Nostr notes by Ivor Hewitt

oh that's superb, love all the subtle bongs, much nicer than ...

2026-10-18T08:54:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…xt2h
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oh that's superb, love all the subtle bongs, much nicer than "generic bluetooth woman" voice. 😍

Fucking hell. 🤬 ...

2026-10-12T11:52:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…agj7
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Fucking hell. 🤬

FML Concrete off next. ...

2026-10-11T17:34:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…4p40
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FML
Concrete off next.

Right. #sunday job .... Replace the washing machine drum. How ...

2026-10-11T13:49:16Z

Right. #sunday job .... Replace the washing machine drum. How hard can it be???

It's a shame and really depressing, both Instructables and ...

2026-10-09T03:21:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…az65
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It's a shame and really depressing, both Instructables and Hackaday seem to be sliding/have slid down this plughole.
but what's wrong? all these amazing new projects doing so much!
They aren't projects, there's no love, no care, no interest, it's just churning out content...
but. does it matter? if they "do the thing"...
but. they don't.
several times I've picked one up, and followed the instructions... and the instructions simply *haven't worked* no-one cares, no-one has actually followed the instructions. The guide has been written by a chatbot to *look* like a project write up, but it's isn't one, it hasn't actually been written by a person for someone else to follow.

It's been written by a chatbot *to look* like a project guide.

These aren't projects that someone else can pick up and extend, they're dead end abandonware now, they can't be improved or extended or played with. Even if they do work, it's a once and done thing. Code isn't there to be built upon.

Sigh. Is there anything on hackaday now that isn't slop ...

2026-10-08T11:11:16Z

Sigh. Is there anything on hackaday now that *isn't* slop generated. It used to have interesting original projects, now it's just "oh that looks interesting, let me look at the write up..."
Scroll scroll "And here's the trick"
Oh hello Claude. 🙄🤦

Nostr event nevent1qqsznv2rm79u2cglgzpq7z29lfyvrc7qpeu9cdlvuy6eff54j6shq9qzyruccg90qmem53kzl45glllqvyjkff4639ludvx50pnsjyzkv0j6geg7l2y

2026-10-03T11:33:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…cev7
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👍👌

Migraine. That is all.

2026-10-01T11:23:33Z

Migraine.
That is all.

awesome!! I'm having issues getting mine to load from tape ...

2026-09-14T11:40:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…wvdu
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awesome!! I'm having issues getting mine to load from tape (or a wav file)....

Etched and cleaned. Now time to drill and trim. ...

2026-09-01T14:19:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…4fn2
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Etched and cleaned. Now time to drill and trim.

and into the Ferric Chloride... leave to sizzle. Quickly wipe up ...

2026-09-01T13:51:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…n0g6
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and into the Ferric Chloride... leave to sizzle.
Quickly wipe up and clean kitchen before Cara notices.
Shoo inquisitive cats away from pots...
Time for a tea. 🫖

Right, stripped down.. time to make a new one the old way. ...

2026-09-01T12:34:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…qgc7
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Right, stripped down.. time to make a new one the old way.

Dismantled the PSU board. #zx81 ...

2026-09-01T12:12:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…t5te
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Dismantled the PSU board.
#zx81

Nostr event nevent1qqsfq6xpec26k9dgn8c6zex555ydup0nd4umdcc4mrl2dz9svc6gkfgzyruccg90qmem53kzl45glllqvyjkff4639ludvx50pnsjyzkv0j6gcwph2x

2026-09-01T12:10:59Z

Today. My hands smell of magic smoke. 🙄🤣

nah, no dice, elegantly rigged up a composite mod, but neither ...

2026-08-30T20:48:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…es38
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nah, no dice, elegantly rigged up a composite mod, but neither monitor I have with composite in picks up a signal....
I might have a TV capture card in the garage somewhere, if I have time/feel like it I might give that a spin, otherwise I'll wait for a modulator fix to arrive. 👍

oh ok, perhaps I'll try, I like the idea of an unintrusive ...

2026-08-30T11:19:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…d6ss
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oh ok, perhaps I'll try, I like the idea of an unintrusive reversible mod.

nice video. 👍 checked, no back porch on this one I got it ...

