Image of Stickerbombed Snes

Really, all you need is a stickerbomb book and a nice sharp knife!

Solution to yellowed Snes - Sticker Bomb!

I managed to pick up a Super Nintendo, however like most 'white' coloured plastics from the '90s it had turned yellow :/

This is due to some thing or other happening with flame retardants built into the plastics during the manufacturing process.

I didn't fancy retr0bright, although it looks like a great solution, so I Sticker Bombed

All I needed was a sticker book and a sharp knife, I didn't disassemble the console I did it whilst it was in one piece and this is the result

Fignition DIY 8-bit Computer | I built one!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I doubt you are! Then you may know I attended the Geek 2013 Show in Margate.

When I was there, I was fortunate enough to speak to a very interesting man called Julian Skidmore, creature of the Fignition, a small DIY (as in build it yourself from components) 8-bit Computer.

At a cost of only £20 how could anyone resist an opportunity to go back to the roots of Computing? Back to the Old-School where Geeks and Hackers built computers out of Microchips. Back in the 70's the home brew computing scene was rife with people getting together and building Computers and I don't mean they were going to PC world to buy a hard drive and a new stick of ram! Apple I any one?

I'm not a Computer Genius and I am certainly not an Electronics expert, I wish I knew more, Im at the level where I like to dabble in things. Despite numerous attempts, I can't program and I certainly don't understand electronic components; Oscilloscopes, Resistors, Diodes and Capacitors mean literally zero to me and anytime I try and read up on them, I get bored and end up buying junk on eBay

In the past I have attempted to solder, I have never been able to solder well!! I just make a mess, I melt things and it all goes horribly wrong! I certainly have never had the courage to solder circuitboard!

Building the Fignition for me was an opportunity to develop my soldering skills and learn a bit about how a computer really works!

The Fignition is a full 8 bit computer it has 8kb of RAM, a whopping 384kb of storage and is ready to go out of the box! (kind of, once you have soldered it together)

I actually bought the Fignition before I bought Soldering Iron or Multimeter, however that was sorted thanks to a quick trip to Maplin!!

I picked up their Cheapest Multimeter Code: N20AX
And an Antex 30w Soldering Iron Code: N11BY

Tonight I assembled the Fignition in approximately 3 hours! I have never soldered circuit board before and the machine booted straight into life!

I followed the full and detailed instructions which are available on the Fignition Website. If you have ever assembed a flat pack chest of drawers or a Lego Technic set then i urge you to give this a go!

Instructions: https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition/documentation (mine is the RevE)

I really enjoyed assembling this and seeing it boot and work first time has really given me the confidence to do take on some other electronic projects. Idealy you want a  decent work area with a good light, maybe a stand and lots of space, that would be ideal. I however assembled this sat cross legged on the living room floor on a little wooden Ikea table! I used the light on my iPhone to see the colours on the Resistors and my iPad Mini to read the instructions.

These my first few solders!

As i soldered on ;) I felt the concept of Soldering emerge clear in my head, although the application was not as clear! The trick is (and please correct me if i am wrong) to heat the tip of the exposed wire and then introduce the Solder to it, so that it felt like the wire was sucking up the Solder

Rear of Completed Board

As you can see, I am no expert and people with even the smallest bit of experience will probably look at my joints and laugh but remember this is my first time soldering circuit board and I am really impressed with my self, it has given me the confidence to try Soldering again in the future and take on (even) more ambitious projects (once I get to grips with using the Fignition of course).

I suppose, just to teach myself how to solder, I could have bought one of those DIY solder-it-yourself flashing LED circuit boards in the shape of a heart or christmas tree like they sell in Maplin, however for a few extra ££ I have built myself a fully working computer!

The Website clearly details a thorough testing scheme for the circuitry to ensure continuity etc. I have to confess, I started reading it and it made no sense to me, none what so ever! Cheekily I had a good close look at all the joints and ensured nothing was touching and fired the computer up! This is done by a standard USB lead plugged into a mains adapter.

I had no idea if it would boot or even turn on!  I decided to film it and this was the result

Fully working!

