ramtop-retro

@CalumDouglas1 Wow, haven't seen those chips in a long time. The first company I worked for had several TMS340x0 TIGA graphics cards they used for CAD work. Very impressive back in the day.

A supergeek deep dive, a guy on youtube dismantled a Javelin anti-tank missile (very early one) and some comments think it has a TMS34010 chip. The later versions of this chip (the 020), were used in the AMIGA computer when upgraded with the REMBRANDT graphics cards which could be daisy chained together in 1992 to make powerful real time virtual reality software possible. This put the AMIGA at the graphics forefront (unless you had insane amounts of money for an SGI workstation). Similar upgrades allowed the AMIGA to be used in Sci Fi TV Shows like Bablyon 5. Of course Commodore screwed it all up and ruined a great computer, but thats an interesting connection across worlds. amiga.resource.cx/exp/rambrandt

I put together a short video as a demo of the new sound cartridge I'm working on for the Acorn Electron and BBC Master. Still lots to do, but it's coming along nicely now. youtube.com/watch?v=JeNx-O…

For the first time the Plus 1 Mini expansion unit for the Acorn Electron is available through Tindie! To celebrate, there's 5% off everything in my Tindie store until the 22nd using code RAMTOP5. tindie.com/products/40873/

@UB1UB2 No tax, no MoT, no safety gear, wearing a hood. The bike is probably stolen and being used to steal other bikes.

A moped rider runs red lights and instantly regrets it in Hounslow, West London 😭😭

@0xC0DE6502 Hmm. If you're doing that I suspect what's left are just those games that have less than wonderful joystick code.

@RamtopR I see, thanks. The analogue-to-digital conversion also happens immediately in Electroniq 😉

I thought my joystick support code in my Acorn Electron emulator (Electroniq) was not working properly. But I am now convinced, after testing with ancient analogue joysticks on a real Electron with a Plus 1 add-on, that actually joystick support in some games is just broken!?

@0xC0DE6502 My memory is not super wonderful, but I do remember returning results from the ADC conversion immediately seemed to work better than emulating the delay caused by the Plus 1's ADC chip.

@RamtopR I am interested in what "just doing whatever" entails 😀

@BirdyBro_MiSTer @AnnatarTheMaia @VEsoterica Where did I mention user perception? The question was about emulating or simulating hardware, which absolutely can require accuracy to very small time scales (ie, functional replacements for vintage ICs).

@RamtopR @AnnatarTheMaia @VEsoterica Software simulators can do that, but they don't run in real time. The end user has zero perception of sub nanosecond timings. The same inputs from the user can result in the same outputs to the user's perception in both.

Kicking the hornets next this morning 🤣FPGA cores and #MiSTerFPGA are NOT emulation! But recently I've seen a lot of "stop lying to people" comments saying FPGA is no diff than software emulation (vid in reply) #emulation #gaming #gamingnews #gaming_news #retrogames

@AnnatarTheMaia @BirdyBro_MiSTer @VEsoterica FPGAs can be functionally identical to the real hardware, ie, all the outputs are the same down to sub nanosecond timings. Software emulation can't do that.

@BirdyBro_MiSTer @RamtopR @VEsoterica So it is emulation then!

@commodoreihs Such sad news. CATS had an amazing reputation when she was there.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Commodore legend Gail Wellington last night. I was blessed to know her briefly and I’m grateful she allowed me into her life. commodore.international/2021/11/21/gai…

@ChuckHellebuyck Agree, it's simple to use and surprisingly powerful.

Why I Prefer Tinkercad over Fusion 360 / FreeCAD youtu.be/h2r817HB5W4

@lauriewired Fun fact: the 68020 was put back into production due to demand from aerospace customers, so you can buy brand new ones today.

Airbus A320’s primary fly-by-wire computers still use Motorola 68k CPUs. Fresh off the assembly line in 2025; it’s the same hardware as the original Macintosh. The *lack* of speculative execution, with a simple in-order core makes it than modern chips! Here's why.

@TheLightSpeedz Nothing 'influencers' say can be trusted, for a multitude of reasons. I've owned several printers that got positive reviews but were complete trash in reality. Doing your own research using direct user feedback is the only way to not get ripped off.

I have to say this even tho it’s hypocritical. When we discuss the reality of the Bambu Lab H2D, can anyone take the word of an influencer when it comes to “worth it”. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose. I’m fine with sample printers for review. But I really think the affiliate links create bias. I regularly push the Creality K2 plus. I bought it with my own money. Which made me ultra critical of its shortfalls in the beginning. It’s human nature. Today I feel it’s a hell of a value. So I recommend it. But I also have something to gain. So everyone should do their own research and make a buying decision independently. Is the bambulab #H2D worth it? Probably not. It was already pushing the envelope of value. But not it’s absolutely outside the bounds of the value proposition.

@NathanBuilds You're assuming everyone has the same needs. Anyone who requires a large format multi-colour machine for commercial use basically has to choose this or a Prusa XL, and the H2D is a lot cheaper than an XL. I wouldn't buy either, but I don't need that capability.

Hate it. Nobody should be spending $2500 on a 3D printer when they can get an elegoo centauri carbon and a dozen spools of filament for $2000 less, and will be more than enough printer for your needs.

Delighted to be able to put the ElkSD64 back on sale as I've found a source of suitable CPLD chips. Because ebay is busy self-destructing I'm listing these on Tindie instead as a test. tindie.com/products/ramto…

@UncleJessy4Real @Creality3dP Creality's lack of quality control is a shining beacon of consistency in the 3D printing industry's sea of change.

At this point I think @Creality3dP is just trolling me Every single print so far fails with this error Printing Canceled CX2095 Print head slams into the right side and the print stops On the latest firmware for the Hi & CFS

@geerlingguy $700 is probably correct. AMD doesn't want to sell consumer GPUs in any real quantity, they'd rather use their limited fab allocation for more profitable AI and datacentre products instead. Good business, but terrible for gamers.

AMD has a golden opportunity to take (or at least hold) some of the midrange market for consumer GPUs with their 9070 launch. I really hope the rumors of $700+ pricing are false. Otherwise, I pin all my hopes on Intel, ha!

@ZombieHedgehog_ $299 for an enclosed CoreXY is a still an absolute steal. I seriously considered ordering one, but Elegoo is quoting June for availability in the UK and that's just way too long.

The upcoming Elegoo Centauri (non carbon) for $199 without an enclosure looks very similar to the P1P. I would spend the extra $100 on the Carbon but I believe this will be a popular option as well.

@geerlingguy @BigTreeTech Thing is, Bambu's magic is in the firmware. The hardware isn't all that special, so a replacement board will turn the P1 into just another generic Klipper (presumably) coreXY.

Ooh this whole Bambu Lab thing might've just set off @BigTreeTech to make a replacement control board for the P1S!