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Author Archives: zedstarr

Finding beauty in unexpected places

Some patterns…. the beauty in repetitive patterns, in nature and in art.

Posted byzedstarr16/08/202118/01/2022Posted inartLeave a comment on Finding beauty in unexpected places

40 years later: reflections on 1981 – pop music’s greatest year?

Was 1981 pop music’s greatest ever year? There’s no doubt for me – it absolutely was! Débuts from several of the decade’s biggest names, Eurovision Winners and a novelty No.1, 1981 had it all.

Posted byzedstarr09/08/202118/01/2022Posted inmusicTags:1980s, blitz kids, music, new romatics, pop, pop-culture, synthpop4 Comments on 40 years later: reflections on 1981 – pop music’s greatest year?

RS232 flow-control & handshaking – Psion MC400 retro communications

Connecting my retro-laptop to the internet via 2 x RS232 serial connections to a Raspberry Pi… and defeated (for now) by lack of hardware flow-control signals 😦

Posted byzedstarr22/07/202103/03/2022Posted inpsion, techTags:electronics, maker, mc400, psion, raspberry pi, retro-computers, retro-computing1 Comment on RS232 flow-control & handshaking – Psion MC400 retro communications

5G on the moon?

NASA has ambitions to build a comms infrastructure on the moon using 4G LTE technology…

Posted byzedstarr15/07/202111/10/2021Posted intechTags:4G, electronics, LTE, Lunar, Moon, techLeave a comment on 5G on the moon?

dot-com failures, skim.com & obsessive bag collecting

About my Love of bags – this one a dot-com era superstar from 2000/2001. Internet enabled fashion? Oh yes! SKIM.COM a y2k style bubble ready to burst 🙂

Posted byzedstarr09/07/202127/02/2022Posted inart, techTags:bags, dot-com, fashion, millennium, psion, tech, y2k, y2kstyle1 Comment on dot-com failures, skim.com & obsessive bag collecting

“My Life in Laptops” – am I Doug Rocket?

My homage to Doug Rocket’s art installation at Place “MY LAPTOPS 1991-2005”. It’s well Mexico.

Posted byzedstarr07/07/202105/04/2022Posted intechTags:maker, psion, retro-computers, retro-computing, tech6 Comments on “My Life in Laptops” – am I Doug Rocket?

Magellan GPS 315 vs. The Future – part 2

Some older GPS receivers can’t compute dates properly thanks to the original GPS system employing an epoch with 10-bit week number… a new epoch starts every 1024 weeks!

Posted byzedstarr15/06/202102/03/2022Posted inGNSS, PNT, tech, workTags:electronics, GNSS, GPS, maker, PNT, retro-computers, retro-computing, weeknumberrollover, WNRO2 Comments on Magellan GPS 315 vs. The Future – part 2

Record Store Day 2021 – crooked queuing

Why vinyl is more than the sum of its parts. “Record Store Day” 2021 and queuing for 2 hours to buy a black plastic disc. Independent record shops and teenage memories…

Posted byzedstarr14/06/202104/01/2022Posted inmusic, vinylTags:hi-fi, hifi, music, vinyl3 Comments on Record Store Day 2021 – crooked queuing

Retro & Online – Connecting Psion’s MC400 & Series 3a machines to “the internet”

Connecting 30-year old computers to the internet in 2021… for the LOLs. Revisiting RS232, null-modems and the like, all at 19200 baud.

Posted byzedstarr11/06/202103/03/2022Posted inpsion, techTags:mc400, nodemcu, psion, raspberry pi, retro, retro-computers, retro-computing, tech3 Comments on Retro & Online – Connecting Psion’s MC400 & Series 3a machines to “the internet”

Magellan GPS 315 vs. The Future – part 1

Comparing a handheld 1990s dedicated GPS receiver with the GNSS chip in a 2019 smartphone

Posted byzedstarr08/06/202109/12/2021Posted inGNSS, PNT, tech, workTags:electronics, GNSS, GPS, PNT, tech, WNRO1 Comment on Magellan GPS 315 vs. The Future – part 1

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