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JB

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Posts posted by JB

  4. Posted · Edited by JB

    They actually still make X10 modules, and this is a task that is well-suited to their simplicity. It is also a well-documented and easy-to-implement protocol that isn't dependent on a remote server controlled by someone else.

    I wouldn't build a full smart home with X10, but for a simple remote power switch, there's a compelling case to be made.

     

    I'd use two appliance modules, one dedicated to the P-Box and the other connected to a short power strip so the console and monitor can be on one module.

    As a bonus... *puts on mad scientist hat*...

    With X10 having RS-232 interfaces available, you don't need any TIPI updates. You could have a master TI running without a display monitoring CHATTI, and when it sees a message, it could hit the RS-232 card/sidecar to send out X10 commands to turn on the slave system's PBox, then a second later send the command turn on the slave's console and monitor. One TI turning on another remotely, the way absolutely no one ever intended.

    And then when you're done, you can have the TI you're using send out commands to turn off the same X10 modules, "killing" itself until the next time... if you're lucky, and the timing works out right.

    All this done by a real mainframe-grade processor, instead of letting some silly ARM toy designed for cellphones take over the show.

     

    *takes off mad scientist hat*

     

     

     

     

     

    There IS an X10 wifi module now, but... it doesn't really look like a good option.

  6. Posted

    Well, it won't be that trivial - the motherboard is just shy of 15 inches wide. So if you want to use that, it's going to be big.

     

    You might be able to chop it in half at the video section... still looks like a lot of work. I don't have an open QI to see if that one looks any easier. (If you an F18A, you might also be able to discard a lot of the circuitry on that side of the PCB... though not all. The 9901 is there, along with the joystick and keyboard inputs.)

     

    But, that would get you down to about 9" x 5.5", which seems a bit more reasonable. ;)

     

    My thoughts were more that our board isn't very deep, so there's a lot of room in the keyboard area for additional stuffs, we only have one chip that needs heatsinking, and the power supply board being separate means we don't have to hack things as much to get power from a new source.

     

    I guess it WOULD be a bit of a wide portable by modern standards. But think of how much space we have for a battery! We could throw in enough lithium cells to run for DAYS!

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

     

    Me too. I seem to remember reading somewhere (a long long time ago) that the way the holes in the P-Box work in conjunction with the holes in the cases that it helps keep the cards running cooler. I doubt the TIPI and the RPi get hot enough to make it a concern, but if it helps, why not?

    If I recall correctly, they provide heat management both by ducting air across the card AND by working as heatsinks for the hotter components.

    Not that any part of the TIPI will run near as hot as the classic boards did, except possibly the Pi CPU(which will reduce speed to maintain a safe temperature, because it is the twenty-first century). My impression is that the assembly is low-power enough for any case to be purely cosmetic.

     

     

     

    Arcadeshopper: You know, it is a funny coincidence, but I was thinking just last night about how best to make something like that.

    I was tending towards a block of wood and a chisel, because 3D printers are expensive.

  11. Posted

     

    kl99 - I sure would be interested in the Windows Program that solves the Egg/Chicken problem as I am in the same boat.

    Thank you for bumping this, as it brought information I needed to my attention.

     

     

    I just went through the same ordeal this past weekend.... I have a console and loaded PEB, but with no modern hardware like HDX boards, or floppy emulators. I have a Terminal Emulator II cartridge and tried to transfer between the TI and various TI emulators on my PC, but didn't have much luck for whatever reason. I ended up typing in a crude assembly program that was listed in the October 1989 Micropendium magazine. It uses Xmodem and can talk to Hyperterminal,etc on a modern computer. I compiled it and was able to transfer MagicFM using this terminal emulator on the TI and Qmodem Pro on a PC. As long as you have an E/A cartridge, RS232 card, and some kind of term program on your Mac that supports Xmodem, you should be able to transfer files and open up more possibilities.

    And thank you for bringing the Micropendium article to my attention. It is EXACTLY what I needed.

     

    Yes, I could have thrown money at the bootstrap problem with a disk emulator and a flash drive full of files, or an HDX card, or so on and so forth. But I wanted to do this with only period hardware on the TI. It was supposed to be a fun project, before everything went wrong(basically every problem I had was related to learning TE2 is "quaint" at best, and figuring out how to get files on the system). This gets the train back on the tracks.

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    Terminal Emulator 2 could read the screen, as could many other terminals that came later. I don't know if there was any protocol convention for side-band speech though (that is, not reading the screen but speaking independently...). The TE2 protocol had a lot in there, though, was speech? :)

    I believe the provision was there. Can't swear to it off-hand, though.

  18. Posted

    @TeBF RE: Tinix

    I thought about the same name, but unfortunately someone already has a minix-derived system by that name. Oh well.

     

    99ix?

     

    Or steal naming inspiration from a DIFFERENT child of Unix and call it Plan99. Perhaps a little misleading, but I'm sure people will figure it out.

  19. Posted

    Is it possible to provide the output as Scart, but using a smaller connection? Scart seems to have a lot of conversion options available to other outputs - but is also still supported (although sadly to a lessening degree) .. mostly europewide I think?

    I assume RGB over SCART. In which case... may as well use VGA again.

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    Have you ever wanted to see something taken to the 'next level', just because?

     

    For example the Raspberry Pi for the TIPI. With it's built-in WiFi any TI'er with one can get on the BBS's super easy. Gone are the days of bulky modems or UDS-10's with wires, cables and connectors everywhere. But... what could it do streaming to your WiFi capable TV or Chromecast unit? I bet there is 'something 'cool' that could be done?

     

    Any ideas... just because...

    It could do... anything a Pi running Linux can do?

     

    I mean, you could install X and a desktop environment and your TIPI would be a full modern PC.

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