Most liked posts in thread: What's new Pussycat too?

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your words.

And yes, it's mental the traffic in Rome (and in Italy generally speaking) but also "mental" is my father's attitude. At his age, he's still always around, even in these difficult Covid times, risking for himself and his wife, my mother. He's always been working en plein air, and since he's got his retirement, he always found a way to get out of home. Cycling is one of his latest activity. I told him so many times to avoid keeping going out in the provincial streets, they have holes and there's a total disrespect for bikers when in the traffic. But still... Now I can't even go to Rome straight because of the Covid restrictions (a negative swab test is needed at least) to help. Bad situation, it definitely could be avoided.

 

Well after a little over a month, the last 2-3 weeks of which I just let it sit and collect dust, as I mentioned in another thread also, I finally started, and now completed my first print. It took me a week initially, after several unsuccessful attempts to get the bed level, where the "print head" would scrape some place on the print bed mat.

I also had to raise a mount that held the Z-axis zero point contact switch as with it set in the position per factory instructions, it was lowering the "print head" below the bed at the home position. Possible because the "print heads" home position is off the bed, but it's suppose to stop right at the level one millimeter above where you just leveled the bed the "print head" (sorry it's late and I just can't recall atm what this part is actually called) and so the few time I attempted to print for about one second, it would scrape along the bed mat to the center position to start printing, but it would just moved around mostly scraping the bed mat which didn't even allow the plastic to come out.

I found a video showing how to adjust it if you are adding in a glass bed that are usually much thicker than stock print mats. But in my case I guess the print mat I got was slightly thicker for where the switch was set. I guess they weren't including the thickness of the mat they included when they wrote the instruction of how high to place the switch mount.

After a lot of video research on YouTube, I discovered my another issue causing me to be unable to get the bed level; I was successfully leveling the bed, but the problem was the Y-axis arm, something that was one of the parts that was pre-assembled in the partially assembled printer kit. As per a common issue with Ender 3 printers from the factory, this arm was not properly adjusted and it was not level in it's tracks.

So after getting it properly leveled with my trusty ruler and caliper and small bubble level I stopped working on it for the day, and two weeks later, today, I adjusted the print bed one more time and ran the test print file. I think it turned out damn good for my first-ever print attempt Everything seems to now be working fine, and I can move on to printing stuff to make it even better and beyond.

 

I keep looking at Fujinet and trying to decide if I need it, I'm not a big printer of stuff and I've got so much on the AVG cart that remote access would be nice but not super needed. Also I was seeing the posts re odd noises coming from them..

I'm struggling to justify it but on the other hand I hate not having the goto toy

The problem with that is I need to generate cash which really could go elsewhere but I am 60 in June and fancy a treat..

Have to be grown up about this and pass on it at the moment...

 

Join the club Paul. As much as I works have lined one out would been an unaffordable luxury. As a present though, it's ace
Plus nice bits like being able to copy files to your sd card from the TNFS servers is pretty neat as well.

In other news, I did sell my digital camera yesterday as its hardly been used and I tend to just use my phone camera instead. So I decided to treat myself to the AVG cart while RetroLemon has stock. Bang goes the new yacht!

 

So decided to bid on some Page 6 disks on eBay

Atari 8-bit - Page 6 library 25 x Disks for Atari 800XL & 130XE | eBay

and won.

Just going through the disks now, and so far (first 10) all appear to be good.

Next, add them to my library lists.

 

I'm busy still working on my house to @Andy Barr , currently in the middle of taping and floating the laundry "room" then painting when it is done. Then it's too the exterior where I have to replace some window trim I installed 2-3 years ago, and never got a chance to properly paint yet, so some of it has rotted. I'm going with vinyl trim this time. Also painting the exterior now that the weather is warmer.

I just received a new Atari toy. A reproduction Diamond GOS 3.0 board to replace the one I lost a quarter century ago. I still have all the manuals for it at least, since I'll be relearning it. I will be seeing if it can work with SDX, as when it was made, SD 3.1/3.2 was the latest. But if I have too, I can set up a separate partition on my CF APT HDD to boot SD 3.2 and Diamond GOS. Now I have to print a cart case for it. Currently I am printing a case for my Ralf David XL/XE eprom burner I downloaded from Dropcheck's Bits of the Past store site.




I also have a bunch more toys and tools on the way that I ordered yesterday after receiving the U.S. stimulus check (direct deposit actually) a new 120" projection screen for my projector is one, so I can finally get it set up again and start gaming and watching movies the way God intended! But I also order a few things for the Atari systems including a ream of paper for my dot-matrix printer as well as two brand-new old stock ribbon cartridges I found for it on Amazon, so no more re-inking my old ones! Yay!. I also ordered another 20 NOS floppy disks.

 

Thanks Paul, actually my projector can project up to 200", but a 120" projection screen is all I have room for, and plenty considering the size of the room and distance from the screen seating will be. But this is the first time I'll ever have a real projection screen for proper contrast and brightness. In the past it was either a white wall or big squares of white foam-backed poster board, so the image was never as good as it could have been, but acceptable.

 

Nothing new on the computer end since the FujiNet and AVG a few weeks ago. But I have started collecting Subbuteo again! Anyone else here play it when they were younger? It ties in nicely with my Roy of the Rovers library

 

Well I have my accommodation already sorted but will be down Yorkshire way the week beginning 3rd May if your good self or any other Atarians are about for a sociable distance meet up and brew

 

I collected comics as a kid, mostly American ones but I also had some brit stuff like the little commando titles and Beano and Dandy. Still got a wadge of US DC and Marvel comics from the 70's which I've managed to carry around, must flog them before they crumble

As for a Darlington set, hmmmmm....You never know...

