Nick (Rucas) Price @dominotree@mastodon.sdf.org

I started my Casio SK-1 ROM-bender project in EasyEDA, moved it to EAGLE/Fusion 360, and I recently moved it all to KiCad/FreeCAD

and when I say "moved" I really mean "remade"

what the hell is wrong with me

one day I'll actually finish this thing

The only time a DLP solution will ever work properly is when you're trying to get your own W2 documents to file your taxes.

Shake and bake

Not my most amazing engineering work, but my Panavise now has a makeshift integrated hot air stand

But can it run Symbolics Genera?

https://blog.hackster.io/the-lisp-badge-is-a-self-contained-computer-tailored-to-lisp-programming-43045a238dc3

How did they ever decode DTMF before Fourier transforms? Checkmate atheists!

Did anyone ever build a clone of this around a Raspberry Pi?

"I've already got three different 63Sn/37Pb reflow profiles on this oven, I'm sure one will work."

https://spun.io/2018/12/15/lessons-from-running-a-small-scale-electronics-factory-in-my-guest-bedroom-part-1-design/

it's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake

Stay in to get a good night's rest on NYE. Wake up every 30 minutes. Feel like death. Drive to the office. It's a holiday. FML

For $2800 you can get a half-decent automatic pick-and-place, but this manual one is still way badass, and I would be tempted to go for it instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JStbyvxd7bg

The most tedious bit about doing PCB assembly by hand is unpackaging and organizing components before you begin

This one is gonna take two full project trays which are super helpful but if you knock it over you might as well just order a whole new BOM from your vendor

This is awesome. Makes me want to finish repairing my Mac SE/30

https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/55998-building-a-spotify-player-for-my-mac-se30/

The best Atari 2600-compatible joystick ever produced

3D-printed PCB through-hole assembly jigging for holding parts in place while a board is upside-down for soldering.

I was asked to give a talk or run a workshop at WOPR Summit about lessons I've learned manufacturing homebrew electronics at (modest) scale. I wasn't able to make that commitment in time, but I will be writing up some blog posts in lieu of a presentation.

For my Casio SK-1 brain, I'm thinking about automating it more by taking in the audio (It's only ~10kHz IIRC), using some fast Fourier transform library, and implementing a basic genetic algorithm to help generate and evolve ROM data that causes complex sounds to play. Fuzzing!

When I'm making a symbol for a connector to run a bunch of signals between two boards, I've started blocking off the pins logically and it's surprisingly helpful.