Macintosh Emulation and Printing using Mini VMac on a PocketCHIP

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Alternate title: I want to print from an emulated Mac on a pocket computer to my ImageWriter II over AppleTalk.

The PocketCHIP that wants to be a Mac. Yes, that’s a pencil sticking through the pencil holder being used as a stand. The hole on the left is for a pen (it’s round). Clever, yes?

I’ve had a PocketCHIP for several years now. I picked it up right after the Kickstarter campaign was finished sometime in 2016/2017. It’s a great little Linux-based handheld device that combines a lot in one package (touch display, keyboard, storage, battery, sound, USB port, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.). The novelty wore off and I stowed it away in a box. The company Next Thing Co. went out of business shortly thereafter in March 2018.

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Self Referential Pen Plotter Floppy Disks

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In November 2021, I posted a short video on Twitter of my Roland DXY 1150 pen plotter drawing a generative wobbly circle design on top of a 5.25″ floppy disk. A few people responded that they would buy one of the floppies. This got me thinking about the medium of a floppy disk that I was using.

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Hayes Chronograph Display Repair

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(This was originally a Twitter thread from January 24, 2022.)

January 24, 2022

Many of you know that I have an affinity for the Hayes Chronograph. I have several of them, I made a WiFi controller to set the time automatically, and I’ve repaired several of them. Here’s another page in the repair chapter.

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Zenith ZL-1 MinisPort Laptop repairs

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(This was originally a Twitter thread from June 14, 2020.)

June 14, 2020

Say “Hello, World” to my new Zenith ZL-1 MinisPort laptop from 1989 with an 8088 running 8Mhz, 1MB RAM, and a backlit LCD display. Weighs just under 6 pounds.

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Modding a Timex Sinclair 2068 to a Switchable ZX Spectrum ROM

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(This was originally a Twitter thread from December 2, 2014)

Did you know the American Timex Sinclair 2068 is largely a clone of the popular ZX Spectrum from England? Well, the hardware is but the ROM is different enough to keep ZX Spectrum titles from working. Which is a bummer because there are hundreds of titles for the ZX Spectrum and only a handful for the Timex Sinclair 2068.

However, it is possible to replace the ROM in a TS2068 so it’s more compatible with ZX titles, making a “ZX2068.” And you can make it switchable so you can go back to the stock ROM. And no drilling holes for a switch! Sound interesting? Read on!

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Commodore SX-64 Repair and Refurbishment

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(This was originally posted to Twitter on February 3, 2015.)

February 3, 2015

Today, I’m going to tackle this new-to-me Commodore SX-64 computer. I bought it cheaply from a seller that said it wasn’t working. It has a few faults that we’ll take a look, including the keyboard which has a few unresponsive keys.

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Installing an Ethernet card and video card and other upgrades for a Mac SE/30.

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(The following was a Twitter thread on March 10, 2021 for #MARCHintosh.)

But there’s only one slot, you say? It’s all a matter of using a clever part to adapt a pass-through.

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Another Visit to The Computer Museum at System Source in Baltimore MD.

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On July 10, 2021, I visited the Computer Museum at System Source in Baltimore MD as part of the Vintage Computer Federation (VCF) Repair Workshop. I also visited the museum in 2020.

Warning: Image heavy page ahead!

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