Binary Dinosaurs
@binarydinosaurs.co.uk
Collecting, repairing and preserving vintage machines since 1998.
W: https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk
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M: @binarydinosaurs.oldbytes.space
Favourite COBOL: https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~ss44/joke/cblgold.htm
W: https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk
F: https://Facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
M: @binarydinosaurs.oldbytes.space
Favourite COBOL: https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~ss44/joke/cblgold.htm
Just for lols I’ve added the Toshiba HX-22 as a backup to the Sony because it has a great picture in, surprisingly, RF mode.
The LG monitor shown here is not in RF mode, it’s composite.
The LG monitor shown here is not in RF mode, it’s composite.
November 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Just for lols I’ve added the Toshiba HX-22 as a backup to the Sony because it has a great picture in, surprisingly, RF mode.
The LG monitor shown here is not in RF mode, it’s composite.
The LG monitor shown here is not in RF mode, it’s composite.
Tried that, makes me think the 4:3 mode on this Samsung tv isn’t a true 4:3, see top tv. Bottom is an LG Flatron in composite mode.
November 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Tried that, makes me think the 4:3 mode on this Samsung tv isn’t a true 4:3, see top tv. Bottom is an LG Flatron in composite mode.
Any MSXperts about? Is there such a thing?
I’ve tried three (3) different machines (Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba) and they all have the picture slightly offset to the left.
Not an issue for the weekend, I’m just puzzled cos it’s clearly either a) LCD issue or b) VDP issue.
I’ve tried three (3) different machines (Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba) and they all have the picture slightly offset to the left.
Not an issue for the weekend, I’m just puzzled cos it’s clearly either a) LCD issue or b) VDP issue.
November 12, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Any MSXperts about? Is there such a thing?
I’ve tried three (3) different machines (Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba) and they all have the picture slightly offset to the left.
Not an issue for the weekend, I’m just puzzled cos it’s clearly either a) LCD issue or b) VDP issue.
I’ve tried three (3) different machines (Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba) and they all have the picture slightly offset to the left.
Not an issue for the weekend, I’m just puzzled cos it’s clearly either a) LCD issue or b) VDP issue.
I still have my original 48K Speccy that I saved up for ages to buy this SAGA 1 Emperor keyboard for. Today it fell to bits. At speed I grabbed my other Emperor keyboard to find it too has fallen apart.
Curse these manufacturers not thinking their products might still be used 40 years later 😆
Curse these manufacturers not thinking their products might still be used 40 years later 😆
November 12, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I still have my original 48K Speccy that I saved up for ages to buy this SAGA 1 Emperor keyboard for. Today it fell to bits. At speed I grabbed my other Emperor keyboard to find it too has fallen apart.
Curse these manufacturers not thinking their products might still be used 40 years later 😆
Curse these manufacturers not thinking their products might still be used 40 years later 😆
Sony HitBit HB75 reporting for Chuckie Egg duty now it has a refurbished keyboard.
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Sony HitBit HB75 reporting for Chuckie Egg duty now it has a refurbished keyboard.
Acorn Atom now has a turbo mode, AtomMMC2 SDcard adapter and all the classic games work!
Apart from Chuckie Egg which seems to think it’s in joystick mode 😆 #retroGamingFest25
Arses. It works fine in ‘slow’ mode but there’s a lot of snow on the screen as was the case with most Atom games.
Apart from Chuckie Egg which seems to think it’s in joystick mode 😆 #retroGamingFest25
Arses. It works fine in ‘slow’ mode but there’s a lot of snow on the screen as was the case with most Atom games.
November 11, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Acorn Atom now has a turbo mode, AtomMMC2 SDcard adapter and all the classic games work!
Apart from Chuckie Egg which seems to think it’s in joystick mode 😆 #retroGamingFest25
Arses. It works fine in ‘slow’ mode but there’s a lot of snow on the screen as was the case with most Atom games.
Apart from Chuckie Egg which seems to think it’s in joystick mode 😆 #retroGamingFest25
Arses. It works fine in ‘slow’ mode but there’s a lot of snow on the screen as was the case with most Atom games.
Cleaner than it’s been for 40 years. Ish. Now to give the keytops a bath then fix the non-working keys.
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Cleaner than it’s been for 40 years. Ish. Now to give the keytops a bath then fix the non-working keys.
