iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Linker3000

gloriouscow.bsky.social @gloriouscow.bsky.social · 4h

A pretty big emulation milestone - The NEC V20/V30 CPU has now been emulated at the microcode level. #retrocomputing #emulation

a screenshot of the XTCE-Blue emulator running a NEC V20 CPU with microcode-level emulation. a DOS directory listing is shown, with a CPU status debug window on the right side showing register and flag state.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/10/2026

Looking for things to do, I decided to install a Tailscale VPN between one of my Debian servers and my Android phone. It took about 3 mins to get it working. Boring. /In a good way.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/10/2026

So how long before "Late Stage Capitalism" is replaced by the "Star Trek Economy Early bird special"?

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/10/2026

Can't login.. incorrect password. Can't login.. incorrect password. Gets password reset email. Uses saved password from Bitwarden. Told to choose another password - must not reuse previous ones. Quits. Logs in OK with existing saved password. Is this the new multi factor authentication?

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/10/2026

BACK STRAIGHT, EYES FRONT, 104!!

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/10/2026

For a dev team I manage, each sprint was given a nickname that's a famous person from computing history. I just noticed the name I gave to the current sprint is 'Hamilton'. Bless.

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Reposted by Linker3000

The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 07/10/2026

According to MIT News, Margaret Hamilton died at the age of 90. "A profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program". This famous photo 🔽 inspired the For All Mankind character Margo Madison.

Margaret Hamilton, but the famous 1969 photo that inspired the For All Mankind character Margo Madison is in the quoted post.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 05/10/2026

Would that also make it a finite state machine? What might the image-based program do!?

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 04/10/2026

I keep debating replacing the on prem backup service, but It's based on BackupPC, has a useable GUI and just works. There's 9TB of 3 years of GFS backups on it and a total capacity of 12TB. Moving it all elsewhere would be pain for maybe moderate gain + Cloud storage costs.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 04/10/2026

Posting evidence suggests otherwise. I enjoy reading your stuff.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 04/10/2026

I manage a couple of small Hetzner servers in separate data centres. One runs a Moodle LMS and a few Web sites, the other is a Mailcow Dockerized email system. Both use Hetzner's 7 day snapshotting, plus they rsync backups to each other + another on-prem server with its own backup system.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 04/10/2026

Bacteria (noun): The area of land behind a cafeteria.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 02/10/2026

Betterbird is a slightly adequater version.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 30/09/2026

They go off quicker unless you keep them in the fridge.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 30/09/2026

I'm typing this now on my...oh...phone...! My home desktop machine is running Mint with KDE desktop. Personal laptop runs Fedora. I don't own a machine running Windows. I do get to experience Windows 11 on the work laptop though.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 26/09/2026

Dear AliExpress, please make it stop.

A run of 5 status report emails about the same delivery.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 26/09/2026

Had some of those in secondary school - and pulse counters / timers with dekatrons. Wish I could go back in time to when they were likely tossed or given away.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 22/09/2026

Sign should have read "Careful now"

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 22/09/2026

That board sure does like mixing its TTL types.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 19/09/2026

Hmm, a description online makes it sound sorta tasty: "Instant chicken porridge, also known as chicken congee, is a comforting rice porridge made with chicken, rice, and broth, often flavored with ginger and green onions..." My ignorance made me think of Oats+Chicken. Kinda want to cook some now.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 19/09/2026

Brainfart / senior moment: I ordered 28-pin, ATMEGA328-sized, ZIF sockets instead of 20-pin ones. 1 board is ready to go - minus socket. 😣

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 19/09/2026

Boards from PCBWay (Via project's GitHub page). Components I didn't have from AliExpress. Can dig out exact links if you wish, but cannot vouch for the quality of the parts.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 19/09/2026

Postie must have read my lament.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 18/09/2026

Right, that's all the components gathered to make some DRAM testers...ready...steady...oh, wait... PCBs aren't here yet 🫤

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 16/09/2026

Found the DIP switches. Just waiting for the decoupling caps to finish off a batch of Versa64carts for the Commodore 64 so I don't have to swap EPROMs. I might have to consider a multi-firmware thingy sometime.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 16/09/2026

Have to say that the hybrid donthalfshift if you put your foot down.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 16/09/2026

Saw that exact price today and was reminded of my Renault Laguna Turbo Diesel - loved that car. Driving a self-charging hybrid now.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 14/09/2026

Happy CCTV camera is happy.

