iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Wrapping up the Compaq. Really interesting machine. Cyrix Media GX was ahead of its time in many ways. 486-derived with built in graphics and SB16. SoC if you will. And this Compaq is now in lovely condition. 😍

Inside of the Compaq Presario, showing a large Noctua cooling fan mounted above the motherboard and heatsinks.

IDE-to-CompactFlash setup mounted on top the optical drive, with a 4 GB SanDisk CompactFlash card installed and connected to the motherboard by ribbon cable.

3Com EtherLink III network card installed vertically in the ISA expansion riser, showing the card, edge connector and surrounding motherboard components.

Front panel of the Compaq Presario, showing the large crescent-moon sleep button and separate volume down and volume up controls above the optical drive.

Just one more problem to solve!

The ISA expansion card fitted into the newly installed bus extension, showing the card edge fouling the motherboard’s keyboard connector and preventing it from seating correctly.

It doesn’t look like they’ve bothered to strip the buffers from the BOM so I have high hopes for my little extension of the standard 8-bit ISA slot working.

Compaq Presario motherboard with the ISA bus extension connector installed, showing the additional edge-card slot alongside the existing motherboard connectors.

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I’ve also had a bit of a naughty idea.

Close-up of the Compaq Presario motherboard showing the unpopulated ISA bus extension footprint and surrounding components before the connector is fitted.

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I had high hopes for this Presario working with a mechanical hard disk, however having tried several era-appropriate, known-working drives, I have had no luck and am resorting to something a little more modern.

3D-printed mounting frame containing an IDE-to-CompactFlash adaptor PCB, with a 4 GB SanDisk CompactFlash card inserted, sitting on a workshop bench.

Painted the grills with Anthracite. Almost a perfect match. 😍 The fabric behind the grills was also rust-stained, so I painted them with a dusting of matte black. What seems to have worked nicely too. There's one scuff on the front I haven't been able to work through in fear of making it shiny.

Black Compaq computer front bezel removed from the case, showing the power button and speaker grilles.

Close-up of the assembled Compaq computer front panel, as received, showing the power button, status LED and optical drive.

Henry @2600.me · 24/09/2026

It’s kind of sad that Don Estridge, who led the IBM team behind “Project Chess”, which became the IBM PC, never got to see just how far the architecture would go. He died in a plane crash in 1985, four years after the original PC was launched. Wonder what he would have made of it!

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Henry @2600.me · 24/09/2026

For fun I put a IBM 5150 on the Internet as a web server. With lightweight text pages, it did the job just fine, serving pages directly from a 360k floppy disk. Separate proxy made them available over dual IPv4&6 stack and via SSL. What shall I get it to do next? 😍

An IBM 5150 Personal Computer with dual floppy drives and an IBM monochrome monitor, displaying a green-text mTCP HTTP server console. The computer and monitor show age-related yellowing and wear, and are pictured on a workbench surrounded by retro-computing equipment.

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Henry @2600.me · 19/09/2026

Before and after restoration of my Amstrad PC2086. Dead proud of this one.

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Henry @2600.me · 12/09/2026

Progress after the first pass of cleaning. Hmm.

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Henry @2600.me · 12/09/2026

A very sad Tandon PCX followed me home today. Once the home to rodents, it seems. Will it ever work again? 😬

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Henry @2600.me · 25/08/2026

We will always love Dolly! ❤️

Henry @2600.me · 04/10/2025

FlashFloppy running on my OpenFlops board connected to a VFD in an IBM 5150 (with its lid off). Is there anything more beautiful? 😍

Henry @2600.me · 12/04/2025

Brilliant. Pebble dashed by a bloody pigeon. 😂

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Henry @2600.me · 29/03/2025

Well, they have to make themselves useful, right?

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Henry @2600.me · 23/03/2025

ALIENS AND ROBOTS! 😍

A playful robot figure made from blue and yellow playdough sits on a wooden surface. The robot is shaped using moulds and has googly eyes. Long yellow playdough strands surround the robot’s head, resembling hair or cables.

A row of four playdough creatures is displayed on a wooden table. From left to right: two green alien-like figures with big heads and googly eyes, a small yellow creature with large eyes and stubby limbs, and a green robot figure with moulded details and googly eyes. A person in a brown jumper is seated in the background.

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Henry @2600.me · 15/03/2025

My name is Henry and I have a LED problem^w collection.

