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Primal-Bits
United States
Приєднався 25 лис 2018
This is where I share my hobbies and interests. I've never met a hobby I didn't like. You will see electronics, retro computer & video game systems, robotics, 3d-printing, and Star Wars related content here. My current projects are the creation of full sized working R2D2, and D-0 droids, as well as many retro computer (mostly Commodore and Atari) restoration projects. If you have similar interests, I hope you will subscribe to my channel, and comment on the videos.
Note: I am new to video editing and have some fairly basic equipment, so please forgive the quality in some of the videos.
Note: I am new to video editing and have some fairly basic equipment, so please forgive the quality in some of the videos.
VCF West Pick-ups - The Heathkit H8 Computer First look
After years of wanting a Heathkit H8 computer, I finally found one at VCF West. In this video, I'll take a first look at the Heathkit H8 computer, H9 terminal, and H17 disk drive. I'm really looking forward to bringing this 1970's vintage computer back to full functionality.
Index
0:00 Introduction
4:01 The H8
11:46 The H9
15:47 The H17
19:00 What’s Next
Index
0:00 Introduction
4:01 The H8
11:46 The H9
15:47 The H17
19:00 What’s Next
Переглядів: 167
Відео
Random Bits - Radio Shack Kit and Random Thoughts
Переглядів 1112 місяці тому
I paid a visit to a surviving Radio Shack dealer in Panguitch, Utah and picked up an Electronic Dice kit. I used to enjoy kit building (Radio Shack and Heathkit) when I was young (1970s/1980s), and I thought this would be a fun and nostalgic project. I decided to video the build, and along the way, I share a lot of random, and somewhat coherent, thoughts about things mostly related to the elect...
TRS-80 Color Computer 2 (CoCo 2): Upgrading
Переглядів 4225 місяців тому
In my last video, I repaired the keyboard on my Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer 2. In this video, I will begin upgrading this machine with more RAM, and an Extended color (colour) BASIC ROM. This Coco 2 has a rev. 20261044 system board which will make the upgrade process fairly easy. I am still researching how I want to go about the video upgrade on this retro-computer , so if you have ...
TRS-80 Color Computer 2 - Keyboard Repair Methods
Переглядів 2376 місяців тому
I finally got ahold of a TRS-80 Color Computer 2. In this video I’ll look at DIY methods to repair the broken keyboard without replacing the keyboard’s Mylar membrane. This CoCo 2 is a non-extended 16K machine, and I'm looking forward to upgrading it to 64K with Extended Color Basic, and composite video. First though, I need to get this Tandy Radio Shack retro beauty fully operational. Index 0:...
Commodore 64 - Part 2: Can we fix it!
Переглядів 1046 місяців тому
It's time to take a closer look at the JAFCO Commodore 64 from the last episode. Spoiler alert! There are problems. We'll work to troubleshoot and repair this vintage C64, and discover the limitations of the “Dead Test” cartridge. There will be some interesting troubleshooting lessons for "black screen" C64s on this retro computer repair video. Be sure to watch part 1 to learn the history of th...
Commodore 64 - Part 1: First looks and clues about its history.
Переглядів 1,2 тис.7 місяців тому
I recently acquired a C64 from a friend, and he didn't know much about the computer or its history. As I looked at this retro computer, and its included materials, some of this C64s history started to come into focus. Follow along and find out what I discovered. Index 0:00 Intro 1:24 What's in a price tag? 2:55 Where did it come from? 5:35 What's in the box? 10:40 Looking inside the C64 12:40 T...
Making the TRS-80 CoCo 1 More Useful
Переглядів 2,2 тис.7 місяців тому
In my last video, I shared the TRS-80 Color Computer 1 (CoCo 1) that I recently acquired. In this video, I will be sharing my progress with making this retro computer more useful with the addition of data storage. Index 0:00 Intro 0:45 Selecting the cassette player 3:20 Making the interface cables 5:05 The results 8:06 CSAVE 8:52 CLOAD 12:00 Color Basic: Computer Face 13:10 SKIPF 15:15 Future o...
