Another Maxell Massacre. A good reminder of why we GET THE BATTERIES OUT. #retrocomputing

Arghh… Evertime I install a significant Linux update, I lose WiFi on my 2012 MacBook Pro. Then I have to fiddle around and remember what incantation I used last time to get it working. Each time I swear, just as I’m ready to beat my head against the wall, it magically starts working.

Verifying my rebuilt Mac IIsi with the impressive recreation TechStep diagnostic tool. #VintageMac

Going to build some new Macintosh IIsi power supplies today thanks to the design from @caymacvintage.bsky.social

I got into the vintage/retro computer hobby in 2018. It’s amazing, exciting, and inspiring to see how much easier it is now to enjoy these old computers thanks to the work of so many in the community. The services and add-ons that flow from so many creative people is a blessing. #retrocomputing

Digital archeology: testing old Macintosh hard drives and copying data to my BlueSCSI, if possible. (I should probably be using the BlueSCSI’s magical initator mode.)

I get to see how many of these floppy drives from the horde of Macintosh IIsi can be made to work.

Do any Mac repair aficionados know what pin 16 on both Sony sound chips in the Mac IIsi connect to? The BOMARC schematics show it going off page to a page I don't have.

A true surprise landed in my workshop this Christmas. 🎄 Plastic goodness ahead.

I have a holiday goal of getting these Mac IIsi cleaned up (if possible) and back out into the community. Two are battery bombed, but could be useful for parts. #retrocomputing

Day 347 - #retrorandom - NOTHING is going to stop me being able to program this EPROM!

I ordered an open motherboard frame thinking it would be a better way to work with bare boards on my bench, but while the Baby AT screw holes line up, they are not aligned with the card slots openings. Does anytime have a frame they recommend for legacy boards? #retrocomputers

It’s harder than I thought to compare this snazzy Tomlov digital microscope to my trusty AmScope. They have different pluses and minuses. For super detailed work, it’s hard to beat a true binocular microscope. However, the Tomlov is much easier to move around when working on larger boards.

Serious restoration work… youtube.com/@repair3r?si...

Do you agree with the system configurations identified in this guide? bitsundbolts.com/2025/11/20/g...

I really like this clever little clock. Thanks @thisdoesnotcompute.bsky.social

My first time removing a large surface mount PLCC. I worked at it with hot air, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. So I pulled out some low melt solder, and it was magic. The chip came slid off like butter. Next time, I’ll use less to make the clean up easier.

In the summer of 1987, I spent time in the California’s eastern high desert. The whole time I was rocking U2‘s Joshua Tree in my Aiwa tape deck. I now realize that the combination of that tape in that place burned something into me. And I’m glad it did.

control panel of the day #HCI #vic20

A nice summary from Jordan Mechner (@jmechner.bsky.social) breaking down the various ports of Prince of Persia. www.jordanmechner.com/en/latest-ne...

I had a good day tweaking my various eXo installations (www.retro-exo.com), then setup C64 Dreams (www.zombs-lair.com/c64-dreams), and finally dived into Amiga Game Selector (www.amigagameselector.co.uk). What incredible demonstrations of dedication and sophistication! What an impressive community.

It feels so good to finally have an IBM 5170 in my collection! I waited a long time until a seller within driving distance offered one at a reasonable price. It’s CGA, not EGA, but you can’t have everything.

One of my first assignments with the Amiga 1000 is figure out what’s up with this coiled up bodge wire to nowhere.

My first time seeing the Amiga 1000’s case signatures.

Performed minor surgery this morning on this MacBook Air 2020 (Intel), trying to improve its thermal performance. Followed the recommendations at fcracer.com/macbook-air-... Thanks @[email protected] for the suggestion!

Poking around inside my wife’s MacBook Air 2020 (Intel) to see why it’s running so hot. Even before a wipe down, it looks good and fan is not obstructed. I’m going back to my first assumption that macOS Sequoia was not a good upgrade for this little machine.

