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Magnetic Media – Do Not X-Ray | Do Not Bend

1 August 2012, 8:21 pm

I just received the latest issue of Juiced.GS and found this stamped on the envelope.

This is 2012.  Almost nobody even knows what “magnetic media” is anymore.  This stamp could be a foreboding sign:

You’re walking down a dark alley.  Rats, scratching for a bite, scurry behind the overflowing dumpsters.  Somewhere in the shadows there’s a raspy breathing sound.  A windowless padlocked door has an old handwritten sign:  ”Magnetic Media”  Beneath that, barely visible under rust brown splotches: “Do Not X-Ray | Do Not Bend”.   A cold mist has settled on the ground.

Thankfully, the envelope contained, nestled between the full-color cover pages of Juiced.GS, a 5¼” floppy disk in a hand-made sleeve with Drift, an original Apple II program with all new music, graphics, ASCII art, and easter eggs.

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KansasFest 2012

24 July 2012, 7:23 pm

KansasFest was a non-stop blast of fun, knowledge, and friends.

I presented a session on solar powering an Apple II.  To make room for luxuries like cups and water in my 70 square foot van, I had to put my Apple IIs in storage.  Due to a bit of luck, I managed to find an Apple IIc on Craigslist in Salt Lake City.  Under a nasty layer of dirt, I found a good condition ROM FF machine with a 9″ monochrome green monitor, ImageWriter printer, assorted disks, and assorted manuals.  I solar powered this machine and am currently enjoying retro-computing overlooking the The Grand Teton.  The presentation slides are here, and Ken’s video recording will be on the KansasFest website.

This year’s event was exceptionally (and pleasingly) busy with barely an idle moment, and I’m not sure how to enumerate the awesomeness.  David, Earl, and Carrington recorded a live episode of RCR.  Juiced.GS announced another year of publication.  Ken and Mike of Open-Apple shared bloopers.  Vince helped me build a Replica Micro-KIM.  Martin released a new game and a nifty new programming language.  Geoff schooled us on toolsets, CDAs, and NiftyList.  Brian gave us an inside look into his Firefly documentary and the filming of Serenity.  Randy shared his long history with Apple II software, Beagle Bros, and Appleworks.  Romero captivated the audience with his stories of Apple II gaming and influence on modern gaming.  Alex shared his robot, WALTR, and other projects.  I got a shiny New Apple II User’s Guide.  I bought a SuperProto prototyping card.

I look forward to next year and am inspired to continue my Apple II related projects.

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Van Projects

21 February 2012, 12:13 pm

My work on robots and the Apple II has been quiet lately, but I’ve been busy.  My latest project is a conversion van, which I will live in full-time.  The goal is to be self-sufficient, including power and Internet connectivity, anywhere in the U.S. for at least a week.  Sure, my house will be small, but my backyard will be huge.  To achieve this, I’ve been working on several projects.

  1. Solar Power – The van carries a battery bank, solar array, and optional charging from the alternator.  I’ve spent time analyzing my power requirements, understanding how the components connect and work together.  I’m installing a battery monitor to measure charge and discharge rates.  It’ll be interesting to see how the system performs compared to my predictions.
  2. Two-way Radio – Since I’ll be traveling in places well off the beaten path, I’m installing a ham radio for emergency communication and staying connected.  I just got my first amateur radio license, KD0QXJ.
  3. Integrated computer – I’m integrating a small computer into the van to provide backup service for a laptop, wireless access point, firewall and router for a satellite Internet connection, and file server.  Also, the computer provides monitoring and data logging for internal temperature sensors, GPS receiver, battery monitor, and solar charge controller.  The goal is to monitor all the major systems of the van from a tablet computer to reduce the number of control panels mounted on the walls, consolidate monitoring in one convenient location, and capture historical data.

These projects are coming together very soon, and I’ll share details as I get them.

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Brains! Boards!

7 June 2011, 7:40 pm

Mike Willegal recently announced the new Brain Board with Wozanium Pack, and I bought one even though I don’t yet own a compatible Apple II, II+, or IIe.  It’s always exciting to see new products, whether hardware, software, podcasts, websites, or projects, for the Apple II.  The Brain Board allows you to replace the firmware, normally found in ROM chips on the motherboard, with different firmware.  Early Apple II and II+ computers used functionality like this to switch between Integer and Applesoft BASIC. Mike has cleverly coupled the “swap out the firmware brains of my Apple II” function with his custom “Wozanium Pack” firmware that replicates the functions of an Apple I!

I haven’t built the board yet, but I’m initially impressed with the quality of the kit and detailed manual.

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Open Apple podcast

14 April 2011, 10:16 am

I’m “Internet famous” on episode 3 of the Open Apple podcast, the premier Apple II podcast.  Thanks to Ken Gagne and Mike Maginnis for the invitation.  This month features KansasFest, edutainment software, and much more!

I already look forward to the next episode.

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KansasFest 2011 Countdown NDA

2 April 2011, 6:47 pm

April is a good month for the Apple II. KansasFest registration opens. Juiced.GS ships a new issue in beautiful color. Open-Apple ought to release a new podcast soon. Brain Boards ship. Briel’s MP3 player for the Apple II is coming soon. What’s next?

How about an NDA, or New Desk Accessory, for GS/OS that counts the days remaining until KansasFest 2011?

Download your NDA now with Orca/C source code in either a disk image (PO) or ShrinkIt archive (SHK).

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68000 Book Review (Part 2)

12 March 2011, 10:35 am

Continuing from Part 1 of my book review, here’s Part 2.

68000 Assembly Language: Techniques for Building Programs (Donald Krantz & James Stanley)

This is a software book with about half of the book dedicated to describing the 68000 instruction set architecture and the other half describing a text editor project.  If you already have the manuals for the 68000, the architecture content is redundant.  The text editor, YASE, however, is more interesting.  It’s a sizable project with good documentation on both design decisions and 68000-specific implementation.  YASE should be a great example for learning 68000 programming and organizing mid-sized code bases.  Also, YASE is modular, and you could reuse some components, such as the printf routines.

This a good book, but I don’t find it as timeless as the Wilcox text.  If you’re learning 68000 assembly language programming, this is an excellent resource.  Otherwise, it’s an interesting piece of history that I wouldn’t mind on my shelf.

View the table of contents.

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