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New Book: Make: Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express
My new book Make: Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express was released earlier this month in a Humble Bundle in eBook format. The final print and eBook will be out in September,...
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My Current Writings on the Adafruit Learning System and Blog
Where have I been writing if not on the blog? Besides writing my new book Make: Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, I have been writing a good number of tutorials on the Adafruit...
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Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express book now out from...
Out today September 10th! A new paperback book on the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express board! The book gets you started with microcontrollers by learning how to use the Express with Microsoft...
View ArticleBook Review: Ask an Engineer on September 12th
Limor "Ladyada" Fried and Phil Torrone review my new book Getting Started with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express from this clip on the Ask an Engineer broadcast on September 12, 2018.
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Emulating MS-DOS on a Raspberry Pi and Playing Games using DOSBox
I have a soft spot for MS-DOS, as it was the first PC operating system I used. It started in 1984 with Compaq luggable computers available for loan at Caltech and at JPL when I worked there over the...
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New Series of Posts - Documenting an IBM PC 5150 from Craigslist
I've been involved in PC-compatible computing since college. Let's just say the IBM PC had been out for 3 years and the Compaq portable was available for checkout by the college to do work. My...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 2 - Inspection of the IBM PC and Case Opening
Continuing from last time:Looking on the back, I could tell the machine had a decent number of expansion cards in it. That was good. There appear to be scratches on the back, a letter beta and initials...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 3 - The CPU and FPU
Continuing on from Part 2, we're now looking deeper into the IBM PC 5150 I bought off Craigslist.The CPU and FPU sockets are behind the right floppy, underneath the two grey hard drive ribbon cables...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 4 - Expansion Card Exploration: the Parallel Card
Continuing to explore an IBM PC 5150 I got on Craigslist, we've already had surprises. One was that all 5 card slots were filled with hardware (and not just knockouts or a port on a bracket).I'll start...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 5 - The mystery video card
Ok, continuing from the first expansion card investigated, here is the second, the display adapter. We know the card is a Color Graphics Array (CGA) compatible card as it drives the IBM 5153 CGA...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 6 - The choc' full AST multifunction card
Continuing my blog series on the IBM PC 5150 I bought off Craigslist, we come to the third expansion card in the unit, a "full-length" multifunction expansion card.Multi cards were important for a...
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The IBM PC 5150: Part 7 - The Hard Disk Controller
Continuing from part 6 of my teardown of a one owner IBM PC 5150 from the 1980s.Here is the controller card supporting a half-sized hard drive. I haven't gotten down to the hard drive label but I have...
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IBM Portable PC 5155 Video Connection
Since buying one IBM PC, I have now progressed to buying 4: 1 PC 5150, 2 PC/XT 5160, and an IBM Portable 5155. Two types of COMPAQ portables are on the way. Help!Here I will focus on the IBM Portable...
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Documentation for the Paradise Systems MGC II 8-bit MGA/CGA/Composite Video Card
In the 4th IBM PC I purchased, an IBM PC/XT 5160, the video card that was in the system was the original card bought around May 1986. Fortunately I also had the IBM binders from the PC and the...
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Using EGA and VGA video cards in IBM 5150 PC, 5155 Portable, and 5160 PC/XT...
I first ran into video card issues debugging the IBM 5155 Portable computer. Besides no video it beeped one long, two short on startup. I did a lot of video card switch and jumper gymnastics to try to...
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Getting a non-functional IBM PC/AT up and running is hard
It's been a long time without posts. Maybe I can correct this.A couple months ago, I took the plunge and got an IBM PC/AT. I've wanted one for almost 40 years. I have an IBM PC, two PC/XTs, and a 5160...
View ArticleGetting the IBM PC/AT to Recognize a 1.44MB Hard Disk
Lots of time this week getting my IBM PC/AT up to speed. Here's a synopsis:Getting a New Compact Flash Hard DriveInstead of the XT-IDE Compact Flash hard disk adapter, I switched it for a modern XT-IDE...
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Upgrading the IBM PC/AT to MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1
You read this correctly. What a software upgrade. My floppies for Windows/286 seem damaged. so...Going from MS-DOS 5 to MS-DOS 6.22Once I got the 1.44M floppy recognized, the 1.44MB MS-DOS 6.22...
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Buying an Old IBM PC or Compatible on eBay or in Person - tips
Buying old computers is always a bit of a gamble, as is buying used items made so long ago. As long as you go into buying mode with the expectation that things may go well or not so well, you'll be...
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IBM 5170 PC/AT Upgrades
For the last few days, I set aside the IBM 5160 PC/XT and put the 5170 PC/AT back onto the bench. I got another AST Advantage! card with 2MB on it. I also got the IBM Model M with silver badge and...
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Vintage HP Disc Memory Division T-Shirt 1983
I worked for the HP Disc Memory Division in Boise Idaho, during the summers of 1981, '82, and '83. It gave me the money to almost afford to go to Whitman College prior to attending Caltech the...
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Restoring an IBM PS/2 Model 55SX
Tackling this IBM PS/2 Model 55SX next. Learning about reviving Microchannel Architecture machines.
View Article30 Years Ago: Becoming Cancer Free
I don't write much about cancer these days. Between 1995 and 2005 I did extensively. As this is an anniversary, one that I may have not gotten to, I am writing down a bit of the journey I went on back...
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Where else am I posting?
Adafruit has created a fabulous place, Adafruit Playground, where makers may post their builds with no ads. So I have been publishing more there at the moment. You can read those posts at...
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Buying a Raspberry Pi Display and Keyboard by Shopping on AliExpress
This is likely one of those stories you might know the ending of before it starts. Perhaps, but I'd like to document it here for others contemplating similar projects.Over the last three months, I have...
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