@peteronion.bsky.social
Retired (early) Software Eng. G0DZB occasionally /P on HF. Discoverer of the PI 2 Xenon Death Flash. Looks after the Elliott 803 at TNMOC
Today I have mostly been watching NCIS Origins Season 1.
February 1, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Today I have mostly been watching NCIS Origins Season 1.
I just watched the first episode of Starfleet Academy, and as a Lower Decks fan this caught my eye !
January 26, 2026 at 7:48 PM
I just watched the first episode of Starfleet Academy, and as a Lower Decks fan this caught my eye !
This took much longer than it should have done to get right, even with two sets of eyes on it :-)
: XOR BDUP BROT BDUP BROT NOT AND BROT BROT NOT AND OR B. :,
: XOR BDUP BROT BDUP BROT NOT AND BROT BROT NOT AND OR B. :,
January 24, 2026 at 2:42 PM
This took much longer than it should have done to get right, even with two sets of eyes on it :-)
: XOR BDUP BROT BDUP BROT NOT AND BROT BROT NOT AND OR B. :,
: XOR BDUP BROT BDUP BROT NOT AND BROT BROT NOT AND OR B. :,
Another old school development technique that I still use are "railroad diagrams". I generate them using this tool github.com/tabatkins/ra...
January 22, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Another old school development technique that I still use are "railroad diagrams". I generate them using this tool github.com/tabatkins/ra...
It's taken a while, but I've finally got a version of the classic "Lunar Lander" game written in my new "FORTH-like" language running on the Elliott 803.
January 21, 2026 at 10:41 AM
It's taken a while, but I've finally got a version of the classic "Lunar Lander" game written in my new "FORTH-like" language running on the Elliott 803.
Today I Learned (well I expected it anyway) that Google's AI sucks at writing code in Forth ! It didn't even manage to print what it said was the expected result 😆
January 10, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Today I Learned (well I expected it anyway) that Google's AI sucks at writing code in Forth ! It didn't even manage to print what it said was the expected result 😆
This is a major mile stone for my new Forth-like language for the Elliott 803 :-)
January 9, 2026 at 7:57 PM
This is a major mile stone for my new Forth-like language for the Elliott 803 :-)
I do wish organisations would stop send emails that say "See our web site for more details" when the email was just a copy of the information on their web site ? It's not very helpful :-(
January 8, 2026 at 4:16 PM
I do wish organisations would stop send emails that say "See our web site for more details" when the email was just a copy of the information on their web site ? It's not very helpful :-(
Having added RECURSE I can now do this in 39th:
: FACTORIAL
DUP 2 LESS IF DROP 1 EXIT THEN
DUP 1 - RECURSE *
:,
15 1 DO I . I FACTORIAL . CR LOOP
You can see the call and data stacks growing and shrinking on the memory display.
: FACTORIAL
DUP 2 LESS IF DROP 1 EXIT THEN
DUP 1 - RECURSE *
:,
15 1 DO I . I FACTORIAL . CR LOOP
You can see the call and data stacks growing and shrinking on the memory display.
January 1, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Having added RECURSE I can now do this in 39th:
: FACTORIAL
DUP 2 LESS IF DROP 1 EXIT THEN
DUP 1 - RECURSE *
:,
15 1 DO I . I FACTORIAL . CR LOOP
You can see the call and data stacks growing and shrinking on the memory display.
: FACTORIAL
DUP 2 LESS IF DROP 1 EXIT THEN
DUP 1 - RECURSE *
:,
15 1 DO I . I FACTORIAL . CR LOOP
You can see the call and data stacks growing and shrinking on the memory display.
Make one of your New Year's Resolutions to visit The National Museum of Computing in 2026 :-)
January 1, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Make one of your New Year's Resolutions to visit The National Museum of Computing in 2026 :-)
I showed one of the other TNMOC volunteers how to use the 803's ALGOL plotter package. :-)
December 30, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I showed one of the other TNMOC volunteers how to use the 803's ALGOL plotter package. :-)
I'm giving the Elliott 803's battery its annual discharge/charge cycles while the museum is closed over Christmas. This shows the second discharge cycle underway with cells 1-10 on load. Each cell has a 1Ω resistor across which I remove when the cell is "flat".
December 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
I'm giving the Elliott 803's battery its annual discharge/charge cycles while the museum is closed over Christmas. This shows the second discharge cycle underway with cells 1-10 on load. Each cell has a 1Ω resistor across which I remove when the cell is "flat".
Added some more words to my FORTH like language for the 803. Saw this so had to try it....
3 DIGITS
: SPACES DUP 0 = IF DROP ELSE 0 DO 28 EMIT LOOP THEN :,
: PASCAL CR DUP 0 DO 1 OVER 1 - I - 2 * SPACES
I 1 + 0
DO DUP . J I - * I 1 + /
LOOP CR DROP
LOOP DROP
:,
3 DIGITS
: SPACES DUP 0 = IF DROP ELSE 0 DO 28 EMIT LOOP THEN :,
: PASCAL CR DUP 0 DO 1 OVER 1 - I - 2 * SPACES
I 1 + 0
DO DUP . J I - * I 1 + /
LOOP CR DROP
LOOP DROP
:,
December 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Added some more words to my FORTH like language for the 803. Saw this so had to try it....
