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Ben Ryves

@benryves.com
133 followers 130 following 399 posts

Croydon-based web developer, retro gaming and computing enthusiast and electronics hobbyist

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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/09/2026
Once I'd figured out how all the programs were stored, I needed to work out the individual tokens. Another tool created a bunch of programs that contained every possible token so I could transcribe them into a table. Fortunately there are only single-byte tokens here, unlike Sharp's later models!
Photo of a Sharp EL-9300 calculator listing tokens 80 to 85.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/09/2026
This all allows me to build a simple virtual CE-50P that emulates the printer and cassette interface in a C# program. I can then use this to write some programs on the calculator, then save to a virtual tape so I can pick through the data structures. Easier than decoding tape audio files, at least!
Screenshot of the virtual CE-50P printer and cassette interface running in Visual Studio.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/09/2026
Hooking the printer up to a logic analyser and performing some test prints and cassette saves allowed me to reverse engineer the communications. A CE-136T "level converter" then lets me plug the calculator into my PC, though the protocol still has to be bit-banged in software.
Photo of an EL-9300 calculator connected to a CE-136T level converter, which is in turn connected to a PC's serial port.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/09/2026
It does have a 4-pin "PA bus" option port on the bottom, though, same as Sharp's electronic organisers from this period. I don't have another EL-9300, so can't sniff the bus to reverse engineer the calc-to-calc transfers. I do have a CE-50P printer and cassette interface, though!
Photo of a Sharp EL-9300 calculator connected to a CE-50P printer and cassette interface.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/09/2026
Bit of a side-quest with my Sharp calculator link software plans this weekend. I was planning to support the EL-9400, 9450, 9600, 9900 and 9950, but what of the older EL-9300? This works in a fundamentally different way, with different file formats and no 2.5mm I/O port.
Photo of a Sharp EL-9300 graphing scientific calculator, showing the rests of a program that calculates a moon phase calendar.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/09/2026
I still need to clean up the battery terminals and replace the wires between the two halves of the calculator, but no hurry as I want to keep an eye on the LCD repairs before sealing everything back up. When done I'll print a label out as a reminder of when I did the repair, and... oh, bugger!
Photo of a Casio KL-2000 "EZ-Label Printer" with a missing column on its LCD.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/09/2026
Using the guide from benryves.com/journal/3763... I chased down all of the missing rows and columns then pressed the affected part of the flex cable back on the board with a soldering iron set to 220°C.
Photo of the EL-9900 screen with most of the rows and columns still working, but a couple of rows and a few columns are still missing.Photo of the EL-9900 screen with all rows working, but some columns still missing.Photo of the EL-9900 screen with columns only missing in three separate areas.Photo of the EL-9900 with all rows and columns working.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/09/2026
The battery compartment is connected to the main PCB with extremely thin wires that usually snap at the solder joint, which I assumed was the cause of the fault before buying the calculator. Signs of corrosion and the wires fell off the board when I took the back off, but that's an easy fix.
Photo of the EL-9900's battery compartment, showing a corroded positive battery terminal in the top right.Photo of the wires between the battery compartment and main PCB. The black "Main GND" wire has become disconnected and both it and the "Backup GND" wire show blue-green discolouration from a battery leak. One of the solder tabs on the backup battery shows the same blue-green discolouration.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/09/2026
"Dropped once and now it doesn't switch on." A bit grubby but the LCD looked to be in OK shape (no scratches or bruises). Popped in some batteries and it did switch on, but that PCB to LCD flex cable has clearly had enough.
Photo of a grubby EL-9900 calculator's hard case, with two missing feet that have been coloured in with a pen.Photo of the side of the EL-9900 calculator, showing more ink stains and dirt.Photo of the EL-9900's screen, showing many missing rows and columns of pixels.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/09/2026
Very nice. :-) I picked up an old webcam a few years back along with a starter kit of 1980s "Isle of Man" stamps. I assume someone found sets of unfranked stamps for less than the face value at the same car boot they found the webcam to help run their eBay shop?
Photo of a parcel covered in old stamps from the Isle of Man dating back to the 1980s.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 14/09/2026
Sharp's graphing calculator PC software and link cables are hard to find these days so I thought I'd have a go at writing my own. I've had to do a lot of reverse engineering and there's still a long way to go but it feels like I'm on the right track.
Screenshot of a work-in-progress "SHARP Graph Link" software showing various editor windows open to work with Sharp's graphing calculator variable files.Screenshot of the "Receive Files" dialog showing a variable listing from a connected calculator.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 12/09/2026
It cost six tokens but it's so worth it. Like drinking chocolate syrup.
Photo of a 15% beer label.Photo of a 1/3 pint of Imperial Stout
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 12/09/2026
Did make it to the Caterham beer festival mostly on time, fortunately. Cheers! 🍻
Photo of two half pints of beer with a beer token card.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 12/09/2026
