Controlling my 1990s Technics tape deck from a 1990s PDA – Psion Series 3a remote control via NodeMCU
Author Archives: zedstarr
Retrocomputing – getting re-acquainted with the Psion Series 3a and MC400
Retro computing. Getting 1990s era computers connected to modern stuff….
MCMF – MF4 dialling for the Psion MC400
Adding MF4 (DTMF) dialling capabilities to the legendary Psion MC400 laptop from 1990
“Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982
“Electronics & Music Maker” (E&MM) was a magazine aimed at home/hobby music makers that started in the early 1980s and was produced as an offshoot of the mighty Maplin electronic component distribution empire. The idea was that it would promote more sales and engagement with Maplin’s component business through projects & DIY features based aroundContinue reading ““Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982″
Reviving a relic – a time machine from the past – the Enhanced Waveform Generator
Reviving some 1990s era tech …
A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette”
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Ottens, a Dutch Engineer credited with inventing the humble cassette tape format whilst working at Philips in the 1960s. Crucially Philips had the foresight to licence the format and it quickly became the de-facto standard for consumer audio recording. It made me reflect on justContinue reading “A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette””
Buying 2nd hand “vintage” Hi-Fi on eBay – buyer beware
Bought an old Hi-Fi from eBay – seller listed it as “used” (meaning it works OK but might have some cosmetic damage). Turns out it was faulty. D’oh.
Reading a 27C512 EPROM with a Raspberry Pi – ROM-dumping!
Using Raspberry Pi GPIO to read the contents of an old 5V CMOS ROM
Minidisc copybit stripper – the Elektor SCMS killer
Defeating SCMS copy-control restrictions in digital minidisc-to-minidisc copies using the infamous Elektor copybit killer from 1998
Technics RS-B665 Cassette Deck Remote Control
Creating a remote control for a 1990s tape-deck using raspberry pi, python, node-red and some relays. Features minimal hardware hacking of the tape deck itself… 😉