Circular CCTV camera with two lenses and a curved gap between the body and mounting plate that looks like a smule

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/09/2026

I have reached the conclusion that the decoupling caps have eloped with the 5-way DIP switches. 🥰

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/09/2026

This is awesome: A searchable archive of Byte magazine: byte.tsundoku.io

byte.tsundoku.io

Byte - a visual archive

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 11/09/2026

Good point and a bit of a fundamental matter to not do well on the majority of phones.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 10/09/2026

My 2 year old Motorola cost about £260 new, works fine, is quick and does all I want. I'll run it until the battery gives up or security updates stop coming. Annoyingly the battery is not replaceable. Can't think of a feature I soo desperately need that I'd fork out $Apple for it.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 09/09/2026

That time your big bag of 100nF disc decoupling caps goes walkies. 😣 I'll have to split them into lots and store in multiple places. I've some bead types but they are wider and will look fugly if bent to fit. I have standards y'know. Couldn't even find one on the floor behind the bench. 😄

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 09/09/2026

Yep, there's still something about the fault that changes after a bit of warming up. I'm going to increase the cap to 47pF to see if that improves stability and after that the RAM is coming out. Sometimes the fuller diags pass OK. It would be better just to have a go/no-go situation!

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

Edit: Ah well, on to C-64 Diags 586220 and it doesn't like U9, U11 and U22 RAM chips...onwards...

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

I did a bit of research & found a post about /CASRAM timing with PLA replacements and, lo - a 33pF cap fitted on the line. This is C204 on some boards, but not implemented on this rev. Original logic back & we're soak testing. So: Dead PLA (and probably SID) + a timing cap needed. Timey wimey stuff.

33pF ceramic capacitor soldered between R42 left leg and C41 GND pin just below - this puts it on the /CASRAM line and slows down the signal ever so slightly.

Screen showing DesTestMAX with 38 successful test passes.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

They're gone - no difference!

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

No, they predate me. I have reflowed them, tested them electrically and for signals. I do fear they may have to go though.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

Have you used 28C64 EEPROMs as ROM replacements on a conventional adapter board - I have found references to funny things happening due to pin 26 being assigned as the /WE on the 28C64 but left floating/NC on 2764 adapters. I suppose rigging a pullup would be easy, if needed.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

Will be whipping out the ROMs for testing and socketing. EPROM adapter boards are on the way just in case. The SlimPLA tests OK in a TL866, but without a comparison I also wonder if I might have a timing edge case.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

Yep, blue screen is OK. Occasionally there's a flash of lettering but it's so quick I'll have to video it. Bad bits jump around but favourites are 0 4 5 7, which tends to diminish to only 5, then a few more resets and we're OK. Gonna do some cold board continuity testing, then logic analyser.

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 08/09/2026

This Commodore 64 board boots into DesTest with RAM bit errors but they clear after a warm up and all tests will run. Without the cart, I get a display with no text. The PLA was dead and the two already-replaced mux chips were iffy. Seems thermal-ish at this point, and maybe ROM/s later. Any tips?

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 06/09/2026

PS: I was customer account number 1986. When I bought anything in one of their shops and they asked for my details, they'd pause waiting for more digits and I'd have confirm "Yes, that's it...no, just four...really!".

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Linker3000 @linker3000.com · 06/09/2026

PSA: The Maplin catalogue is no longer available, if anyone's going for that one.

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