Electronics hobby blog

This is the micro:bit. It is a pocket sized computer system with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth technology that can be used to learn programming and electronics.

This is a CNC 3018 Pro router. It can be bought for around 150 euros from various online resellers. It comes unassembled. In this tutorial I will first do the unboxing and then share with you my challenges during the assembly of this CNC router.

What you see here is a Commodore 64 cartridge that I have created by sticking an EPROM and some other components on a breadboard.

A while back I also made a prototype for C64 PLA chip replacement, but I never did any further tests and completed the project. I thought that it was time to do some more tests on the chip. But will it pass the tests? Let's find out...

This is a Magnetic print bed that can be installed on a 3D printer for better adhesion and also so your finished prints can be easily removed. A while back I installed a similar print bed on my main 3D printer, but did not document it apart from some posts on Twitter. In this post I will cover the installation in more detail.

The 4164 DRAM memory chips can be found inside old 8-bit computers like Atari 800XL and Commodore 64. In this blog I will try to explain how they work by going through the datasheet and then building a breadboard with an Arduino to look at the operation in more detail. You can also watch this on youtube.

In my previous blog, I have written a bit about the remake of the PCB board for Atari 800XL computer. Now I will describe the process of acquiring all the parts needed to build it. 

To house my set of MiSTer PCBs boards, which are: IO Board v5.6, SDRAM extra slim (XS), USB Hub v2.1 connected with USB Bracket with L-shaped connector, I wanted to 3D print a case. Unfortunately I could not find a design one that met all my needs, so I decided to remix existing Thingiverse designs and combine them into this case.

There are a few simple assembly steps required to dress up your DE10-Nano board and transform it to a fully functional retro machine.

As a child I have owned an Atari 800XL. This 8-bit computer always had a special place in my heart. After almost 35 years I have decided to dive a bit deeper into the circuitry of this now called retro computer. What better way to start than to remake the PCB from scratch.