I’ve seen cleaner bin wagons than this.
November 11, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I’ve seen cleaner bin wagons than this.
November 11, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I love finding build faults in nearly 50yo machines. This seems to have been like this since new. Good job nobody has tried to get a printer working on this Acorn Atom!
Without a 6522 fitted to the IO socket this won’t upset the machine, but guess who’s just fitted a 6522… 😆
Without a 6522 fitted to the IO socket this won’t upset the machine, but guess who’s just fitted a 6522… 😆
November 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I love finding build faults in nearly 50yo machines. This seems to have been like this since new. Good job nobody has tried to get a printer working on this Acorn Atom!
Without a 6522 fitted to the IO socket this won’t upset the machine, but guess who’s just fitted a 6522… 😆
Without a 6522 fitted to the IO socket this won’t upset the machine, but guess who’s just fitted a 6522… 😆
Result! After a lot of faffing with different TANBUG versions trying to get things to work properly, I discovered the second TANEX board wouldn’t function properly in my working Microtan.
Answer: pull the RS232 chipset!
Suddenly, TANDOS works properly 😁
Answer: pull the RS232 chipset!
Suddenly, TANDOS works properly 😁
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Result! After a lot of faffing with different TANBUG versions trying to get things to work properly, I discovered the second TANEX board wouldn’t function properly in my working Microtan.
Answer: pull the RS232 chipset!
Suddenly, TANDOS works properly 😁
Answer: pull the RS232 chipset!
Suddenly, TANDOS works properly 😁
Huh. For those following the Microtan saga I pondered that the keyboard I got with the machine wasn’t a Microtan keyboard.
Turns out that if you feed it -12v and its own GND connection it only bloody works fine.
TANDOS board next, in that case.
Turns out that if you feed it -12v and its own GND connection it only bloody works fine.
TANDOS board next, in that case.
November 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Huh. For those following the Microtan saga I pondered that the keyboard I got with the machine wasn’t a Microtan keyboard.
Turns out that if you feed it -12v and its own GND connection it only bloody works fine.
TANDOS board next, in that case.
Turns out that if you feed it -12v and its own GND connection it only bloody works fine.
TANDOS board next, in that case.
Yes folks, the previous owner of this board literally cut corners, and in doing so destroyed the ground plane. This is why the board looked dead - it was. Two swift repairs later (some cussing too) and we're back in business. I just need to make a keyboard interface now.
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Yes folks, the previous owner of this board literally cut corners, and in doing so destroyed the ground plane. This is why the board looked dead - it was. Two swift repairs later (some cussing too) and we're back in business. I just need to make a keyboard interface now.
This is the back of the board. Notice anything... odd about it?
November 8, 2025 at 9:18 AM
This is the back of the board. Notice anything... odd about it?
Puzzle time. Microtan65 and TANEX expansion. In yellow is a CLK pin going to its only destination. In red is /RESET going to 1 of 4. Both come from the CPU underneath which I know works. No shorts are present.
With both connected, CLK is mushed to nothing and /RESET almost mirrors it.
How? /2
With both connected, CLK is mushed to nothing and /RESET almost mirrors it.
How? /2
November 6, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Puzzle time. Microtan65 and TANEX expansion. In yellow is a CLK pin going to its only destination. In red is /RESET going to 1 of 4. Both come from the CPU underneath which I know works. No shorts are present.
With both connected, CLK is mushed to nothing and /RESET almost mirrors it.
How? /2
With both connected, CLK is mushed to nothing and /RESET almost mirrors it.
How? /2
The datasheet only says this about the -12v rail but doesn’t further explain ‘fig 4.’
November 2, 2025 at 3:52 PM
The datasheet only says this about the -12v rail but doesn’t further explain ‘fig 4.’
The riddle of the -12v is also solved in that it’s definitely required unless you have a ‘DC-512’ installed which is a DC-DC converter to give the necessary -12v from the +5v supply.
The back of the card edge socket also has “-12” scratched on it.
I don’t have that installed.
The back of the card edge socket also has “-12” scratched on it.
I don’t have that installed.
November 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The riddle of the -12v is also solved in that it’s definitely required unless you have a ‘DC-512’ installed which is a DC-DC converter to give the necessary -12v from the +5v supply.
The back of the card edge socket also has “-12” scratched on it.
I don’t have that installed.