I finally got a TRS-80 Color Computer 1
Переглядів 1,5 тис.8 місяців тому
In this video, I share the newest retro-computer in my collection, a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer 1 (or CoCo1). I'll also share just a little bit of personal history that makes this Radio Shack computer special to me. Index 0:00 Intro 0:53 Radio Shack and Me 2:45 Testing and Demo 3:55 The Manual/Basic Testing 6:56 Upper/Lower Case? 9:15 Color (Colour) Bar Test 11:20 Sound Test 12:40 ...
Commodore C128 #3 Update - What have I done?!
Переглядів 3128 місяців тому
The third Commodore C128 from the "Box of Commodore Computers" has displayed a lot of problems. But, in this video you will see that its greatest problems may have been caused by me. Mistakes have been made. Find out what happened in this retro-computer repair gone wrong. ua-cam.com/play/PLB0ffa2MA6bvew2i3aZY47I6abGSzoUv4.html&si=zuvG7IYPEN9iQMLv ua-cam.com/video/G3941fM5HY8/v-deo.html
A Whole Box of Commodore Computers - C128 Part 3, My luck runs out.!
Переглядів 9648 місяців тому
I recently attended the Portland Retro Gaming Expo and came across an entire box of Commodore computers for just $40. In this video, I'm currently testing the third Commodore C128 computer that was in the box. unfortunately this poor C128 is in need of some TLC. I hope you will join me as I attempt to get this classic retro-computer working. Index 0:00 Intro 1:04 Problems 2:10 Troubleshooting 3...
Retro Computer Chip Treasure Trove
Переглядів 2058 місяців тому
I found a treasure trove of vintage retro-computer parts for sale at a local electronics store. Most of the contents of are from the mid 1970's to the early 1980's. I'm amazed at what I found in this collection of parts.
A Whole Box of Commodore Computers - C128 Part 2
Переглядів 1,1 тис.8 місяців тому
In this video, I'll be testing the second Commodore C128 that I acquired at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in a box full of Commodore retro-computer goodness. To learn more about what was in the box, and how the testing went with the first C128, be sure to watch Part 1.
A Whole Box of Commodore Computers - C128 Part 1
Переглядів 1,5 тис.9 місяців тому
A Whole Box of Commodore Computers - C128 Part 1
Building a Savi's Workshop Lightsaber: How "custom" is my custom lightsaber really?
Переглядів 6 тис.9 місяців тому
Building a Savi's Workshop Lightsaber: How "custom" is my custom lightsaber really?
3D Printed Droid - Part 8: Assembly and Testing
Переглядів 1569 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 8: Assembly and Testing
3D Printed Droid - Part 7: Adding Audio
Переглядів 5610 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 7: Adding Audio
3D Printed Droid - Part 6: Test Drive
Переглядів 12810 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 6: Test Drive
3D Printed Droid - Part 5: The Headbox
Переглядів 9510 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 5: The Headbox
3D Printed Droid - Part 4: The Main Frame
Переглядів 15411 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 4: The Main Frame
3D Printed Droid - Part 3: The Drive Assembly
Переглядів 9311 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 3: The Drive Assembly
3D Printed Droid - Part 2: The Other Parts
Переглядів 7711 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 2: The Other Parts
3D Printed Droid - Part 1: 3D Printed Parts
Переглядів 12011 місяців тому
3D Printed Droid - Part 1: 3D Printed Parts
Build protection and defence
Great project and looks like your pieces are in good restoreable condition, plus you are starting with 64K of RAM; good for you. The used price, in general, of H8's have come up in the last 2 - 3 years. Probably due, in part, of the HIGH cost of clean Altair and IMSAI systems. I built my first H8 while in college and have since acquired 4 other H8's over the years in all sorts of configurations. I am a retired employee of DEC and was there from the PDP8 series through the VAX 8000 and the beginning of the Alpha series; what an amazing company to work for!!! No idea what your electronics background might be but the tantalum caps are the biggest issue. Whenever I have one fail, I swap all of them on the board while I have it out. You already mentioned the issue with some oxidation on some of the IC pins. That will mostly clean up with foam brush and contact cleaner as well. Sometimes, depending how bad the oxidation is, you may need to CAREFULLY pull that IC(s) out and clean the pins with an exacto blade.. The IC sockets Heath used are not great and I have swapped many of them out with Au plated round pin type and will change most out over time As far as having the NON Au connectors, I would not worry too much with that. Once you go through and clean things up, get a good contact cleaner and wipe all of the pins with a foam swap and shoot some into the female connectors. I doubt you'll have any issues for years. I use to use deoxit but in the last couple of years, the WD40 line of chemicals now includes a great Contact Cleaner, zero residue. It's half the price of Deoxit and each can has ~twice the volume; it works very well. Most any auto store has this in stock. Good luck with your project and if you need any help, email me: glenn@dsmlabs.com
Thanks for the comment and advice. I think this will be a rewarding project. I bet working for DEC during those years was amazing. I do love the old PDP 8 machines. In my first programming class we started by learning PDP 8 machine code using grease pencils on laminated placemats. We had to simulate code execution by writing/erasing values to the registers/accumulator boxes as we stepped through our program. After we had the hang of it, we were allowed to start flipping paddle switches to load and test our programs. As we advanced, we loaded the system with BASIC via paper tape, and interacted via TTY. We felt fortunate as our HS was the only one in the district with a computer programming class. Thanks also for your offer of help. You may be hearing from me.