Every once in awhile you get lucky and find a good deal. This makes up for my mistake when I passed on a reasonably priced Amiga 1000 years ago. Now I need to get even luckier and find a keyboard.

Getting ready to setup the new Raspberry Pi 500+ as my retro computer emulation station.

I’m enjoying reading @christopherdrum.bsky.social deep dive into vintage productivity software at stonetools.ghost.io

I think I finally figured out why the floppy was not working. I have two dead oscillators. The 24MHz crystal is dead, and it feeds the 82077AA floppy controller. I also discovered the 14.1818MHz crystal is dead too. I can’t find that exact frequency, so I hope a 14.31818MHz replacement will do.

I tempted fate and bought a Bondi Blue iMac G3 from eBay. The plastic needed to be snapped back into position and some clips were broken. Amazingly, the fragile inner bezel looks to be in good shape from the outside. Sadly, it doesn’t start, so I’ll have to open it up and see what going on.

Game changer… youtu.be/ogHqmjn6sY4...

When every PC had a lock, but you never really understood why.

Oh no. This CD duplicator just showed up locally at a good price. I have no reason to be want one… yet…

Ever wonder how hit CBS Show 'Whiz Kids' turns the stars into star hackers? Issue 1 of K-Power Magazine has the secret!

I stopped by infinitemac.org for the first time in awhile, and I continue to be blown away by its features and finesse. It’s zero effort emulation with an unlimited software library. Truly a technical work of art.

I’m thrilled to have an official Apple CD mounting kit for my Quadra 650. We’ll see if it partners nicely with this SCSI Panasonic x2 CD-ROM.

Troublesome upgrade to Kubuntu 25.04. Started with a troublesome mirror site causing the install to fail. Once the install process was repaired, got a black screen on my 2012 MBP. Ends up being a kernel conflict with Apple’s EFI implementation. Installing a different kernel version got it running. 😓

I think I’ve taken care of business and added audio to my RGB to HDMI. github.com/hoglet67/RGB...

I have finally acquired the monitor that accompanied my first computer, an Osborne One (making up for the Osborne’s ridiculously small built-in screen). It arrived in decent condition, except for the H-Width potentiometer adjustment, which was snapped off inside the case.

Louder for the people in the back: Color matched Mac "Platinum" PLA 3D printer filament, $21.99/spool, now available. No more waiting, high prices, expensive shipping or "chalky" filament. It's here, now. And this is what it looks like! Look at that color match! polarfilament.com/pr...

Excited to have this new-old-stock 9-inch CRT in pristine condition! Never been used with serial number 100835 from March 1982.

Hit a nice round number of 1,000 followers. I love this vintage/retro/classic computer hobby and all the folks that make it a community.

Watching a pro play early electronic music through an AM transistor radio on a PDP-8.

Though it may look peaceful now, a great battle was fought here today removing this corroded PS/2 connector.

The long-suffering Wang EXEC 386 ( 3131) is working with an XTIDE and Sergey Kiselev’s floppy BIOS, but the onboard floppy and IDE are still a mess. The system BIOS reports a checksum error, so that could be an issue, but the only copy of the BIOS I can find online is the one I uploaded.

Well, I’ll be… the battery was not keeping the CMOS settings when powered down. Sniffed out something odd with transistor Q1 (2N3904), and sure enough, it was the problem. May be the first time I removed the right component on the first try! 😎

Impressive commitment to create an enviable ‘90s cable TV simulator. youtu.be/CDW1wokbRiQ...

Once again, I really need to double check everything before ordering replacement ICs. Size does matter!

Peak sound in DOS gaming achieved! Thanks to @polpo.org awesome PicoGUS paired with the slick WavetablePi, I can enjoy Adlib, Tandy, SoundBlaster, CMS, GravisUltraSound, and Roland MT-32 audio from one amazing card.