More AliExpress Re-marked Chips Frustration
Join me as I describe my frustration with AliExpress sourced, incorrectly re-marked / re-labelled, IC parts. This seems to be an ongoing issue, particularly with the retro chips keenly sourced …
Minimalist Europe Card Bus (MECB) – Address Decode / Glue Logic ATF16V8
As I mentioned in my earlier MECB posts, I wanted to be able to create MECB boards which implemented addressing flexibility. This is to allow any I/O board design to …
Minimalist Europe Card Bus (MECB) – Prototype Card Design
This follows on from my Backplane Design & Build for the Minimalist Europe Card Bus (MECB), where I walked-through the design of my MECB Backplane, and I then assembled my …
Minimalist Europe Card Bus (MECB) – Backplane Design
This follows on from my Introduction of the Minimalist Europe Card Bus (MECB), where I outlined my preferred design, for recreating some of my 8-bit CPU experiences from the late …
“Black & Gold Edition” – TL866 Programmer Adapter for 27C322 & 27C400/800/160 EPROMs
The popular TL866II Plus Programmer was recently offered in a special Black Edition. This special Black Edition includes a much higher quality “Aries” branded Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket. To …
TMS9929A VDP Rediscovery and Alternative Retro VRAM Solution
TL;DR The TMS9929A / TMS9928A / TMMS9918A are Video Display Processors produced by Texas Instruments in the Retro 8-bit era of the early 1980’s. They were used in a number …
My eBay seller frustration (Please use Tindie)
I’ve made my TL866 Programmer Adapter for 27C400/800/160/322 EPROMs available to enthusiasts via eBay, ever since I developed and perfected it a number of years ago (as documented in my …
KOTTO Fume Extractor – Speed Controller
A viewer (@CYAN), asked about the variable speed controller, in my recent KOTTO Fume Extractor video. See my earlier post / video here: https://digicoolthings.com/my-fume-extractor-upgrade-hakko-to-kotto/ So, not being someone who ever …
My Fume Extractor Upgrade – Hakko to Kotto
After years of breathing in the flux fumes that were not being extracted by my Hakko 493 desktop Extractor Fan, and also having space issues when trying to extract fumes …
Solder Reflow using a cheap Preheater
Are you using just a Heat Gun for your SMD Reflow work? Many hobbyists use converted ovens for Reflow, but I’ve always wanted a hot-plate style Reflower. If you have …