2026-08-30T10:12:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…y8u4
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nice video. 👍
checked, no back porch on this one I got it *really* early when they came out as a kit, had to wait my "28 days" for delivery.
ok.... will need to replace the modulator so I'll wait for the new membrane too.

Shit. No back porch on this "issue 1" board.... Can't ...

2026-08-30T10:07:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…ae33
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Shit. No back porch on this "issue 1" board.... Can't do a quick and dirty composite mod. 🙄
Little projects always turn into big projects.
#zx81

ooh I didn't realise there were replacements available ...

2026-08-29T22:01:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…2437
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ooh I didn't realise there were replacements available (https://zxrenew.co.uk/Sinclair-ZX81-Membrane-p102352920) nice. Good idea... 👍
I might still wire this one up anyway while I wait, I've had decent success with ribbon fixes onto fragile plastic before.

Right, and so it begins... first job, add a composite video mod, ...

2026-08-29T18:53:52Z

Right, and so it begins... first job, add a composite video mod, then I'll need to decide how to (re)attach the keyboard. The flex connector looks rough/cracked/fragile.
Will probably replace with a length of ribbon cable but not sure I want to try to desolder the PCB connector given the age of the foil tracks.
#retrocomputing #zx81

indeed👍. I wrote a kernel driver (for a video capture dongle) ...

2026-08-28T08:58:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…q4ta
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indeed👍. I wrote a kernel driver (for a video capture dongle) using an Acer netbook, on a train. My daily driver is a Thinkpad from 2012. I *do* have a decent desktop which is a nice to have and use for some stuff... but 90% of the time, it's a laptop on a sofa.

what?! Even if you have instructions file that says "you are ...

2026-08-05T18:21:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…4u0d
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what?! Even if you have instructions file that says "you are an expert, do not make mistakes"
🤣

I still can't figure out what's causing the corruption ...

2026-06-29T07:10:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…gl8p
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I *still* can't figure out what's causing the corruption on mine (I've tried checking/diagnosing *everything* and got nowhere) so:
1. if you do end up with any left I'd certainly be interested.
2. if you wanted to investigate what's gone wrong on this one, I'd happily send it over to you.

I love the fact that I can buy and download @npub1fdr…lvhs ...

2026-06-17T08:09:41Z

I love the fact that I can buy and download Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs) ebooks direct from https://shop.craphound.com 👍 I wish more authors had the ability to use or setup non-amazon options.

ok I have no idea whats going wrong, it's definitely my ...

2026-04-21T09:36:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…plv0
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ok I have no idea whats going wrong, it's *definitely* my builds. If I take the pristine checkout and use "vera-sentinel.bin" that works.
If I clean and rebuild that, *with no other changes*. I get corruption; clearly the binary diffs, but there are tons of differences in the "out/-nextpnr-/vera-sentinel/vera-sentinel.json" too, I've tried rolling back over multiple versions of oss-cad-suite (back to the yosys 0.52 of 202504) but with no differences at all. 😡 (tried on another machine too, although same linux) any ideas? I picked oss-cad-suite since it implied that was the "simple/recommended" way to get the right versions, what toolset are you building with.

sob. ok I have a horrible feeling there's something wrong ...

2026-04-17T09:55:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…72zn
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sob. ok I have a *horrible* feeling there's something wrong with my FPGA toolchain then - I'm using current "oss-cad-suite" (https://github.com/YosysHQ/oss-cad-suite-build/releases)
I reflowed the chip (a couple more times, along with completely removing, pad cleaning and resoldering it)... and it's up and running.
with *exactly* the same artifacts as before. 😱
So I flashed back the stock ROM and got corrupt zeros.... re-downloaded the original FPGA bitstream and flashed that, and the zeros were all fine again. 🤦
I think when I tested the "back to original" before, I'd actually *re-built* it minus my change.
To test this current theory... can you upload/update the vera-sentinel.bin in https://codeberg.org/Sentinel-65X-Team/VERA/src/branch/sentinel/fpga/out with the latest build and I'll retest that. 🤞

If that is the case, then I need to figure out what on earth's the problem with my builds.

Then I'll sit in a corner and have a little cry that I didn't figure that out before resoldering a 7mm 48-QFN chip.

new FPGA soldered on... Got excited - it flashed and verified ...

