Search found 44 matches

by dinosaur
Wed Nov 16, 2016 10:41 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Cheap PCB manufacturing in Poland
Replies: 4
Views: 3019

Re: Cheap PCB manufacturing in Poland

Well... I do just as well as Poland (and even better: with tin plating of the tracks), in my kitchen... :lol:

Not wanting to be rude but frankly, for double-sided PCBs of this basic quality, you don't really need a manufacturer.
by dinosaur
Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:09 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Composite Mod
Replies: 15
Views: 7987

Re: Composite Mod

Instead of loading the ULA with a 2K resistor to the ground (which might not even be enough and will only make the ULA heating more), you can put a diode in series with the base of the transistor (i.e. pin 16, diode, base resistor, transistor base), this way you will lower the level of the signal to...
by dinosaur
Fri Dec 25, 2015 9:50 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: TS1500 Composite mod.
Replies: 5
Views: 3450

Re: TS1500 Composite mod.

Using this extremely simplified schematic, you will get a much too strong video signal, which will saturate the video input of your TV set both for the white and the black levels; back porch or not, this can't properly work, but perhaps with an already partly damaged ULA providing a much too weak si...
by dinosaur
Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:12 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)
Replies: 36
Views: 13595

Re: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)

PokeMon wrote:There is by the way another feature, you can easily invert the video signal with a jumper or even use a switch. Try that with your single transistor. :mrgreen:
Don't dare me ! :lol: :mrgreen: :ugeek:
by dinosaur
Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:00 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)
Replies: 36
Views: 13595

Re: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)

Note that the transistor speed doesn't change a thing about the noise, but if you use a "generic" (BC547 & Co) transistor, its Ton/Toff, and most important, Ts are simply too large (up to 500ns for Ts with a BC547 against 20ns for a ZTX313 or 2N2369A), which will cause trailing effects on white to ...
by dinosaur
Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:11 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)
Replies: 36
Views: 13595

Re: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)

Well - it depends on the quality of TV/monitor you use to display. A 46" Sony LCD TV for me. And yes, you mileage may vary depending on your TV. I was not happy with the transistor solutions and regardless of the speed of transistor and filter you do - this is not noise from the power supply this i...
by dinosaur
Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:17 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)
Replies: 36
Views: 13595

Re: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)

With the 210E ULA, which provides already a back porch, you do not need any such circuit... Well - the circuit does more than just add a backporch. It removes the "shit" (noisy white background) that comes out of the ULA and can not be removed with a simple transistor emitter follower (which repeat...
by dinosaur
Sat Oct 24, 2015 6:44 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)
Replies: 36
Views: 13595

Re: ZX8-CC8 and 2C158E ULA (PokeMon to the courtesy phone!)

I have a few ZX81s, three are V3 motherboards and work perfectly with the CCB board. My fourth will tune into a 22" flat screen Phillips TV giving a fuzzy but recognisable cursor. When I added the ZX8 CCB I get the same image as Balfords Fairly sharp cursor but about 4 or 5 characters wide. No amou...
by dinosaur
Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:58 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Custom 64K RAM expansion for the ZX81
Replies: 9
Views: 7433

Re: Custom 64K RAM expansion for the ZX81

I was not totally satisfied with v1: three gates were left unused, and it did not have a way to shadow the ROM with the RAM (there was already the two banks EPROM feature, but erasing the EPROM and reprogramming it each time you want to test some new ROM code is rather tedious)... Well, here is v2.0...
by dinosaur
Sun Oct 18, 2015 2:38 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: I'm stumped ??
Replies: 7
Views: 3002

Re: I'm stumped ??

The Memotech HRG is much more complex, using (by remapping) the ZX81 internal 1K RAM so to "patch" the ROM with its own HRG routines. It however doesn't include any RAM expansion like your card does. I'd suspect that the EPROM (if not yet totally erased because of the lack of any protection on its U...