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Henry @2600.me · 26/02/2025

Ooo! New one! 🆕

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Henry @2600.me · 16/02/2025

Something special arrived in the post yesterday—an IBM PC 5150, the same type I last owned decades ago. It’s not working yet, but with its off-the-shelf parts, I’m hopeful I can get it running with help from @mogwaay.bsky.social and the amazing folks on the Retro Hardware Discord. ❤️

Close-up of an IBM Model 5150 label – A label from an IBM 5150 Personal Computer, indicating it was made in Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom. The label includes power specifications (220-240V, 50/60Hz, 1.4A) and mentions copyright information from IBM Corp, 1981.

Full view of an IBM 5150 PC on a kitchen counter – A wider shot of an IBM 5150 Personal Computer with dual 5.25-inch floppy drives. The case is beige with some discoloration and dirt, resting on a black countertop in a kitchen setting.

Back panel of an IBM 5150 with expansion cards – A rear view of the IBM 5150 showcasing various expansion card ports, including two DB-25 connectors, a DB-9 connector, and a coaxial port. The panel is dusty and has signs of aging.

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Henry @2600.me · 15/02/2025

Forces the SCART input into RGB mode. Normally your device would need to pull pin 16 to TTL low (I think) to do this. This is super useful because some devices don’t do this properly.

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Henry @2600.me · 15/02/2025

This is the Philips.

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Henry @2600.me · 14/02/2025

Happy V-Day to my wonderful rugby-playing, crossbow-wielding, smiley, fabulous wife. ❤️

Emma looking down and smiling while seated indoors. She is wearing a navy blue and red rugby hoodie with a Biggleswade crest on the left side. Sunlight from a window behind her highlights her brown hair as she focuses on something in front of her.

Emma smiling brightly at the camera indoors, holding a book titled What a Flanker by James Haskell. She is wearing a navy blue Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 hoodie with a red hood lining. Behind her is a modern kitchen with wooden cabinets and a glass door leading outside.

Emma sitting at a restaurant table, smiling softly at the camera. She is wearing a black top over a pink long-sleeve shirt. She holds a fork and knife while eating a dish with tomato sauce and salad. A glass of water with lemon and a smartphone are on the table.

Emma outdoors in a wooded area, smiling brightly while holding a crossbow. She is wearing a dark green jacket with a fur-lined hood over her rugby hoodie, navy jeans, and black boots. A wooden table with another crossbow and equipment is visible behind her, along with trees, bushes, and a white van in the background.

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Henry @2600.me · 09/02/2025

My PC diagnostic skills are still in their early days, so my friend Chris (@mogwaay.bsky.social) came to the rescue, first online, then in person! 😍 3/4

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Henry @2600.me · 09/02/2025

I’ve been spending time over the past few weeks looking into the problems with the lovely Ferranti PC-33. By all accounts, it’s a very rare beast! It’s 8086-based, which in itself is pretty cool. 1/4

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Henry @2600.me · 03/02/2025

Twenty thousand electric miles. That’s a thousand gallons of petrol that haven’t been burned. Feeling pretty chuffed with that.

Henry @2600.me · 01/02/2025

Slightly triggered by this tape on the floor at the pool for son’s swimming lessons. Who would do this? 😂

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Henry @2600.me · 31/01/2025

Lovely lovely lovely STAX records collection picked up from Marketplace. 😍

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Henry @2600.me · 30/01/2025

The Wildhearts popped up on my playlist earlier and I was instantly transported to sweaty gigs at the Cambridge Junction, Esquires etc. what happy memories. What music instantly sends you to a time or place? 🥰

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Henry @2600.me · 29/01/2025

Just remembered the reg number of one of my first cars and looked it up. No history at all. I wonder how long it was used after I sold it? How can I find out for my lovely old car?

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Henry @2600.me · 24/01/2025

Over a decade ago, some radio colleagues created a Twitter account posing as disgraced pop star Gary Glitter. It stirred up plenty of controversy in the UK press. Looking back now, it’s alarming that the Daily Mail and other mainstream media outlets are even worse at verifying basic facts.

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Henry @2600.me · 23/01/2025

The thing that makes this machine interesting is the ISA bus breakout is on a separate board. It has what appears to be 256KB of RAM onboard, which feels a little stingy for a 1989 286 system. Why so little RAM?

Henry @2600.me · 22/01/2025

A new 286 class machine arrived this week. The Mitsubishi MP 286. It’s filthy and fascinating in equal quantities. As I get time I will add to this thread with what makes it interesting. First on the agenda is a really really good clean!

This image shows the front panel of a Mitsubishi MP 286 computer. The text “VGA 256-512 WITH Feature Connector” is handwritten on a sticker affixed to the case. Another sticker mentions “720KB - 21MB DOS 6.2 + Lots of Programs.” The case is a mustard-yellow colour, typical of older computer designs.

This image highlights the interior of the computer case, focusing on a corroded metal base. A black “VARTA” battery (for the clock/BIOS) is prominently shown, surrounded by rust and corrosion from battery leakage. The label indicates it is a 3.6V Ni-Cd battery.