2026-04-15T18:31:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…fp5u
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new FPGA soldered on...
Got excited - it flashed and verified firmware.👍
But. sh1t. Nope. No VGA, no sdcard. 😡
Will have a go at redoing tomorrow.
any validation/test tips?

FPGA removed. Phew. Time for a break before figuring out how to ...

2026-04-15T11:48:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…e9mn
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FPGA removed. Phew. Time for a break before figuring out how to relow the new one. 🤞[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )

Yay backordered FPGA finally arrived... time to see if I can ...

2026-04-15T11:46:06Z

Yay backordered FPGA finally arrived... time to see if I can replace the sentinel 65x chip. 😬

I need to go back home and hunt. I'm sure mine is in my ...

2026-04-11T18:25:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…e2h9
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I need to go back home and hunt. I'm sure mine is in my parents attic somewhere....

one. step. at. a. time! 🤣 Will get the FPGAs ordered tomorrow ...

2026-03-22T20:57:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…6a29
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one. step. at. a. time! 🤣 Will get the FPGAs ordered tomorrow too, didn't get around to it yet, been a bit busy.

I'm thinking - building a basic system/monitor interpreter ...

2026-03-22T20:24:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…2um9
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I'm thinking - building a basic system/monitor interpreter rather than a full language interpreter, then an SD card could have an image file on it and something like an "autorun" script, e.g. LOAD "rom.img"; CALL 0xXXXX etc.
(albeit it *is* tempting to get BBC basic going for a nice interactive machine to play with, but also would open up an option to be able to script simple games and programs without making a ROM)

Ok... So since my display is toast (exhibit a) I decided to hook ...

2026-03-22T20:10:25Z

Ok... So since my display is toast (exhibit a) I decided to hook up the uart3 for console IO with a few primitive commands. (exhibit b&c)
With the sdcard, I can list the directory (exfat) and view a file! This is SO MUCH FUN. #sentinel65x [@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )

I always say my superpower is being able to make mistakes really ...

2026-03-18T14:28:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…u2t9
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I always say my superpower is being able to make mistakes really fast. 😁

I think so, I'll order one and give it a go. Hoping the QFP ...

2026-03-18T14:18:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…rqkr
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I think so, I'll order one and give it a go. Hoping the QFP is easier to swap than a BGA. (I made a mess of swapping one of those last week. 🙄)

anyway.... It's a bit hard to see due to the image ...

2026-03-18T07:30:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…kxgt
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anyway.... It's a bit hard to see due to the image corruption... But. Yaaay 🎉 I've got the ROM burnt with fatfs reading off the sdcard here. The sdcard holds two files, "Readme.txt" and "example.bas"
#sentinel65x

so. Good news, and bad news. 🙄 I added the pin mappings to the ...

2026-03-18T00:10:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…favp
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so. Good news, and bad news. 🙄
I added the pin mappings to the FPGA and reflashed.... and I can read data from the sdcard. Yay. But I think I might have somehow fried something in the FPGA in the flashing process. 🤦‍♂️

ok couldnt wait... I've got the vera image built, having ...

2026-03-17T21:07:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…favp
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ok couldnt wait... I've got the vera image built, having trouble using an in-circuit clip on the flash though. (although I'm going to check the clip's definitely ok) did you flash with a clip or via the J11?

quick q... the VERA code in ...

2026-03-17T18:35:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…2luy
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quick q... the VERA code in https://codeberg.org/Sentinel-65X-Team/VERA, "sentinel_top.v" has empty settings for the spi lines, shouldn't these be:
.spi_sck(spi_sck),
.spi_mosi(spi_mosi),
.spi_miso(spi_miso),
.spi_ssel_n_sd(spi_ssel_n_sd),

if I need to update them.... how hard is it to update the FPGA?

many thanks, I'm going to take a break and take another look ...

2026-03-17T18:19:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…2nwy
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many thanks, I'm going to take a break and take another look with fresh eyes later/tomorrow, I've been banging my head against this for hours!
just wanted to check I wasn't missing something obvious like a setup/init flag somewhere.

hmm nope, still can't get anything from the sdcard. 🙁 ...