3 DIGITS
: SPACES DUP 0 = IF DROP ELSE 0 DO 28 EMIT LOOP THEN :,
: PASCAL CR DUP 0 DO 1 OVER 1 - I - 2 * SPACES
I 1 + 0
DO DUP . J I - * I 1 + /
LOOP CR DROP
LOOP DROP
:,
3 DIGITS
: SPACES DUP 0 = IF DROP ELSE 0 DO 28 EMIT LOOP THEN :,
: PASCAL CR DUP 0 DO 1 OVER 1 - I - 2 * SPACES
I 1 + 0
DO DUP . J I - * I 1 + /
LOOP CR DROP
LOOP DROP
:,
Time to give the Elliott 803's battery it's annual discharge/recharge cycle. It spends all year "floating" across the -27.5V DC supply to the 803, so cycling it does it good esp. as it is a NiCd.
December 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Time to give the Elliott 803's battery it's annual discharge/recharge cycle. It spends all year "floating" across the -27.5V DC supply to the 803, so cycling it does it good esp. as it is a NiCd.
Very frustrating day trying to get a bit of code that I'm sure was working only a couple of days ago to work again. Gave up at 22:00, started from scratch with a new flow chart, and now (00:10) it is working again ! Sigh.
December 22, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Very frustrating day trying to get a bit of code that I'm sure was working only a couple of days ago to work again. Gave up at 22:00, started from scratch with a new flow chart, and now (00:10) it is working again ! Sigh.
I keep apples in the fridge, which means that sometimes they germinate ! I've put a few seeds in this tray and the first one poked out today :-)
December 21, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I keep apples in the fridge, which means that sometimes they germinate ! I've put a few seeds in this tray and the first one poked out today :-)
A bit of seasonal output from the Elliott 803 (on my 3D emulation).
December 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM
A bit of seasonal output from the Elliott 803 (on my 3D emulation).
🌅Happy Winter Solstice🌇
December 21, 2025 at 8:15 AM
🌅Happy Winter Solstice🌇
My FORTH like language for the ELLIOTT 803 running on my 803 emulator.
December 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
My FORTH like language for the ELLIOTT 803 running on my 803 emulator.
39th is my FORTH like language for the Elliott 803 and it has got to the point where it can run this code :
5 DIGITS
: HAIL DUP ODD IF 3 * 1 + ELSE HALF THEN :,
100 35 0 DO DUP DUP . ODD IF .' ODD' ELSE .' EVEN' THEN HAIL CR LOOP
5 DIGITS
: HAIL DUP ODD IF 3 * 1 + ELSE HALF THEN :,
100 35 0 DO DUP DUP . ODD IF .' ODD' ELSE .' EVEN' THEN HAIL CR LOOP
December 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
39th is my FORTH like language for the Elliott 803 and it has got to the point where it can run this code :
5 DIGITS
: HAIL DUP ODD IF 3 * 1 + ELSE HALF THEN :,
100 35 0 DO DUP DUP . ODD IF .' ODD' ELSE .' EVEN' THEN HAIL CR LOOP
5 DIGITS
: HAIL DUP ODD IF 3 * 1 + ELSE HALF THEN :,
100 35 0 DO DUP DUP . ODD IF .' ODD' ELSE .' EVEN' THEN HAIL CR LOOP
For me drawing a flow chart brings clarity and leads to a simple implementation. :-)
December 10, 2025 at 9:04 AM
For me drawing a flow chart brings clarity and leads to a simple implementation. :-)
My FORTH like language for the ELLIOTT 803 has got to the point where it can run simple programs. If you know FORTH you should be able to work out what this does:
VAR X
13 1 DO I X £ 13 1 DO I X @ * . LOOP CR LOOP
VAR X
13 1 DO I X £ 13 1 DO I X @ * . LOOP CR LOOP
December 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
My FORTH like language for the ELLIOTT 803 has got to the point where it can run simple programs. If you know FORTH you should be able to work out what this does:
VAR X
13 1 DO I X £ 13 1 DO I X @ * . LOOP CR LOOP
VAR X
13 1 DO I X £ 13 1 DO I X @ * . LOOP CR LOOP
Reposted
Jump on a train and pop up to Bletchley Park - lots to see including @tnmoc.bsky.social RSGB radio stuff and the Bletchley Park Museum. Time it right and you’ll meet @peteronion.bsky.social and his amazing Elliott computer. It’s about an hour by train. If you do go, let people on hear know!
December 5, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Jump on a train and pop up to Bletchley Park - lots to see including @tnmoc.bsky.social RSGB radio stuff and the Bletchley Park Museum. Time it right and you’ll meet @peteronion.bsky.social and his amazing Elliott computer. It’s about an hour by train. If you do go, let people on hear know!
Just realised I've been retired for 10 years (as of last Monday) 😀
December 4, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Just realised I've been retired for 10 years (as of last Monday) 😀
Nothing like starting the day with a bit of ALGOL-60 :-)
November 29, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Nothing like starting the day with a bit of ALGOL-60 :-)