This is a close-up of a section of the motherboard, showing several ICs and components. Visible markings on chips include “WLESYI-8 P13 P” and “WLESYI-8 P14 P.” The PCB is marked with “MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP” and various integrated circuit components are soldered onto it. It appears to be heavily corroded.

This photo captures the interior with flat ribbon cables and wires running through the case. A yellow warning label is attached to the metal power supply, warning against hazardous conditions if improperly handled. The area appears dusty and aged, showing the wear typical of vintage hardware.

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Henry @2600.me · 17/01/2025

Today I gave my N64 a new lease on life. These cases are from Ali Express and I have been really impressed with the quality of the plastics and moulding. Very close to the original OEM case. I swapped the standard red LED for a more appropriate green one. Super happy with how it turned out.

The box for the new N64 case with a motif that says ‘Retro is COOL’.

This is a rear view of the empty green, translucent Nintendo 64 case without the red cartridge in place. The translucent casing allows visibility into the internal structure, with openings for the cartridge slot and other ports. The console is positioned on the same green cutting mat

This image features a stack of factory standard Nintendo 64 consoles. The setup is on the same workbench, surrounded by tools and electronic equipment.

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Henry @2600.me · 17/01/2025

Right! That’s it. Who changed the name of the door bell?

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Henry @2600.me · 04/01/2025

Vintage GPU benchmarking rig almost ready! Windows 95 lives, online via a 3Com 100M NIC. 🚀 Imaged the CF card now already—can’t risk losing this following a good amount of ‘95 driver faff. Specs: 486DX2 66, 256k cache, 32MB FP DRAM. I regret binning a lidless case last week — perfect for this! 😂

My 486 motherboard with installed CPU, LAN AND I/O cards along with a processor and RAM.

Henry @2600.me · 04/01/2025

Very happy to have hopefully picked up my holy grail today - the 486 DX/4 120. This was dream spec in my yoof! 😍

Henry @2600.me · 01/01/2025

Today I have been playing around with Oscilloscope music as recently demonstrated by @techmoan.bsky.social on YouTube. Lots of fun!

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Henry @2600.me · 01/01/2025

Happy New Year! Most of you probably know I’m a bit of a @timminchin.bsky.social fan and something he said recently resonated with me: "Being kind to people you agree with is the easiest thing in the world. The only thing that matters is you can be kind to a bigot." Truer words never spoken. ❤️

Big Ben on New Years Eve with fireworks going off in the background.

Henry @2600.me · 31/12/2024

Oh and it plays Doom like a champ!

Toshiba Tecra 500CDT showing the Doom starting screen.

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Henry @2600.me · 31/12/2024

The Toshiba Tecra 500CDT is all working. This is a lovely colour Pentium 120 from 1996 with built-in sound, CDROM and all the other age-appropriate stuff. Teenage me would have loved this little beauty! 😍

Henry @2600.me · 30/12/2024

After 5 solid years of service, my trusty Wiha side cutters finally gave up the ghost. My Knipex suffered a similar fate before that. What’s the verdict on Lindström side cutters? Or are there other brands I should consider?

Henry @2600.me · 30/12/2024

TIFU! This is the vent I installed today in an attempt to add ventilation to our heatpump tumble dryer installed in a cupboard under the stairs. I didn’t realise the PC fan I chose had blue LEDs in it. As festive as it looks right now, it’s not the design aesthetic we’d usually go for in this home.

Picture showing a vent above a door frame with the blue hue of LEDs visible through.

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Henry @2600.me · 26/12/2024

Something a little different on the bench today. This is an Opengear ACM5004 which I’ve been attempting to modify by adding a wireless interface card. Sadly, the OS doesn’t appear to like the cards I’ve tried too much; maybe one to take another look at on a rainy day.

Henry @2600.me · 21/12/2024

Happy Solstice! 😍

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Henry @2600.me · 20/12/2024

It’s that time of year again! ❤️ #diehard #christmasmovie

Henry @2600.me · 16/12/2024

Bought a cheap set of 100 ‘Amazon’ multicoloured fairy lights. A colleague suggested they might be WS2812s under the hood so I tried them out on an Arduino. Lo and behold they are! 😍 Here they are set up in our office looking festive.

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Henry @2600.me · 15/12/2024

Nice simple and easy fix on a friend’s CPC464 today. Solder fatigue on the DC jack caused a no-power fault. To fix I removed and replaced the jack with a brand new one. A new tape drive belt and it was loading games like a legend! A quick test with @noel-llopis.me’s diag ROM and it’s good to go! 🤖