Nearly missed my bus earlier after meeting a friendly new cat in the area. Have to make sure I pass the inspection!
Photo of a cat sniffing my hand.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 11/09/2026
I recently dug out a microscope to try to work out how a badge I picked up from the Science Museum in the 90s worked after seeing someone asking about them - youtu.be/BIZtK5UVRVE Grand Illusions posted this video today with a much larger version - youtu.be/nqam7ek4pII The magic of Moiré!
Photo of a badge seen under a microscope, revealing an array of tiny lenses in a hexagonal grid formation.Straight-on photo of the grid of lenses, showing a clearer view of the pattern this produces.Much higher magnification view of the lenses, clearly showing the hexagonal grid pattern.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 10/09/2026
I don't have any good photos but this was my first attempt from around 2008. It ran BBC BASIC from ROM. I had to order most of the parts online, as by that point my local Maplin were only really useful for component kits.
Photo of a home-brew Z80 computer assembled on two pieces of stripboard running BBC BASIC.Photo of the CPU and memory board for the computer, consisting of a Z80 CPU, some RAM and ROM, and some glue logic.Photo of the I/O board for the computer, consisting of some latch chips, PS/2 ports, a pin header for the LCD connection and some glue logic.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 31/08/2026
After missing their acoustic set last weekend it's grand to see Magic Brother opening the Carshalton Eco-Fair with a (solar-powered) electric set.
Photo of a band playing on a stage in a grassy area of a park.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 27/08/2026
Trying a more scientific approach to re-stick EL-9900 LCD flex cables via printable templates. Two rulers help measure the missing column/row numbers, and a guide then shows where the corresponding areas of the flex cable are for heating. Will it hold? Only time will tell.
Photo of a Sharp EL-9900 calculator with a horizontal ruler on the screen to identify the missing columns.Photo of a Sharp EL-9900 calculator with a vertical ruler on the screen to identify the missing rows.Photo of a template to show where the corresponding rows and columns are on the flex cable inside the calculator, so they can be heated to re-stick them.Photo of the EL-9900 calculator with the "repaired" screen - at least all rows and columns are driven.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 23/08/2026
Good quantity of black pudding on this breakfast. Out for a bike ride so this will help refuelling...
Photo of a cooked breakfast with three slices of black pudding and three tinned tomatoes.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 22/08/2026
Enjoying some live music at The Oval for its "Busker's Barbecue" and good to catch up with Ollie the pub cat.
Photo of a band playing outside. The man playing the harmonica is wearing a belt containing a frankly unreasonable quantity  of harmonicas.Photo of a man playing the guitar and singing.Photo of Ollie the pub cat.Photo of a lady playing the guitar.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/08/2026
Finally some good weather and I can enjoy a pub garden pint at long last. Cheers!
Photo of a mug of beer outside with a rain-sodden backdrop.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 12/08/2026
High-fiving the eclipse.
Photo of a projection of a partial solar eclipse on a hand.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 12/08/2026
Casio IC cards for their organisers seem much harder to find than Sharp IC cards. Both had a version of Lucid 3-D spreadsheet, though, and that can turn the organisers into useful calculating machines. I'd still love to find an equivalent to Sharp's BASIC cards for the Casio.
Photo of a Casio SF-9000 "Digital Diary" with the Casio Power Spreadsheet IC card.Photo of a Casio SF-9000 and a Sharp IQ-8000 both running their respective spreadsheet IC cards based on Lucid 3-D by PCSG Inc.A collection of the Casio IC cards I've found in the wild (1) versus the Sharp IC cards I've found (8 software applications, 3 different sizes of RAM card).
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 10/08/2026
I'm typing this response on my trusty Dell SK-8135 with the media controls. Very solid bit of kit, having a chunky piece of sheet metal inside helps. I have worn quite a few of the key legends off, though!
Photo of a Dell SK-8135 multimedia keyboard.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 08/08/2026
Good to catch up with Stanley and Winston at the Dark Horse in Selhurst. A great pub with great pub cats!
Photo of Stanley, a black and white pub catPhoto of Winston, a tabby pub cat
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 08/08/2026
One sylus (missing its soft tip) between the two calculators I bought. Both have very responsive keyboards, the one with the broken stylus has a scratched screen and the other has a fair bit of battery leak crust inside to clean up but for the price can't complain.
Photo of two Sharp EL-9600 calculators.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 07/08/2026
I don't endorse jamming components into PCBs operating at mains voltage, especially in a wet room... I only installed this fan a year ago and it lasted around six months before developing this fault. Guess that's my Friday night repair scheduled!
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/07/2026
Range 1,2,2,1,2,2 Ran#→A:Ran#→B 5000→K Lbl 1:Int(3Ran#)→N N=1⇒Goto 2 N=2⇒Goto 3 .5A→A:.5B→B:Goto 4 Lbl 2:.5(.5+A)→A:.5(1+B)→B:Goto 4 Lbl 3:.5(1+A)→A:.5B→B Lbl 4:A+1→X:B+1→Y:Plot X,Y Dsz K:Goto 1 Plot X,Y:Line I don't think Ran# gives a very even distribution. Ah well!
Photo of a Casio fx-7000G calculator showing the output of a program that draws a Sierpinski triangle.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 16/07/2026
I figured a graphing calculator collection should start with the OG, or rather the "Casio fx-7000" G. Sold as untested but aside from leaky CR2032 cells it's in good shape. My usual Sierpinski triangle test program has some weird aliasing (Y points clumped into lines) so for now here's a sine wave!
Photo of a Casio fx-7000G "Graphics" calculator