The back of the card edge socket also has “-12” scratched on it.
I don’t have that installed.
Not only does it list the keyboard as a Carter 756 but it also says it’s identical to the George Risk keyboard (as used in the Transam Triton).
I have a George Risk keyboard thanks to @tonyfishlock.bsky.social so I grabbed it from its home.
Tadaaa.
Microtan keyboard? Nope.
I have a George Risk keyboard thanks to @tonyfishlock.bsky.social so I grabbed it from its home.
Tadaaa.
Microtan keyboard? Nope.
November 2, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Not only does it list the keyboard as a Carter 756 but it also says it’s identical to the George Risk keyboard (as used in the Transam Triton).
I have a George Risk keyboard thanks to @tonyfishlock.bsky.social so I grabbed it from its home.
Tadaaa.
Microtan keyboard? Nope.
I have a George Risk keyboard thanks to @tonyfishlock.bsky.social so I grabbed it from its home.
Tadaaa.
Microtan keyboard? Nope.
For 20 years I’ve thought this was the keyboard for my rack mount Microtan 65, but now I’m not so sure, purely because the SMC controller needs -12v and nothing is feeding it that voltage. Also +5v is right down to 4.4v so maybe it needs an external PSU.
November 1, 2025 at 7:10 PM
For 20 years I’ve thought this was the keyboard for my rack mount Microtan 65, but now I’m not so sure, purely because the SMC controller needs -12v and nothing is feeding it that voltage. Also +5v is right down to 4.4v so maybe it needs an external PSU.
November 1, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Start the week with a unicorn! No, not the Torch Unicorn though I'd quite like one of those too.
No, there'll be two camps for this one. You'll either instantly know what it is or, more likely, you'll never have heard of it because it never sold.
This is the HH Tiger, aka the Tangerine Microtan 2.
No, there'll be two camps for this one. You'll either instantly know what it is or, more likely, you'll never have heard of it because it never sold.
This is the HH Tiger, aka the Tangerine Microtan 2.
October 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Start the week with a unicorn! No, not the Torch Unicorn though I'd quite like one of those too.
No, there'll be two camps for this one. You'll either instantly know what it is or, more likely, you'll never have heard of it because it never sold.
This is the HH Tiger, aka the Tangerine Microtan 2.
No, there'll be two camps for this one. You'll either instantly know what it is or, more likely, you'll never have heard of it because it never sold.
This is the HH Tiger, aka the Tangerine Microtan 2.
Recent Acorn A3000 japes made me dig out my A3020 to check for battery woes, I remember it being stored upside down and this was verified when I checked if I’d snipped the battery - I had, phew - and the damage was on the metalwork under the floppy drive.
October 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Recent Acorn A3000 japes made me dig out my A3020 to check for battery woes, I remember it being stored upside down and this was verified when I checked if I’d snipped the battery - I had, phew - and the damage was on the metalwork under the floppy drive.
Yep, I’m sure there’ll be no issues seen at all wiring some power into two of these tiny pins, seen here next to a regular 7805 (deceased) because a banana would be ridiculous.
October 21, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Yep, I’m sure there’ll be no issues seen at all wiring some power into two of these tiny pins, seen here next to a regular 7805 (deceased) because a banana would be ridiculous.
Power plug for my little Husky turned up this morning. What an excellent little sci-fi type thing it is, I’m sure I’ll have no issue at all soldering wires to the contacts.
October 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Power plug for my little Husky turned up this morning. What an excellent little sci-fi type thing it is, I’m sure I’ll have no issue at all soldering wires to the contacts.
I’ll let Pete answer that one 😄
Talking of shows and mundane machines I had my CPT8520 word processor running at RetroFest last June. I’d got it booting over Xmas so was determined to have it on show. Really popular exhibit.
Talking of shows and mundane machines I had my CPT8520 word processor running at RetroFest last June. I’d got it booting over Xmas so was determined to have it on show. Really popular exhibit.
October 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I’ll let Pete answer that one 😄
Talking of shows and mundane machines I had my CPT8520 word processor running at RetroFest last June. I’d got it booting over Xmas so was determined to have it on show. Really popular exhibit.
Talking of shows and mundane machines I had my CPT8520 word processor running at RetroFest last June. I’d got it booting over Xmas so was determined to have it on show. Really popular exhibit.