Ben Ryves
@benryves.com
Croydon-based web developer, retro gaming and computing enthusiast and electronics hobbyist
Two sets of lights front and back (flashing and static), high-vis jacket with reflective stripes, reflective sidewalls on the tyres, reflective stripes on trunk bag. Motorist still fails to see me and drives into me. "I looked, but didn't see you, there must be something deficient in your lighting".
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Two sets of lights front and back (flashing and static), high-vis jacket with reflective stripes, reflective sidewalls on the tyres, reflective stripes on trunk bag. Motorist still fails to see me and drives into me. "I looked, but didn't see you, there must be something deficient in your lighting".
Superb gig from @espritdair.com last night, really good to hear the new album and some older favourites nice and loud.
November 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Superb gig from @espritdair.com last night, really good to hear the new album and some older favourites nice and loud.
I bid on a Psion Organiser II on eBay earlier this week. I paid about the going rate, as something about the ending time called out to me, and rather more than I was expecting just turned up...
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I bid on a Psion Organiser II on eBay earlier this week. I paid about the going rate, as something about the ending time called out to me, and rather more than I was expecting just turned up...
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
November 17, 2025 at 2:25 PM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I need a saga. What's the saga? You can't even hear it...
I picked up a couple of Sharp ZQ-770 organisers this week. Both had succumbed to very severe battery leaks (hence the discoloured paintwork) but I was able to get both powering up after a thorough clean. Both have the usual LCD failure issue, this one being the worst.
November 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
I picked up a couple of Sharp ZQ-770 organisers this week. Both had succumbed to very severe battery leaks (hence the discoloured paintwork) but I was able to get both powering up after a thorough clean. Both have the usual LCD failure issue, this one being the worst.
Really enjoying the new album Aeons from @espritdair.com and very much looking forwards to seeing them live soon! Thank you, Kai. :)
November 14, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Really enjoying the new album Aeons from @espritdair.com and very much looking forwards to seeing them live soon! Thank you, Kai. :)
I couldn't find any replacement ink rollers for this printing calculator but a few drops of endorsing ink seems to have got the old roller working again and the violet seems to be a good match. Now I just need to find a source of 37mm-wide plain paper rolls, else I'll have to get the scissors out!
November 13, 2025 at 7:10 AM
I couldn't find any replacement ink rollers for this printing calculator but a few drops of endorsing ink seems to have got the old roller working again and the violet seems to be a good match. Now I just need to find a source of 37mm-wide plain paper rolls, else I'll have to get the scissors out!
Richard Russell's "Z88 BASIC Patch" adds graphics support to BBC BASIC. It can also print out the graphics area, but this requires an Epson-compatible printer which the Serial 8056 isn't. I've developed a patch for a patch, in other words. benryves.com/bin/z88/8056...
November 11, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Richard Russell's "Z88 BASIC Patch" adds graphics support to BBC BASIC. It can also print out the graphics area, but this requires an Epson-compatible printer which the Serial 8056 isn't. I've developed a patch for a patch, in other words. benryves.com/bin/z88/8056...
Of all the components I'd expect to go bad, a quartz resonator is pretty far down the list. I bought this very cute printing calculator as faulty, expecting leaking Ni-Cd cells inside. A previous owner had removed them (hooray!) but the seller couldn't get the calculator to run on external power.
November 9, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Of all the components I'd expect to go bad, a quartz resonator is pretty far down the list. I bought this very cute printing calculator as faulty, expecting leaking Ni-Cd cells inside. A previous owner had removed them (hooray!) but the seller couldn't get the calculator to run on external power.
I was told to avoid smoking the RIFA, so not sure if I should pre-emptively remove these - at least they're on a separate board and have a plastic shield over them to contain any explosions!
November 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I was told to avoid smoking the RIFA, so not sure if I should pre-emptively remove these - at least they're on a separate board and have a plastic shield over them to contain any explosions!
I've been hearing an unnerving creaking when putting force into the pedals for the past 2-3 weeks. I guess that would explain it! Only had solid axles before where a snapped axle failure is rather more obvious and catastrophic, the quick release skewer has put up a good fight...
October 9, 2025 at 11:03 PM
I've been hearing an unnerving creaking when putting force into the pedals for the past 2-3 weeks. I guess that would explain it! Only had solid axles before where a snapped axle failure is rather more obvious and catastrophic, the quick release skewer has put up a good fight...
Another weekend, another CE-125 on the workbench... I don't intentionally buy them, but it seems most of the time you buy another Sharp pocket computer or accessory it comes attached to a CE-125 full of leaking Ni-CD batteries and gooey disintegrating belts.