 

Big thanks to Andy for my parcel, a couple of Atari carts ( UNO cart and a The!Cart 64/512 ) I spent most of the afternoon creating a workbook for The!Cart and it will take some filling up based on how far I have got. Lord knows what people do with the 128MB version that came out later! and more importantly he also sent some sweets! some nice York fruits which I haven’t had for donkeys and taste great. I think they count as one of your five a day
I will have a neb at your LED wotsitz’s and fix them...
I built a couple more Composite/Back Porch mods for the ZX81 so if anyone wants one drop me a PM.

 

Nothing new Atari wise for me this last little while. But I did receive my Kickstarter backed ZZap 64 annual. Even thought I'm not a C64 fan it is still an awesome retro read. Also got a new Subbuteo book and won an EBay auction for an old team that I played with when I was a mere youngster. Did spend sometime today playing old racing games on the original xbox. Incredible to think that even that machine is 20 years old now.

How's everyone else's Easter been?

 

LOL! That's one way of keeping folk at bay, Paul - chemical warfare!
Quiet this end other than Bev's folks came down to celebrate a late late late Xmas with us, Al.
First time they've seen the new kitchen etc.
Mind, they had to turn around again and gan back home as we all agreed it's too early to have folks stop over which was a shame as they ended-up doing a 200mile trip...no fun in their late 70s.

 

Sounds a plan, Al.
We could maybe meet up in either Filey or Brid one tea time?
We'll have to see what the lifting of lockdown restrictions looks like that 1st week in May and/or wait til August if it denies us ganning for a good old fish n chips tea with some Theakstons ale to wash it down with plus a bucket of Yaarkshire tea afterwards to seal our guts good n proper, mate!
Cheers, Al.
I'm determined to pop in at Richie's as well this year and squeeze a brew out of him too!

 

I don't think I've gotten anything new, since my last post, as far as what the community might be interested in.

I'm currently juggling house renovations and maintenance that can't be put off anymore, with my brothers help, also preparing for the new season in lawn and maintenance work, I've had to repair just about all of my equipment after it sat through the winter. I'm still waiting on parts to arrive for a mower and a blower.

I did purchase several new power tools for the business, including a Stihl chainsaw ( and fixed my old one with a new carburator), and Stihl trimmer. Also a plethora of new hand tools. I've double a triple of most machines at this point, but that's needed to make sure you have what you need to get the job done in my business. I also purchased new business shirts and hats and vehicle advertising magnets. A friend in the vinyl window decal business is currently producing company decals for my trucks rear hatch windows.

I've also been busy with actual customer jobs as well. Leaf clean up, tree trimming and brush/junk haul-aways. We did are first lawn and garden mulch job of the season Saturday and tomorrow (Monday) is our first full day of lawn care jobs.

The bottom line is I've been too busy to do much with any of my hobbies at the moment and a rare few minutes every other day or so to check up and post on the forums. Things will steady out to a pace where I'll have a bit of free evening time again, and maybe weekends, but a lot less than I have over the winters, but still a lot as there is still a bunch of home improvement and maintenance and landscaping to be done to my property. But at least the long days of mechanical work fixing all of my business equipment is nearing an end, with only to power machines left to fix. But one of them is a complete re-build with a new cylinder!

My hands have never been more "chewed up" from DIY mechanics in my life!

 

It is lovely Paul. If I was giving to live elsewhere in the UK it would be on that coast. Love all the little villages and coastal walks. It's got to the stage now where I thnk my car could probably find it's own way down

 

That's a great delivery incoming from Graham there, Matt.
I'm sure those I/O boards won't be shooting blanks and it sounds like you've more than got your hands (and paws) full there already, buddy, so maybe just as well you won't be hearing the patter of any more tiny paws...just yet!
All the best with the business and your ongoing works and of course looking after your mam, Matt.
Sounds like you're performing miracles, fella - all credit to you - it will be much appreciated at home and your folks are fortunate to have such a dedicated, caring and skilled guy around to run things so well.
Good on yer, pal and I'm sure we'll all catch up with your retro developments as and when you can get on here, bud.
You take of you, too, in the meanwhile.

 

LOL! I don't think I can use the hard plastic filament of the 3D printer to make something acceptable for that type of...thing.

 

It was sold as having a black and white RF output but the SCART and composite are fine so I think the PAL encoder is okay after all - everything else works fine.

 

Bootiful, Rich, really bootiful.

Please let us see what it can do with a few pics of it in action and possibly a short film clip perhaps?

It really does look to be in absolutely great nick and offering so many I/Os / expansion possibilities.

Very well done in capturing this little beaut and bringing her back home.

 

Lovely machine Rich, congrats!

 

I've always fancied an MTX computer, so i'll be intrested in how you find it works. Glad it's all working, as I don't think Toshiba were ever very good about releasing circuit diagrams, perhaps this has changed over the years ..

 

Retroshack have a little vid here for anyone else who maybe is a MSX noob like me... Today, at Retroshack we're looking at the MSX Standard and the Toshiba HX-10...

 

PC Engine Cores Richie, had you down as more of a computer person, they are pure gamer machines..

Not saying the MSX2 does not have games, it does in heaps but you seem to more of a util person

 

I love, love, LOVE the PC Engine. I used to have a Core Grafx II back in the grey import era and quite a few HuCards to go with it. I always wanted a Core2Duo CD-ROM as well or SNK NeoGeo CD but never managed to get one.
This bid with the Yahoo Japan is a test really to see how much things go for and trying to work out the fees and conversion rates. The whole £->$->¥ thing is fiddly.