2026-03-17T18:00:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…dl50
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hmm nope, still can't get anything from the sdcard. 🙁 spi_data read is always zero.
[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) do I need to do any additional VERA init to setup/enable the SD lines? When I try to talk to the SD card, I can see a burst of data on the SCK and MISO lines but nothing on MOSI, which feels wrong.

Bah, can't get sdcard reading working. yet. will try again ...

2026-03-16T19:30:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…4n4m
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Bah, can't get sdcard reading working. yet. will try again tomorrow.

right! sort of a basic "hello world" up and running. 👍 ...

2026-03-16T11:29:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…cle9
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right! sort of a basic "hello world" up and running. 👍
Will have a think about what to do next - as well as SD-card for code, I think hooking up a keyboard somehow will make experimenting a bit easier.

Right. Finally got some code running on the #Sentinel65x (albeit ...

2026-03-15T20:35:50Z

Right. Finally got some code running on the #Sentinel65x (albeit random junk) phew.
Could have done without (finally) discovering my plcc32 to dip adapter was faulty. 🤦‍♂️🙄 so spent several hours fixing that £3.99 part first. 🤣
I weep for the life of the rom socket though, really need to get sdcard code launch working. [@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )

[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) gorgeous.... time ...

2026-03-09T21:53:24Z

[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) gorgeous.... time to tinker. 👍👌

Nostr event nevent1qqsxm2dc7nkuwcr749z3cf2fnz4s9vfj2lpudk22v8yee9x660lttmszyruccg90qmem53kzl45glllqvyjkff4639ludvx50pnsjyzkv0j6gzra48j

2026-01-06T20:50:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…4s98
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indeed...
https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/11/linus_torvalds_vaccine_smackdown/ 🙄

😱 I mean... we had a scruffy fox. 🤷‍♂️

2025-08-19T13:47:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…g94x
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😱 I mean... we had a scruffy fox. 🤷‍♂️

"dogshit unit-economics." 👍

2025-07-24T19:09:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…nxzf
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"dogshit unit-economics." 👍

bah, I must be missing something... but it's late and I ...

2025-06-03T00:02:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…r75q
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bah, I must be missing something... but it's late and I *really* need to get some sleep! Probably not the best state to start playing. 😴😁 Shall try again tomorrow. 👍

"I'm your huckleberry" ...

2025-06-02T06:35:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…3uva
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"I'm your huckleberry"

I need to see this! 👍😁

2025-03-04T17:40:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvxl
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I need to see this! 👍😁

just look at that window manager, what a work of beauty and ...

2025-02-24T18:24:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…cyl4
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just look at that window manager, what a work of beauty and practicality. 👌

opesource hardware monthly 'show and tell' - ...

2025-02-11T09:17:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…f0n6
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opesource hardware monthly 'show and tell' -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPOOaPATvMc going to talk about my GPS board.

Better than yesterday where I spun around to hold open a door for ...

2025-02-11T07:35:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…c596
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Better than yesterday where I spun around to hold open a door for someone and threw my latte everywhere.
But this morning, also trying to get my lighting sorted as a distraction for a talk I'm doing (first one) next week - so starting to worry/panic about that.
otherwise... all good! 👍😁

no Konqui!? 😱 ...

2025-02-01T11:14:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…d9kv
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no Konqui!? 😱

indeed, although I expect anyone on threads unhappy with the ...

2025-01-08T17:34:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…yjen
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indeed, although I expect anyone on threads unhappy with the choices will instead move to bluesky. 🤷‍♂️
The majority remaining just won't care.

i.e.tired, low on sugar and emotional... then throw in something ...

2024-09-11T20:21:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…jxxs
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i.e.tired, low on sugar and emotional... then throw in something like The Time Travellers Wife.

I got into the habit of listening to audiobooks when I was doing ...

2024-09-11T20:19:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…0q80
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I got into the habit of listening to audiobooks when I was doing proper long training....
Although I quickly learnt the lesson to choose them more carefully after bursting into tears a few times! 😬🤣

uh oh, this idea didn't go so well in the three body problem. ...

2024-08-13T08:24:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…f5lj
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uh oh, this idea didn't go so well in the three body problem. 😬