It does'nt show much, but in less then 3 hours I have built all by myself, from a load of components, a fully working real Computer!

The device features a very cool 8 button keyboard, as you can see in the video I had a bit of trouble getting to grips with it but im sure once I am up to speed I will be typing away like a FigPro!

Now, where do i go to learn about Forth

Update: Sega Multi-Mega

I popped back to the Geek Show this morning and spoke to the guys at Retro Rehab Games, they had been nothing but supportive and very helpful answering my questions on Facebook!

They apologised about giving me the wrong power supply, he said he had loads at his home address and will send one out to me if he finds it!

He also tested the machine with two of his Mega CD titles and it started up straight away!

Must have been a dodgy disc of mine

All together a brilliant service from Retro Rehab Games


Just need to get some more games now

My brief ownership of a Sega Multi-Mega (CDX)

I did say in my last post that i bought something a little bit special at the Geek Show
Well this was it a Sega Multi-Mega, a very rare console from the mid '90s apparently only 5000 ever made and I used to own one, I think I sold it at a bootfair and have regretted it ever since.

The Multi-Mega is a small Console based on the Mega Drive, well it IS a Mega Drive with a Mega CD built in, it is also really really small for its day, just slightly bigger then a Portable CD Player. They look really cool!

Today, whilst the kids were playing Table Football i saw one for sale from Retro Rehab Games who had a stall at the location, it was very expensive, £150 but you know boys and their toys and whats the point working long shifts and weekends if you cant treat yourself.

Carried it home treating it with kid gloves! i set it up next to my TV, not underneath or in the drawers, I wanted it on display!!

I played a bit of Street Fighter, the 4 year old beat me about 6 times and then the missus went on to beat me over and over again. Good fun!

Then... I went and dug a Mega CD title from the attic..

I heard Laser
I saw movement
"checking disc"
"checking disc"
Nothing :(

I decided to try an audio CD, a legitimate audio CD, I picked one from the Mother in Law's CD cabinet (all mine are in the car) The Corrs, lovely!

I heard Laser
I saw movement
"checking disc"
"checking disc"
Nothing :(

I did a bit of Googling and it stated that the Multi-Mega requires a 9.5v 1.2A Power Supply, the one i have been given, although genuine Sega is a 10V 850mA supply.
Various sources on the internet state that the latter Power Supply can be used but it can cause problems with the system, it is unclear wether it causes permanent problems or just problems when using the wrong supply, as others state the machine can work fine with the latter Supply.

Im going to have to go back in the morning before work, I hope the stewards are understanding and let me pop in without charging me admittance again!

More so I hope the Guys who sold it to me are reasonable and supply with with the correct power supply and test the machine or give me a full refund!
Im a bit un-nerved that they have not got a single contact number on their website and only 21 followers on Facebook.

This is a word of warning to anyone that is thinking of buying a Multi-Mega, ensure it has the correct Power Supply.

If this had been a bootfair find for say £10-£50 I would either cut my losses OR find someone skilled to fix it, however for the price I paid, I expect the item to be fully working.

 

I guess, at least this has stopped me from wanting one...... I think

Friday 22 Feb - Geek Show 2013 Margate Winter Gardens

So, found myself with an accidental(ly on purpose) annual leave day.

I have always wanted to learn computer programming, but apart from writing some very basic code on a ZX Spectrum emulator running on an Amiga in the mid 90s when i was a child, having found a ZX Spectrum programming book belonging to my Dad in the loft and literally copying what was listed in the book onto the computer, I have never been able to achieve this goal.

I was on the waiting list for the Raspberry Pi last year and it truly is a wonderful machine but I'm the kind of person who needs to be shown what to do a couple of times and I don't have the hours to sit an experiment with code, I keep promising myself that one day I will, that day is yet to come.

I have an 11 year old step son who is computer game obsessed; Xbox 360, iPad, Ps3 and my MacBook Pro. He's a smart kid, I think programming would be good for him! I have tried many times to sit with him and show him the little basics I know in the hope that one day, like me as a kid, he will just pick something up, maybe my MacBook or the raspberry pi and start fiddling with code and the system finding out how it works and what it can do however he seems wholly unimpressed. He just wants to pop a game into the machine or click an icon and away he goes. In fact my 10 year old step daughter seems more interested, she didn't get up half way through making a simple game using Scratch to go and watch Coronation Street at least!

