do red text on blue very well, but this one is particularly painful.