For octal, you just need 0 to 7 (not 9) 😁 The "controller board" is the hard-sectored controller typically used with the H-17. It is also possible to use the H-17 external drives with the H-37 soft-sectored controller to get about 180k per drive.
That is true!
Let's see... You attended VCF West, which is in the South Bay Area. You used a PDP 8/E system in high school in the late Seventies. Did you have Mrs. Kurzweil? She's the one who got DEC to donate that system to our high school. I had her for both Intro to Computing and Intro to Typing in '76.
My family left CA before I started HS(76). Fortunately the Business teacher at my HS had a data processing background and got DEC to make a similar donation. Fortunately, Mr. Beyers used it to teach us programming in machine language and BASIC. It was a great class, paper tape and all.
Power and Control
Great video, I made number 85 a few weeks ago! My main complaint is that the new pieces don’t lock into place, so they end up coming loose when you spin the saber for a second. Shouldn’t be hard for them to do better with that
I have noticed a little bit of loosening on upper and lower sleeves. I think it is due to the alignment stop on the second gen scrap. The first generation sleeves didn’t have the alignment stops, and would twist on tighter, but the visual alignment of different parts was terrible. It seems one problem has been corrected at the expense of a new one. One hack that can help is to add a little electrical tape in the thread area for the sleeves to tighten the fit.
And i scrap old radio..and anything electronic.
I remember doing that as well. That’s where I got most of my project parts early on.
I have a:100-in-1 electronic project kit from science fair.😊from the tandy co. For Radio Shack.
I got started in electronics when I was 14 i think. I got one of those 200 in 1 science fair kits. I got into CB and ham radio. Now I find myself building kits for the kids and teaching them to solder. They think it's amazing that I build kits, fix microwaves, computers, plumbing, cars. Everything is so interconnected. I'm so glad that I grew up when I did. They don't believe me when I tell them we didn't have cable TV, computers, Internet, cell phones, digital cameras, GPS, high speed Internet etc. I shouted at you to put in the pic but I think my microphone was broken. Lol
That’s about the age I started. CB and amateur radio is something that I had an interest in too (I’m finally studying for that Extra class license). Being able to fix your own stuff is a great feeling. So much ends up at the dump that just needs a minor repair. “Dad, can you fix this?” is something you would hear frequently at my house. I too am glad to have grown up when I did. We got to see the genesis of all the tech we have today. There are great opportunities today though. My home electronics lab is fully equipped in a way I never would have been able to afford in the past. I have 3-D printers, and regularly order prototype PCBs that are professional manufactured. The kid version of me wouldn’t have believed it!
@@primal-bits4777 I'm studying for extra too. I have a lot more equipment than I used to. I couple of meters and a golden screwdriver and a soldering iron is what I started with. I'm sure I did more damage than I fixed. No I have service monitors, spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes and several soldering/desoldering stations. I even have some vintage test equipment.
Some of the old test gear is interesting. My old Heathkit transistor tester comes to mind.
I want a TRS80 Model I computer restomod.
I’m still on the hunt for a Model 1. The one time I found a complete system at a decent price, I passed on it. Still kicking myself for that.
