Collaborate Disseminate
Back in the last century, Intel saw itself faced with a need to have ‘second source’ suppliers of its 8088 and 8086 processors, which saw NEC being roped in to …read more Continue reading Intel v. NEC : The Case of the V20’s Microcode
Controversial position: the world needs more buttons. We’ve gotten so far away from physical interfaces like buttons, knobs, and switches in favor of sleek but sterile touch-screen “controls” that when …read more Continue reading Big Red Button Puts Toddler in Command of Chromecast
Before the era of digital electronic computers, mechanical analog computers were found everywhere. From the relative simplicity of bomb sights to the complexity of fire control computers on 1940s battleships, …read more Continue reading Reverse-Engineering the Mechanical Bendix Central Air Data Computer
As useful as electronics are, the need to have some source of power for them can be a bit of an issue, especially for small, portable devices. One of the …read more Continue reading Ready For The Rapture: This Wind-Up Cassette Player Can Play Anywhere
If you’ve scavenged some random keypads and want to reuse them in a project without the hassle of figuring out the pinouts, then [Cliff Biffle] has an interface module for …read more Continue reading Keypad Interface Module Reverse Engineers Pinouts So You Don’t Have To
While troubleshooting the power supply of a 1970s Centurion system, [Usagi Electrics] came across a fascinating feature of these units: the ferroresonant, or constant voltage transformer (CVT). The main difference …read more Continue reading Learning About Ferroresonant Transformers While Fixing a 1970s Power Supply
If you’re the happy owner of a vintage Apple system like a 1989 Macintosh IIci you may know the pain of keeping working monitors around. Unless it’s a genuine Apple-approved …read more Continue reading Designing a Macintosh-to-VGA Adapter With an LM1881
If you buy any kind of electronic gadget today, chances are it’s powered by a microcontroller with a program stored in its internal flash ROM. That program’s code is often …read more Continue reading A 1970s Mask ROM Microcontroller Spills Its Secrets
Among the changes made by Apple to its laptops over the years, the transition from a Hall sensor-based sleep sensor to an angle sensor that determines when the lid is …read more Continue reading Beating Apple’s Secret Lid Angle Sensor Calibration With Custom Tool
Aside from idle curiosity, very few of us need to see inside chips and components to diagnose a circuit. But reverse engineering is another story; being able to see what …read more Continue reading DIY Repair Brings an X-Ray Microscope Back Into Focus