I decided to take the kids, including my 4 year old to the Geek 2013 show in Margate I didn't know what to expect, so went with an open mind. Plus the Website said there was a chance to win Minecraft goodies! Minecraft is flavour of the month in my house, I downloaded it on the MacBook and played it for all of 6 minutes before getting hopelessly bemused and confused, however the 11 year old loves it and actually spent an entire productive half term day watching videos on YouTube of some guy playing it?!

I guess my proudest moment at the show was in the lower hall where they have loads of various retro computers set up, I'd say there were in excess of 100 there ranging from the BBC micro, where you had to input the code in for yourself in order to run program's, up to the Xbox 360 with many consoles in between including some Dreamcast's and Ataris. As I began, my proudest moment (at the show) was the 4 year old walking straight up to an Amiga 600 and getting stuck straight into a game! The Amiga 600 was my first computer! (I think my Dad had Spectrums when I was very young)

The older two made their way straight to the Minecraft area and waited patiently, they waited, waited some more and then some more. I spoke to one of the guys running it and he explained that it was really busy (I had kind of gathered that) he went on to tell me that if I had a laptop with me then I could plug into his server and play. There were only 6 machines set up to play Minecraft, I am new to this whole computer game club thing but I didn't know I had to bring a laptop with me? He was a pleasant guy and I asked him about the competitions, as advertised on their website, also the main reason the kids wanted to go. He went on to explain that today there would be two competitions one at 1pm to win a t-shirt and another at 3pm. The kids and I agreed to go back at about 12:45 in order to get a go. The competition was to build something Geek related, the 11year old seemed excited about this.

We arrived back at 12:40 to a packed Minecraft area, all 6 computers were in use and a few even had pushy kids with even pushier parents hassling the kids who had queued to get a go to hurry up and let them have their turn. This was a shame as I feel staff should have set the kids an amount of time to make their Minecraft creation then let the others have a go. The 11 year old even pointed out to me that some people were not even creating things. In the end both of the older kids got fed up of waiting , I was having to keep the 4 year old occupied during this, with the help of a spectrum 128k and Sensible Soccer on the CD32. Both of the older kids ended up playing Table Football, a real life not computer generated, wooden football table. 

During this time I noticed and ended up buying something a little special, a real blast from the past! 

More on that later!!!

Whilst the kids were occupied with table football I had a wonder around I spoke to a guy exhibiting a Fignition https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition which os a DIY 8 bit computer!! This looks like a very interesting bit of kit and I can't wait to have a play with it! It is designed to be completely assembled by the end user and programmed! It is pretty small and includes a keyboard and video and audio out (and in) ill write up a post with a review shortly.

Can anyone suggest a decent starter soldering iron??

There were a couple of indie game developers there unfortunately I didn't get the chance to talk to them (probably cause so much of my time was taken up queueing for Minecraft) but I really wish them the best and have nothing but admiration for what they are doing!

To sum it up, there were some cool stalls, I was very impressed by the Fignition and by the various retro computers, wether this is everyone's cup of tea I don't know. The kids were very disappointed by the whole Minecraft situation, they were really looking forward to having the chance to talk to someone about the game and have the chance to win some prizes! It was the sole reason they wanted to go! If I had of sold it to them as a load of old computers and a computer you have to build yourself with a soldering iron then I doubt they would have come!

I'm still not sure it was worth £30 entrance for an adult and two kids but I'm glad they came cause if I had of wandered around the show by myself I would have felt like a right Geek!!!

Welcome to my Blog

I thought I would try this out, I doubt that I will get many followers or readers (whatever they are called on this form of social media).

Already accustomed with Twitter and bored with Facebook, I was sitting wondering how i could get my boring thoughts out there into the wild.

So prepare to be amazed by bad spelling, enthralled by terrible grammar and most of all join me on the journey that in years to come will be seen by a Therapist as my cries for help

Alan