Despite sitting right in front of my main computer screen I just realised I didn’t add this to my archive.
So here it is, the Raspberry Pi 400 Home Computer 🙂
Click here to read my thoughts:
Raspberry Pi 400
Year: 2020
Atari Lynx article updated
I have been pretty lazy with the site for a couple of months so decided to spend some time doing a couple of updates today since it’s bloody cold outside.
Sony Playstation 5
So I was lucky enough to get one of these pre-ordered on Amazon a few minutes after the listing went live.
The console itself is great and personally I really like the looks of it. To me Sony have always done something new with the design of their consoles hwere as over manufacturers just seem to draw a rectangle on a piece of paper and call it job done. I think the only playstation design that dissapointed me slightly was the PS4, they went a bit too sensible for me on that one even though it was still a great console.
So currently I am playing through Dirt 5 which has been fun even though I have stumbled across quite a few weird bugs which hopefully they will fix. Do game companies not even play test their games anymore?
Hopefully in the near future some great games will come out for this console. To me the launch line up was lacking a fair bit. I am sure some of the games are good, they are just not for me.
Game and Watch
When I first saw this advertised I knew I just needed to have it for some reason! So I pre-ordered it on the spot and then completely forgot about it. Come November and as a nice suprise it arrived in the post. Was like having an early birthday present for me as I really had forgot I ordered it.
Now maybe I will actually find some time and try and complete Mario finally. I don’t think I have ever got past the first couple of levels before 🙂
Bring on the Music!! Yamaha CX5M
I haven’t messed around with MIDI since my late Sam Coupe years and early 286 PC years where I used to connect a Yamaha PSS-780 keyboard up to the computer and “attempt” to get it to play some music. Usually I just ended up shoving pre-made MIDI files through it back then!
But recently I was watching a YouTube episode from RMC The Cave (loads of good videos to watch!) and he did a review of the Yamaha CX5M which is an MSX based computer with a built in Yamaha FM synthesiser.
Well, i have looked at many MSX computers recently with the aim of picking one up, and after seeing this I just knew this was the one. Not only can I experiment with an MSX but I can also go back and have a play with MIDI again 🙂
So, here she is! My very own CX5M with the YK-10 Keyboard
So whats next for this one?
Well the one small issue with it is this system has the SFG-01 addon board which doesn’t support MIDI input. They released a later SFG-05 module that had better software and more features.
Luckily you can do a mod to upgrade it. So I have a freshly burned EPROM sat here waiting to go in it over the weekend!
I have also ordered a SD mapper and 512K expansion so I can play around with some of the MSX software that is available.
Really looking forward to this and will update the site with my thoughts once I have had a play 🙂
Oliver Twins Collection – Evercade
After backing a Kickstarter for the Fusion Annual 2021. One of the perks was a signed copy of the Oliver Twins Collection for the Evercade. This arrived today so have some great Dizzy games to play through on the Evercade now. I believe these are all NES ports so most are pretty good versions. Although the NES version of Treasure Island Dizzy seems very bland to me. Even the Spectrum version looked better 😛
Going online with an Amstrad Notepad??
I never imagined that this would actually be possible. But whilst I was looking around retro projects recently I came accross another ESP8266 based WiFi MoDem project. This one connects up to any device using a standard RS232 Serial Port.
Reading through the project it mentioned some of the computers it works with. The Atari Portfolio was listed as compatible which is what I was searching for so I will be having a play with that once I can source the serial port adapter for it.
But also in that list was the Amstrad Notepad NC100! I knew this already had a serial port as I used to use it for transferring my school homework over to my PC back in the 90s. But I never thought about the fact that it had a terminal emulator built into it.
So I build the modem, designed and printed a case for it then turned on the NC100 and hit Function key + S. After a few config changes in the menu I was ready to go. Setting up the WiFi network was easy and is all done through a text driven menu.
Then it was just a case of using the atdt command to connect up to one of the many BBS’s still available.
Now obviously the experience isn’t perfect as the notepad has an 80 x 8 character display. But I found a few BBS’s that actually allowed that to be configured and it worked perfectly!
I wish this would have been available back in the 90s, would have made my english lessons much more bearable! I could have done it back then with a dial up modem and a telephone line, but I am guessing the teacher would have noticed that even if they had no clue what it was.
Easy Money!! (Atari Portfolio)
Something a bit different added to the collection. Been wanting one of these for a while. Now all I need to do is figure out how to hook it up to an ATM machine 😀
This computer was used by John Conner in Terminator 2: Judgement Day to hack the ATM and also the door codes in the most advanced research laboratory on earth. I guess they should have upped their security a bit!!
Introducing the Atari Portfolio
As featured on BBC Radio Devon 🤣
I was contacted the morning by BBC Radio Devon as they were doing a piece on Retro Gaming for the Playstations 25th Anniversary. So I was interviewed live on air this afternoon. It was probably one of the most nerve wrecking things I have ever done lol. I’m not very good in social situations so I thought I was very brave 🙂
Click below to listen to the interview
YouTube: C64 Component Video Mod
I have recently purchased and fitted a component video mod for the C64 from videogameperfection.com
I bought this as I got a second OSSC for the bedroom and then discovered that the C64 cannot do any sort of RGB output so it didn’t work.
After fitting this the image quality is now amazing. Never seen it so sharp.
This is the first of what I hope to be a series about modfying retro computers and consoles to get the most of them in modern times 🙂