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 11/07/2026
Cheers! 🍻
Photo of half a pint of cider
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 08/07/2026
Very happy to find this TI Galaxy 67 in good nick. It's no pocket computer, but very flexible for a programmable scientific calculator with named programs that can be used as subroutines, conditional testing and branching operations. I suspect the case designer was inspired by the HP Voyager line...
Photo of a Texas Instruments Galaxy 67 programmable scientific calculator next to its box, hard slide case and instruction manual.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 28/06/2026
...on an aluminium horse, I ride. 🎵
Photo of a bicycle with a horse standing behind a gate in the background.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 26/06/2026
That's it, I'm moving to Hull.
Photo showing a thermometer reporting an indoor temperature of 34.1°C (~93°F).Screenshot of severe weather warnings, showing most of England is covered with the exception of Hull.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 26/06/2026
It's too bloody hot, but the sunflowers seem to be doing nicely.
Photo of several blooming sunflowers.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/06/2026
Been meaning to investigate the local brewery, and they've got a Midsummer Beer Festival on today so that's a perfect opportunity to do so!
People sitting outside an industrial unit drinking beer.Photo of the inside of the brewery-cum-taproom.Photo of a pint of Anspach & Hobday Bitter Smooth.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 19/06/2026
Fixed the PCB layout (hopefully) and threw together a quick design for the version with a parallel port. It doesn't connect pin 14, AUTOFEED, to anything - not sure if that's acceptable or if it should be pulled one way or the other. Not owned a parallel printer in over a decade to check...
3D render of the PCB design for the pocket computer interface that includes a serial port and a parallel port.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 18/06/2026
My sunflowers have yet to bloom (and I like that they usually attract bees) but the ragwort seems to be doing a great job of attracting cinnabar moth caterpillars. Weeds, maybe, but I prefer a bit of messy life to sterile concrete and bricks.
Photo of a ragwort plant covered in cinnabar moth caterpillars.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 18/06/2026
Whoops, that's why I normally print out a test PCB design on thin card first. A few minutes spent filing off the corners and it plugs right in. This is Piotr Piatek's circuit and emulates a tape drive (data goes to an I²C EEPROM) and printer (data goes to a serial port) mk.bs0dd.net/piotr433/tap...
Photo of a Casio FX-730P pocket computer with a circuit board plugged in. The circuit board has a serial port on it. It also has a light shining and the computer's screen says "AF:GOLF" on it.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 14/06/2026
Couldn't find the big bag of PCB standoffs I include to clip the mod board onto the stock PCB so had to order a fresh set. When I say "fresh", wasn't expecting a set from over 30 years ago! Keeping it retro...
Photo of a new bag of PCB standoffs with a 1995 date code on them.Detail of the mod board being clipped to the original PCB inside the Dreamcast race controller, with an arrow pointing the PCB standoff.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 11/06/2026
Built and programmed the next batch of Dreamcast De-Dead Zone mods, now I just need to finish making the connecting wires so I can get to the fun part - testing. :-) Six of the ten have been claimed, but if you're interested in one of the rest please give me a shout - £20 + international postage.
Photo of a box of circuit boards next to a bundle of wires, crimp contacts and a crimp tool.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 11/06/2026
Another bonus memory pack inside this untested Casio FX-730P, though this time it's a whopping 8KB. The little rubber feet on the back were also a bonus, but fortunately they peeled off without putting up a fight.
Photo of a Casio FX-730P with the back removed, showing an 8KB memory pack installed inside.Photo of the Casio FX-730P listing a simple BASIC program that PRINTs "I ♥ Casio!"
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 05/06/2026
This is what the previous card I had looked on the same organiser. The post I made about how to enable the 40-column mode on the 16-column card can be found here: benryves.com/journal/3763...
Photo of a SHARP IQ-8000 organiser with a BASIC listing occupying only the leftmost 16 columns of the screen.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 05/06/2026
Finally managed to find a 40-column BASIC card for my Sharp organisers! I'd previously done a bit of clumsy reverse engineering to hack together 40-column support on the 16-column card, but now I can dump the real thing and compare the two.
Photo of a SHARP Scientific Computer Card IQ-8B03 and its manual.Photo of a SHARP IQ-8000 running the card, showing that the card is displaying contents on all 40 columns of the LCD.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 02/06/2026
Following the hailstorms, heatwave and now torrential downpours and strong winds my sunflowers are looking a bit worse for wear but they're all budding at least. 🌻
Photo of several sunflower plants in pots.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 02/06/2026
Should have bought more pots but considering this was all in two pots and one seed tray before I think this is still an improvement. Basil, rosemary and echinacea; when I planted them last year not a single one germinated. Also planted some delphinium seeds but they didn't work this year either!
Photo of basil, echinacea and rosemary seedlings in small pots.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 01/06/2026
New month, new monthly calendar for the fridge. Also a good opportunity to check the batteries are charged in all my pocket computer printers!
Photo of three Sharp pocket computers in their respective printer/cassette interfaces, each having printed a monthly calendar for June 2026.Detail of the printout from the Sharp PC-1211 in the CE-122 printer.