They should just keep both and give you more options because the price increases for only2-3 out of the 4 looking good is not acceptable when previously all 4 looked great
It would be great if they kept the old versions as choices too.
90 is the first one I made. Looking forward to building another on my next trip.
I see this as a lightsaber bace that you can buy different parts(aftermarket) and really make it your own not just a Disney preset(80) is the way to got for me
I agree, I’ve been 3D printing additional parts lately to add to the Disney saber core to create a Cal Kestis saber.
@@primal-bits4777 that’s a great idea the only part that may be hard is how the switches and grips will align due to them being in different places
ya its normal
35 is my current one
42 is my Saber With a green kyber crystal
I’m building a sabre tomorrow and this is exactly what I needed to help me decide, thank you!
What is the model of the TV that is connected to your CoCo2? The display quality is superb, even with RF!
What a nice CoCo1! Congrats! And I'm curious how come its video output is so clear and sharp. You mentioned that you used RF to channel 3 , right? I recently got a CoCo2, but its video output is a bit blurry.
I am using RF out to channel 3. The output from this CoCo is a bit overdriven, but that gave me the signal headroom to be able to use the picture adjustments on the TV to get a pretty respectable image.
@@primal-bits4777 I'm new to RF output. How did you overdrive it? I use a RF to coax adapter and then a coax cable to connect my CoCo to the TV's antenna input. Your CoCo's output looks way better.
In my case, the video output adjustment was already set pretty high. There are a pair of pots accessible through the top of the RF modulator. I don’t recall which one increases the output signal voltage. Sometimes the RF signal can be set fairly low so that it appears dark on an LCD display. If the signal is set slightly higher than needed, you can adjust the color, brightness, etc to get a pretty good image. May not be the ideal approach, but worked ok for me. I was trying to avoid modding this particular CoCo for composite out.
@@primal-bits4777 I see. Thank you for the information.
In my opinion, they look ugly.I kind of like the old ones better when Galaxy edge first came out
I’d personally like to have both series. There is scrap in the original sets that I really like.
I like this set too! Reminds me of Windu's original blue saber
Number 95 is my favourite, looks really clean. I like how the design lines up and has the grip at the top. Can't wait to go and build my own later this year!
Thank you so much for this! I’m building my first tomorrow, and didn’t want to be overwhelmed by having to make a choice in such a short period of time. Now I can pause this and look at exactly what I’d want!
Not me screenshotting every configuration so i can pre plan my build
I built a Peace and Justice saber back in 2021 when I went for the 50th anniversary. I have to say I'm really not a fan of the 2nd Gen P&J and Elemental Nature compared to what was there previously. On the other hand, I think Power and Control and Protection and Defense are improved over their 1st gen Counterparts. I'm not sure I'll ever build another one but it was a really cool experience to do once and I'm happy with the P&J Saber that I built.
Power & Control. 2nd gen does look great. I’m looking forward to getting the full set of scrap for that. The one thing that I would say is good about the 2nd gen P&J and EJ scrap is the addition of alignment stops.
You can get a good chunk of the RAM back from Extended BASIC by doing a PCLEAR 1. By default Extended BASIC reserves 6144 bytes of RAM for 1 page of he largest graphics modes (either PMODE 3 OR PMODE 4), which is a 4 page (each page is 1.5K) graphics mode. If you don't need high res graphics (or at least not that high res), PCLEAR can return some of that RAM.
Good tip. Thank you Curtis.
How are you changing a 24 pin rom with a 28 pin?
I just concatenated the BASIC 1.3 ROM BIN file with the EXT BASIC 1.1 file using the copy command under Windows 10 Command prompt, then burned the combined ROM image to a 27C128 EPROM using a T48 EPROM burner. Fortunately the version of CoCo system board I have already has a 28 pin socket and the jumpers to reconfigure the board for 28 pin ROM chips. I should have shown that process in the video.
Great work! 🎉
#75 is my favorite! Great job and thanks for the insight!
First thing you didn't do right was to RESEAT the keyboard connector.
Yes, you are right. Start with the simple things first.
I love seeing Color Computer 2s being used. Grew up in my formative years with one and feel like I know every nook and cranny of it. Had a lot of second hand peripherals because my dad would bring home prototypes or salvage from Tandy when he worked there.
