Retro Z80 computer (2) – backplane and CPU board
Yesterday evening I assembled and soldered the backplane board and the CPU board. Around 600 solder joints…… Read the rest
Author: gerard
Retro Z80 computer (1) – plans
This holiday season I’m going retro, and build my own Z80 computer from a kit. The kit offers all the separate parts and one has to assemble the whole thing…
All the parts
Modular design
The design of this computer is totally modular. Because it has been thought out very… Read the rest
Resonance measurements / filters
Yesterday I started with Capacitors / capacity and coils / inductance. Today I did some extensive measuring, first on a C and L in a series tuned circuit, then on a parallel tuned circuit. See schematics here below:
For these measurements I used the same setup as yesterday. But this… Read the rest
Resonance frequencies
In the HAM course I am following to become a licensed radio amateur, the topic of resonance frequencies came along. To wrap my head around it I did some experimenting. You can find the result below. I have an assortment of capacitors and coils that I can use for these… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (6) – adjustment & enclosure
In this version I built in the possibility to adjust the summer and wintertime offset from UTC. It’s a very crude offset, I just add or subtract the offset from the UTC hour. Have to think of a better way to do this…
Enclosure
I built in the gadget in… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (5) – menu structure
This weekend I built in a menu structure into the HAM-gadget. Also I created a possibility to store and retrieve settings to the ATMEGA328P’s EEPROM, so they are saved for the next time you switch on the device. For now, you have to retrieve them manually, but that’s quicker then… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (4) – keyboard added
After a lot of fiddling, trial and errors, I finally got the matrix keyboard to work. Also, as the project has passed the prototype stage, I threw together everything on a PCB in preparation for mounting it in a casing.
Note to self:next time first cut the PCB to size… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (3) – connected the GPS
Finally got it to work
After much fiddling and trying out different libraries I finally had a bright moment and reverted back to the library that has been specifically made for this GPS module by Velleman… Duh…
prototype, software version 0.5
That worked, also after some tweaking of the wires… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (2) – new Arduino board
Arduino board left and center, GPS module on the right, GPS antenna on top
Today some new stuff arrived.
First of all the new Arduino RP2040 Connect board, a Wifi capable board with a much smaller form factor then the Uno clone I had before.
Second came in the GPS… Read the rest
HAM-gadget (1) – building a shack gadget
Today I worked on version 0.1 of my new project. It’s in the prototype stage as you can see in the picture below. For this test it’s an Arduino Uno (clone by Velleman), two DS18B20 temperature sensors and two 20 x 4 displays.
This version is for setting up the… Read the rest
My audio stack
Below you can see my audio stack. At this moment it is in use for work related Teams and Skype meetings, later on, when I passed my exam and have obtained my license, I will also use it for HAM voice activities (QSO’s).
The stack:
Audio stack
Components
One by… Read the rest
Uptime > 1 year
My Linux server (Debian 10 ‘Buster’) is running over one year now:… Read the rest
Current workplace
This is how my current workplace looks.… Read the rest
Logitech MX Vertical
The ergonomic mouse I talked about earlier was an almost instant relief on my lower arm muscles. Therefor I would like to have something like that after having to send back the previous ergonomic mouse.
This resulted in me searching for alternatives and ultimately ordering the Logitech MX Vertical mouse.… Read the rest
DasKeyboard X50Q arrived
Today a new keyboard arrived, DasKeyboard X50Q to be precise. To the right, you can see a picture of the keyboard, showing one of six default onboard back light configurations.
I decided that I did not want a wireless keyboard, and this one came with a 2 meter long braided… Read the rest