Program listing:

10 INPUT "YEAR?",Y,"MONTH?",M
20 T=INT (M/10):U=M-10T:O=Y
30 Z=M-INT ((M-1)/7)*7:Z=30+Z-INT (Z/2)*2
40 IF M=2 LET Z=29-((Y/4<>INT (Y/4))+((Y/100=INT (Y/100))*(Y/400<>INT (Y/400))))
50 IF M>2 LET M=M+1: GOTO 70
60 M=M+13:Y=Y-1
70 V=INT (365.25Y)+INT (30.6M)-621049
80 V=1+INT (V/7)*7-V
90 A$(27)="0":A$(28)="1":A$(29)="2":A$(30)="3":A$(31)="4"
100 A$(32)="5":A$(33)="6":A$(34)="7":A$(35)="8":A$(36)="9"
110 A$=A$(T+27):B$=A$(U+27)
120 PRINT "␣␣␣␣";USING "#####";O;USING ;"-";A$;B$
130 PRINT "␣␣M␣T␣W␣T␣F␣S␣S"
140 FOR O=1 TO 13 STEP 2
150 T=INT (ABS V/10):U=ABS V-10T:A$(O)=A$(T+27):A$(O+1)=A$(U+27)
160 IF (V<10)+(V>Z) LET A$(O)="␣"
170 IF (V<1)+(V>Z) LET A$(O+1)="␣"
180 V=V+1
190 NEXT O
200 PRINT "␣";A$;B$;C$;D$;E$;F$;G$;H$;I$;J$;K$;L$;M$;N$
210 IF V<=Z THEN 140
220 PRINT "␣"Detail from the printout from the Sharp PC-1500 in the CE-150 printer.