Do you still have any of those old prototypes? I bet it was fun to have stuff like that show up at home.
@@primal-bits4777 Oh I wish I still had some. To my knowledge, thrown out in a house move decades ago by my dad. Yes it was a big magical. Also frequently went up to Tandy Center on weekends when my dad had to work and got to play games like Rocky's Boots and Robot Odyssey early on. Even played some on an Amiga. The Marble Madness music is special to me because of those trips.
5th
I had one of them when I was a kid
Good video and work
Would be total of 1536? If you combine all for types of sabers with kyber crystals?
7:17 No. 34 customize lightsaber is my favourite once I return to Disneyland in Orlando, I gonna made almost like Luke or Cal or like Rey make this
Orlando is Disneyworld Disney land is in California
A staff you say at the end. Do you mean like a double lightsaber like Dart Maul's, or do they have a staff too. Probably a stupid question, but I feel like I had to ask.
A double lightsaber. The coupler is a neat accessory, but the result makes for a pretty heavy lightsaber.
Oh boo hoo…geez people just whine…
woo hoo like 100!!!
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thanks for this video!
Do you think they might make new parts for them the light savers for next year?
This is indeed a fairly early example. The earliest serial numbers start with "S" which includes the very early silver labels. The "S" designation (Stands for Santa Clara, CA) only went up to 100,000 at which point they switched to "P" (West Chester, PA). So "P00303535" is likely the 303,535th c64 ever made (actually, there's evidence that the S serial numbers started with 1000, not zero) since most of the other facilities were just starting up production at that point. That serial number puts yours into early '83 as the date of manufacture, which also matches the late '82 and early '83 date codes on some of the chips.
Great info, thanks.
Great video! Very insightful!
Great stuff. We had a Dragon 32 and somehow I never used the SKIP command, but I've just checked in the manual online and there it was.
Great video but too bad it came out after I had already went. This video would have helped me out alot if it had came out before October
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the scrap metal to do the video sooner.
That was my second computer!
What was your first computer.
Interesting! I never heard of the SKIP-command. It is only useful when you keep track of all the programmes stored on tape. I remember from the old day that the tape counter was used to find approximately the point where a programme was stored. But you need to make a list and write down the numbers of the tape counter. Simply nobody ever made a computer programme to do that, that was a lost opportunity.
If you put a file name that doesn’t exist with SKIPF, it will output all of the file names on the tape as it searches. It will finally end with an error, but still stop the tape at the end of the data. The only issue with using it that way would be if you have large blank areas between program files.
I never enjoyed the cassette tape as a storage medium for files, due more to the sequential access than the speed. I was spoiled by the Apple IIs and their disk drives at school. That is quite the vintage Coco. It seems to be in perfect condition. It's nice that you're treating it with the respect it deserves. I had a Coco 3 in the '80s which I kept until 2001. At that time I was moving and I threw the Coco in the trash. It was a weird time for 8-bit micros-no longer of any real use, but not yet collectible. Most importantly, I was not trying to relive the glory days as I am today. I hope someone saved the Coco, but I doubt it.
I grew up in New Jersey, we had a similar store called Consumers Distributing. I bought many games for my Atari 2600 & C64 there. They eventually went out of business some time in the 1990s. I'm not sure if any catalog stores even still exist.
Good luck. The Coco was a fun computer to play with. The Coco 1 with standard BASIC was severely limited. It wasn't until they released the Coco II with Extended BASIC that they started to be more than a toy. I was a writer for a couple of small market Coco magazines back in their heyday. They were great fun to play with and to hack into. They were reasonably sophisticated thanks to the 6809 CPU, but electronically simple enough that someone with a bit of skill and knowledge could get into them and mod them up. Especially the Coco III if you abandoned TRS-DOS and upgraded to OS9. The last one I had I'd upgraded to 512K, dual drives, a decent keyboard, composite video and other goodies.
That SKIPF command is cool. I don't think we had that on BBC BASIC.
I believe SKIPF reads all of the file headers (and displays the file names as they are encountered) and stops the tape when no more headers are encountered, AND no more data tones are picked up. If it hasn’t found the specified file by this point, it displays an error message, stops at the end of the data.