October 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Another weekend, another CE-125 on the workbench... I don't intentionally buy them, but it seems most of the time you buy another Sharp pocket computer or accessory it comes attached to a CE-125 full of leaking Ni-CD batteries and gooey disintegrating belts.
I should have bought a decent solder sucker years ago. I suspected a bad RAM(1) in this PC-1211 and had replacements (and built a RAM tester) but couldn't get the old chip out with my regular solder sucker. The Engineer SS-03 made it an absolute doddle to remove, and another PC-1211 lives again.
October 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I should have bought a decent solder sucker years ago. I suspected a bad RAM(1) in this PC-1211 and had replacements (and built a RAM tester) but couldn't get the old chip out with my regular solder sucker. The Engineer SS-03 made it an absolute doddle to remove, and another PC-1211 lives again.
I did pick a couple of new Sharp devices in the month of #sharptember - a programmable scientific calculator, the surprisingly small EL-512, and a "faulty" PC-1251 for parts to replace the front cover on the one I damaged when replacing the LCD. Amazingly, the original LCD on the 1251 fully works!
September 25, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I did pick a couple of new Sharp devices in the month of #sharptember - a programmable scientific calculator, the surprisingly small EL-512, and a "faulty" PC-1251 for parts to replace the front cover on the one I damaged when replacing the LCD. Amazingly, the original LCD on the 1251 fully works!
Spent a lovely few days on the Isle of Wight last week.
September 6, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Spent a lovely few days on the Isle of Wight last week.
A 1983-vintage Ni-CD battery pack strikes again!
August 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
A 1983-vintage Ni-CD battery pack strikes again!
I had been putting a little preferred resistor value program on the PC-1211. DEF S sets the series (e.g. E12), DEF L prints a list of values in the series, DEF F finds the closest match (here I asked for 500Ω resistor in the E12 series). benryves.com/bin/sharp-pc...
August 15, 2025 at 7:52 PM
I had been putting a little preferred resistor value program on the PC-1211. DEF S sets the series (e.g. E12), DEF L prints a list of values in the series, DEF F finds the closest match (here I asked for 500Ω resistor in the E12 series). benryves.com/bin/sharp-pc...
Two Sharp PC-1211 pocket computers that were increasingly hard to read due to failing LCDs back in service after installing modern LCD replacements. The new ones are green instead of that classic yellow but at least they're not going black around the edges.
August 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Two Sharp PC-1211 pocket computers that were increasingly hard to read due to failing LCDs back in service after installing modern LCD replacements. The new ones are green instead of that classic yellow but at least they're not going black around the edges.
I feel the English translation they've gone for here lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.
August 9, 2025 at 6:46 AM
I feel the English translation they've gone for here lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.
Wondering if it's worth the hassle of keeping old (and unvisited) forums online these days. I'd been doing it for archival reasons but over the past few months the amount of bot scraping has gone through the roof and brings the DB server to its knees (my guess is training data for AI LLM)? PITA!
August 4, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Wondering if it's worth the hassle of keeping old (and unvisited) forums online these days. I'd been doing it for archival reasons but over the past few months the amount of bot scraping has gone through the roof and brings the DB server to its knees (my guess is training data for AI LLM)? PITA!
Tonight I'm attending a cat's tenth birthday party. An ABBA tribute band are putting on a great performance in his honour. Happy birthday, Cosimo!
July 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Tonight I'm attending a cat's tenth birthday party. An ABBA tribute band are putting on a great performance in his honour. Happy birthday, Cosimo!
I much prefer a paper manual for reference but didn't have one for my PC-1248. Here's my first attempt at some DIY book-binding using stuff around the home, think it turned out OK and it certainly beats scrolling around the PDF!
July 18, 2025 at 5:20 PM
I much prefer a paper manual for reference but didn't have one for my PC-1248. Here's my first attempt at some DIY book-binding using stuff around the home, think it turned out OK and it certainly beats scrolling around the PDF!
I think it's fair to say Guitar Wolf have been the most fun band I've gone to see live - highly recommended if they're playing near you. So so sweaty... but all very worth it!
July 11, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I think it's fair to say Guitar Wolf have been the most fun band I've gone to see live - highly recommended if they're playing near you. So so sweaty... but all very worth it!
July 10, 2025 at 5:39 AM
The Secret Life of the Home was one of my favourite parts of the Science Museum so it was sad to see it close last year. Here's a nice guided tour from Tim Hunkin recorded just before its closure: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqpv...
The Secret Life of the Home
YouTube video by tim hunkin
www.youtube.com
July 5, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The Secret Life of the Home was one of my favourite parts of the Science Museum so it was sad to see it close last year. Here's a nice guided tour from Tim Hunkin recorded just before its closure: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqpv...