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Category Archives: hardware

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Gigabyte crapware

19/01/2012 – 14:12

Picked up a cheap ex-display Gigabyte mobo in mint condition. By all accounts it is a good board, but man do Gigabyte love “value added” crapware. Some examples: Auto Green – Sleep or power down your PC from a Bluetooth device. Since Bluetooth has a range of about 25mm it seems like it would be [...]

By mojo | Also posted in idiots | Comments (0)

Mouse+Joystick “computer” mode for the Retro Adapter

18/06/2010 – 18:18

I have just finished updating mouse support on the Retro Adapter so that it now supports a mouse and joystick simultaneously. I am still trying to think of a good name for it but for the moment I am calling it “Computer Mode” because it is ideal for emulating machines like the Amiga or Atari [...]

By mojo | Also posted in electronics, microcontrollers, Retro Adapter | Comments (0)

Making the Umax PowerLook 2100XL scanner work on Windows 7

15/06/2010 – 14:56

I had an interesting challenge at work a few weeks ago. A customer wanted a new PC running Windows 7 but he needed to keep using his rather old A3 scanner, a Umax PowerLook 2100XL. Umax only provide Windows XP drivers and installing them on Windows 7 stops the system starting up. Something about the [...]

By mojo | Also posted in software, windows | Comments (26)

BBC Master Compact keyboard pinout

16/05/2010 – 23:42

I’m working on a project involving the keyboard from a BBC Master Compact. I couldn’t find an accurate pinout on the web anywhere so I got my multimeter out and mapped it. LED Power 01 – 02       Column Row       03 – 04       Break Row       05 – 06       Row Column     [...]

By mojo | Comments (0)

MAME and paddle controllers

03/05/2010 – 21:02

I just got a Sega Master System paddle controller working with the Retro Adapter. It works perfectly but there is a compatibility problem with some MAME games I had not anticipated. I tried to use it with Arkanoid. That game uses a spinner control which can rotate endlessly clockwise or anti-clockwise, unlike a paddle which [...]

By mojo | Also posted in electronics, Retro Adapter, software | Comments (0)

Hori Famicom trackball protocol

22/04/2010 – 23:34

I just finished adding support for Famicom/NES trackballs to the Retro Adapter firmware. I can now use it as a mouse :-) The protocol is quite simple. Data is read from the controller in the same way as a normal gamepad. The first 8 bits are the same, followed by 4 bits of y axis [...]

By mojo | Also posted in electronics | Comments (0)

Famicom controller port pinout

19/04/2010 – 00:02

I am in the process of adding support for various Famicom controllers in the Retro Adapter firmware. I have a trackball and a mahjong controller I am working on. I thought it would be easy enough to find the Famicom controller port pinout online, but both of the pages I found (here and here) are [...]

By mojo | Also posted in electronics | Comments (2)

HTC Hero, Android and apps review

25/03/2010 – 17:09

I have spent some time with my HTC Hero and thought it was rtime for a review. I am on contract with T-Mobile and have unlimited data. You really need a good data plan, even if you have WiFi at home and work. Android loves data. Unfortunately T-Mobile’s coverage is crap. First the phone itself. [...]

By mojo | Comments (0)

Brother P-Touch QL-560 label printer mini review

29/12/2009 – 20:35

I got a Brother label printer in the sales. No driver for XP x64 was supplied but the Vista x64 one works perfectly. It seems that the printer subsystem did not change much between XP x64 (based on the Server 2003 kernel) and Vista. Print quality isn’t bad. Blacks are very deep and should hopefully [...]

By mojo | Comments (0)

Retro Adapters now on sale!

07/09/2009 – 22:00

I finally got there – Retro Adapters are on sale! Everything is at http://retro.world3.net, including an online shop where you can buy ready made adapters and kits via Google Checkout. I’ll add more stuff to the shop side in the next few days. In particular I hope to have some extension cables for sale for [...]

By mojo | Also posted in Retro Adapter | Comments (2)
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