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Machina Speculatrix
Electronics, robotics, home automation, hacking and more. The lab notebook of an amateur meddler who likes playing with things until they work — or blow up.
Retro
AVR
Zolatron
Coding
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First steps to building a homebrew computer
First steps to building a homebrew computer
Not all computers are alike. And yours can be very special indeed.
Mansfield-Devine
Jun 10
LEAPS Elliott 405: 1950s big iron
LEAPS Elliott 405: 1950s big iron
A small treasure trove of documents gives a taste of computing the old-fashioned mainframe way.
Mansfield-Devine
May 30
AVR Basics: more fun with interrupts
AVR Basics: more fun with interrupts
Interrupts allow peripherals to tell a microcontroller that they need its attention. And they are surprisingly easy to use.
Mansfield-Devine
May 26
Latest
Lost software: Emerald Bay database
Lost software: Emerald Bay database
Even very recent technology can be quickly lost to time and become little more than a dim memory.
Mansfield-Devine
May 25
Zolatron: A homebrew computer of my own
Zolatron: A homebrew computer of my own
There’s no better way to understand computers than to design and build one of your own. All you have to do is go back in time.
Mansfield-Devine
May 22
Fun with chips: SN76489 sound generator IC
Fun with chips: SN76489 sound generator IC
Audio is an important component of a computer’s power. And producing sound can be surprisingly simple.
Mansfield-Devine
May 19
Debouncing fun with Schmitt triggers and capacitors
Debouncing fun with Schmitt triggers and capacitors
The humble switch is a treacherous device that needs to be tamed.
Mansfield-Devine
May 14
Fun with chips: MC1441 bit rate generator
Fun with chips: MC1441 bit rate generator
Playing with the technology of the past gives you a deeper understanding of how it works, and an appreciation for what we have today.
Mansfield-Devine
May 7
A beginner’s experience of CUPL and CPLDs
A beginner’s experience of CUPL and CPLDs
Making your own logic chips has a lot to recommend it. You just need to get to grips with the language.
Mansfield-Devine
Apr 28
Microcontrollers
AVR Basics: Receiving I2C data
AVR Basics: Receiving I2C data
Getting information back from a peripheral device is a key part of the I2C protocol. Let’s see how to do it.
Mansfield-Devine
Apr 23
AVR Basics: Transmitting across I2C
AVR Basics: Transmitting across I2C
The I2C protocol is all about communicating. So let’s take a look at how you send data.
Mansfield-Devine
Apr 19
AVR Basics: Getting started with I2C
AVR Basics: Getting started with I2C
Being able to communicate with other devices opens up a world of possibilities — if you know what’s going on.
Mansfield-Devine
Apr 14
AVR basics: Using the ATMEGA SPI bus
AVR basics: Using the ATMEGA SPI bus
Once you have the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) set up on your microcontroller, putting it into action is easy.
Mansfield-Devine
Mar 31
AVR basics: SPI on the ATMEGA
AVR basics: SPI on the ATMEGA
The Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) on AVR microcontrollers is very versatile, once you understand it.
Mansfield-Devine
Mar 29
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