Philip Heron
@fsphil.bsky.social
Writer of reasonably adequate software. Survivor of the great playground computer wars of the 80s. He/him.
D/D2-MAC decoders seemed to all do the teletext rendering internally, like an in-vision decoder.
I've seen at least one decoder pass through the field-blanking lines above the luminance. Definitely not to spec but in theory regular NRZ teletext lines could be placed there.
I've seen at least one decoder pass through the field-blanking lines above the luminance. Definitely not to spec but in theory regular NRZ teletext lines could be placed there.
November 28, 2025 at 11:31 AM
D/D2-MAC decoders seemed to all do the teletext rendering internally, like an in-vision decoder.
I've seen at least one decoder pass through the field-blanking lines above the luminance. Definitely not to spec but in theory regular NRZ teletext lines could be placed there.
I've seen at least one decoder pass through the field-blanking lines above the luminance. Definitely not to spec but in theory regular NRZ teletext lines could be placed there.
And even if they did, none of it would be recoverable from recordings.
November 28, 2025 at 7:38 AM
And even if they did, none of it would be recoverable from recordings.
[after opening work email in the morning ...] ... "Erase me!"
November 7, 2025 at 10:37 AM
[after opening work email in the morning ...] ... "Erase me!"
This whole "naming phases of the moon" thing seemed to come out of nowhere a few years ago. It's very odd.
November 6, 2025 at 12:10 PM
This whole "naming phases of the moon" thing seemed to come out of nowhere a few years ago. It's very odd.
I was randomly looking up why the hero's castle looks pretty evil, and discovered there's a whole lore behind that - way more than I'd expect for a show made to sell toys.
October 16, 2025 at 2:47 PM
I was randomly looking up why the hero's castle looks pretty evil, and discovered there's a whole lore behind that - way more than I'd expect for a show made to sell toys.
I see poor lighting on starships is not a new Trek thing.
September 28, 2025 at 11:09 AM
I see poor lighting on starships is not a new Trek thing.
I've a tiny 440W west facing array on the garage roof that gets blocked by a tree after about 2pm. Despite that it still manages to cover about 10% of my electricity. Hoping to expand it next year.
July 27, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I've a tiny 440W west facing array on the garage roof that gets blocked by a tree after about 2pm. Despite that it still manages to cover about 10% of my electricity. Hoping to expand it next year.
That's some red shift, those clouds must be really far away.
July 15, 2025 at 9:03 AM
That's some red shift, those clouds must be really far away.
Hope you've got your towel in the freezer.
July 11, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Hope you've got your towel in the freezer.
I read that as "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: TRON" and now I can't stop thinking about that crossover.
July 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I read that as "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: TRON" and now I can't stop thinking about that crossover.
If I could bring back any TV show it would be this one. No reboot, no spin-off, just pick right up where it left off.
June 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM
If I could bring back any TV show it would be this one. No reboot, no spin-off, just pick right up where it left off.
I suspect BSB's Eurocypher system would have been "mysteriously" hacked if they'd lasted longer.
June 2, 2025 at 11:57 AM
I suspect BSB's Eurocypher system would have been "mysteriously" hacked if they'd lasted longer.
And never ever eat pears!
May 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
And never ever eat pears!
"Don't worry mate, I'll have this purring in no time."
May 17, 2025 at 4:51 PM
"Don't worry mate, I'll have this purring in no time."
I don't think I could resist buying them all.
April 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I don't think I could resist buying them all.
Great tune. The title music is also top notch.
April 14, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Great tune. The title music is also top notch.
Unless there's a peak or hill in that direction reflecting sunlight.
March 18, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Unless there's a peak or hill in that direction reflecting sunlight.
Possibly an optical illusion but it looks like the craters in the foreground are illuminated from the left?
March 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Possibly an optical illusion but it looks like the craters in the foreground are illuminated from the left?
There's a satellite at 30W that might *just* work, it carries some DVB-S muxes in the right frequency range for a Squarial - just not circularly polarised.
It's possible to generate D-MAC signals locally though.
It's possible to generate D-MAC signals locally though.
March 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM
There's a satellite at 30W that might *just* work, it carries some DVB-S muxes in the right frequency range for a Squarial - just not circularly polarised.
It's possible to generate D-MAC signals locally though.
It's possible to generate D-MAC signals locally though.
I wonder if the electronics have endured as well as the outsides, or eroded away by now.
I got an unused one recently and it still works well, but it hasn't been sitting outside for 35 years - just a damp shed judging by the state of the box.
I got an unused one recently and it still works well, but it hasn't been sitting outside for 35 years - just a damp shed judging by the state of the box.
March 17, 2025 at 10:41 AM
I wonder if the electronics have endured as well as the outsides, or eroded away by now.
I got an unused one recently and it still works well, but it hasn't been sitting outside for 35 years - just a damp shed judging by the state of the box.
I got an unused one recently and it still works well, but it hasn't been sitting outside for 35 years - just a damp shed judging by the state of the box.