What was under your Christmas tree in 1977 - That hand knitted sweater from grandma? A tub of Slime? Orthello? or how about a skateboard? Or did you get an Atari Video Computer System?? In 1977 I was 6 - I don't remember what I got that Christmas but I do know it wasn't a 2600.... That I had to buy myself many years later.
Released in October 1977, the Atari VCS (renamed to Atari 2600 after the release of the 5200), went on to sell 30,000,000 units world-wide. Although released a year after the Fairchild Channel F, it marked the start of the home video game revolution and kept kids glued to the telly ever since.
     
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You can take a look at all 154 cartridges on my Flickr set |
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Back in the 80's, in a time long before the DSi and PSP, gamers who wanted to entertain themselves while in the back of mum & dad's car were restricted to playing just one game! Yes, that's right - JUST ONE GAME!!! I know that may seem just completely outside the realms of sensibility, but it's true. And to prove it, here's one of those games...
Click to Embiggen
A whole bunch more can be seen in my Flickr set. |
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It's been a while since I've given my soldering iron a serious workout, but when I saw the Digital Storage Oscilloscope kit online at Seeed Studio the other week I figured I'd blow off the dust and put it to work!
The kit comprises of both front and back panels, PCB (with microprocessor pre-soldered) and a pile of SMT & Through-hole parts.
Completed kit!
This is a great kit that you can have up and running in a couple of hours and a very handy piece of test equipment, too. |
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This is my first non-nixie clock. Built using the schematic and code provided by José Pino . 
José has provided pre-compiled HEX code suitable for the PIC16F628 (I'm using a PIC16F628A without any problems) Code is also supplied for the PIC16F84. The layout is very simple and keeps good time - gaining only a few seconds after a couple of weeks running. The first photo shows the complete clock (two surface mount capacitors are mounted under the board, as well as the two 10k pull-down resistors from pins 6 & 7). |
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 This week, Australian TV turns 50!!
The development of Television started more than 130 years ago with the discovery of Selenium's photoconductive properties by Willoughy Smith in 1873. Over time, inventers such as John Logie Baird and Philo Taylor Farnsworth both demonstrated different ways of transmitting an image from one location to another.
John Logie Baird, in 1926, demonstrated what is considered to be the first true television system by electrically transmitting moving pictures. Just two years later, television broadcasts begun in America, followed by Britian in 1936.
Just a short 30 years after John's demonstration, Bruce Gyngell launched television in Australia with the now famous words "Good evening and welcome to television". This first official broadcast coming from TCN Sydney, 16th Semtember, 1956.
Over the next 15 years, Television was introduced around the nation:
NSW, Queensland and Victoria - 1956
South Australia - 1959
Tasmania - 1960
ACT - 1962
Northern Territory - 1971
From Valves to Diodes, From Black and White to Colour, from Analog to Digital - the last 50 years has been an incredible journey.
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Just how big does a clock have to be to be a GIANT clock?  The Unofficial Registry of Giant Digital Clocks has that answered. Go - check it out :)
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I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I have a slight addiction to shiney things... So, anyhow, the nice folk at LEDSales were happy to oblige and supplied me with some neat LEDs for a very resonable price.  These are Russian-made side-view LEDs and are about 2mm big. They have a rated current of around 6ma. I am running the one in the photo at about 8ma. |
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Misc Electronics 