Program listing:

10 REM Monthly Calendar
20 IF PEEK &A000<>&C0 PRINT "Printer required.": END
30 M=INT (TIME /1E4): IF Y<1900 OR Y>2100 LET Y=2000
40 WAIT 0
50 CLS : PRINT "Year (";STR$ Y;") ";: INPUT Y
60 CLS : PRINT "Month (";STR$ M;") ";: INPUT M
70 CLS : INPUT "Colour? (Y/N) ";C$
80 IF C$<>"Y" AND C$<>"N" THEN 70
90 C=C$="Y": CLS
100 E=M-INT ((M-1)/7)*7:E=30+E-INT (E/2)*2
120 IF M=2 LET E=29-((Y/4<>INT (Y/4))+((Y/100=INT (Y/100))*(Y/400<>INT (Y/400))))
130 Z=Y:N=M+1: IF M>2 THEN 150
140 Z=Y-1:N=M+13
150 V=INT (365.25*Z)+INT (30.6*N)-621049
160 V=1+INT (V/7)*7-V
170 TEXT : CSIZE 5
180 V$=STR$ M: IF LEN V$<2 LET V$="0"+V$
190 V$=STR$ Y+"-"+V$
200 COLOR 0: LPRINT V$
210 GRAPH : CSIZE 2: SORGN :R=0
220 FOR X=1 TO 7: GLCURSOR (X*30-24,0)
230 COLOR (2+(X>5))*C
240 LPRINT MID$ ("MoTuWeThFrSaSu",X*2-1,2);
250 NEXT X
260 R=R-24
270 FOR X=1 TO 7: IF V<1 OR V>E THEN 310
280 GLCURSOR (X*30-24,R): COLOR (1+2*(X>5))*C
290 V$=STR$ V: IF LEN V$<2 LET V$="␣"+V$
300 LPRINT V$;
310 V=V+1
320 NEXT X
330 IF V<=E THEN 260
340 COLOR 0
350 FOR X=1 TO 8
360 LINE (X*30-27,R-6)-(X*30-27,18)
370 NEXT X
380 FOR X=18 TO R-6 STEP -24
390 LINE (3,X)-(213,X)
400 NEXT X
410 TEXT : LF 4Detail from the printout from the Sharp PC-1251 in the CE-125 printer.

Program listing:

10 INPUT "YEAR?",Y,"MONTH?",M
20 LPRINT "␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣␣";STR$ Y;"-";RIGHT$ ("0"+STR$ M,2): LPRINT ""
30 Z=M-INT ((M-1)/7)*7:Z=30+Z-INT (Z/2)*2
40 IF M=2 LET Z=29-((Y/4<>INT (Y/4))+((Y/100=INT (Y/100))*(Y/400<>INT (Y/400))))
50 IF M>2 LET M=M+1: GOTO 70
60 M=M+13:Y=Y-1
70 V=INT (365.25Y)+INT (30.6M)-621049
80 V=1+INT (V/7)*7-V
130 LPRINT "␣␣MO␣TU␣WE␣TH␣FR␣SA␣SU"
140 FOR O=1 TO 7
150 A$(O)=RIGHT$ ("␣␣"+STR$ V,3)
170 IF (V<1) OR (V>Z) LET A$(O)="␣␣␣"
180 V=V+1
190 NEXT O
200 LPRINT "␣";A$;B$;C$;D$;E$;F$;G$
210 IF V<=Z THEN 140
220 LPRINT ""
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 22/05/2026
www.ticalc.org/archives/fil... Sound's... not great, but for a device with no sound hardware it's a valiant effort. Now let's see the Game Boy plot a graph!
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 21/05/2026
My TV screen might be getting smaller, but my calculator screen is definitely getting larger! Wanted a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition for a long time, when this model appeared with a pair of ViewScreens I had to pick it up. Fun to see some of my programs finally running at 15MHz. Now I just need an OHP!
Photo of a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition alongside two ViewScreens.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 20/05/2026
Quote with a fictional band that is not Spın̈al Tap.
"The Band With Rocks In" from the cover of Terry Pratchett's "Soul Music", painted by Josh Kirby.
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Ben Ryves @benryves.com · 18/05/2026
Pocket screen turn on. Replace 'CAPACITOR'. For great justice.
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