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

Ruddy hell, Matt.
You have been busy prepping and working up a head of steam for the new growing / gardening season.
Cracking job there all round, mate - certainly, those mitts of yours are getting some hammer!
Take it easy where you can and get in some relaxing Easter hols retro action where possible - you've been missed.

 

There are some lovely walks, country and coastal, in all the areas you mention, fellas: East Yorks/East Riding; Cornwall of course, Scotland - without doubt and also Northumberland around Lindisfarne and Morpeth. The UK has some terrific scenery and areas of natural beauty and it also has...at times, the most unseasonal weather like today's arctic blasts of freezing cold wind! Lol. You've gotta take the rough with the smooth but like you and Al, Paul, I personally don't think you can beat being out and feeling as one with nature/yer other half in the country or by the sea. The city is for shops, stress and strain (endless traffic jams). Fek it. Embrace the fresh air every time and leave the rat race behind etc.

 

Before we came to the city I spent so much time just roaming forests, trails, the odd coast line (rarely) and it was just great, even as a kid I was climbing every tree I could find. If I wasn't doing any of these I was on my bike in the forest all over the place..

In door playing with toys, hardly ever. The only place I didn't like was the River Lagan because it had leeches everywhere..

One of the best walks I did was around the Lake District, through Kendal etc....Just beautiful scenery everywhere..

 

The new piston for my petrol-fueled blower/vaccum arrived today. I mistakenly called it a cylinder yesterday. Hopefully the cylinder is fine, and maybe even the piston, and it just needs a new ring, but I bought the entire piston assembly too, just in case. I can send it back if it's not needed. It's a cute little thing...


I pretty much tore down the entire machine this evening, I'm down to the engine block, but one of the bolts that holds the cylinder block to the manifold is seized so I'm soaking it overnight in hopes of freeing it.

Atari objects are for common size reference.

 

I received the dual-PIA boards and controller I/O boards that go with them from @Graham yesterday. Thanks Graham! I'm very much looking forward to installing them on both my 800 boards and a complete install and new ports in my Incognito 800. I guess I'll finally install the replacement Sophia 2 board in it at the same time. But it will be a bit yet as I'm still busy with the business, remodeling and taking care of the place, my mom and the dogs. So I have some priorities and it may be another couple of weeks or a month before I can really sit down and practice my hobbies again. My room is currently in disarray anyway as I do some repairs and additions to my 'XL Command Center' area that started with my moving all the consoles to the entertainment cabinet in my room to hook up to my projector since I have a screen for it again.


In other news, we now have 5 dogs. Our two Huskies, the blood hound, the Shepard mutt and last week my brother found another abandoned puppy in the woods on our ten acres that we have adopted. She looks like a full-blooded Rottweiler to us, and that's what the dog identifier app on my phone says as well. She is barely weened, with all her puppy teeth still. But we can tell she'll be big soon, like our rescue hound dog, with the hugely over-sized paws for her current body.


In other doggie news, our female Husky, Bella was in heat and mated with Beaux, our other Husky. We had to pull them apart twice when he got stuck in her. But unfortunately, two weeks later, she doesn't appear to be pregnant and my brother wants to get her fixed (she's his dog, Beaux is mine) because he's tired of dealing with keeping her separate from the other males we have. So I guess I'm not going to get a replacement for my Beaux, who is ten years old now. The deed should have been done though, so we think either Bella is underdeveloped as she is a runt of the litter and smaller than normal or Beaux is too old and shooting blanks.

 

Absolutely intriguing, Matt.

I cannot wait to see this project come to fruition...I said fruition there, Paul, not come all over Matt's handkerchief etc... oh dear, I didn't realise it was that kind of forum...I'll get me coat/flasher's grubby rain mac...

 

Nice looking machine Richie. Is it working or needing some TLC? My mate has an MSX on a chip system in his shop just now but think that goes for a pretty penny!

 

Wow, guess you have been saving up.. I've always fancied the Memotech MTX512, purely on looks, and the way it was built, so so much better than the plastic ccased omputers of the era. It's a shame there not MSX compatiable, I do wonder if it could ever we moddified with an alternative O.S a a little hardware address change, but appreciate that would just not be the best thing to do ... , the TMS99xx Video Chip I think all have to have video RAM seperated from system RAM, but I could be wrong as I've not looked it up.
Edit Needed 16K VRAM which could be accessed by the CPU as additional scratch RAM
I know there was a Memotech RS128 with 128K of RAM I guess Bank switched.

Changing back to MSX
I know that the MSX2 computers often had or perhaps had to have larger system and Video RAM some had 256K System and 128K Video RAM I'm guessing these are much more expensive, I'd guess the same now.
Certainly the games that were available on this platform were some of the best coin op conversions, and I think that it was Coin op games that drove the specification of both the MSX & MSX2 specifications.
I hope we get to see some more of it online..
Edit this is interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX#Evolution

Turns out there was MSX MSX2 MSX2+ and MSX3 or MSXTurboR
The later two only ever released in Japan.

 

Sounds busy Andy lol

Tuesday I can do Brid if you can. Just give me an idea of time. Plan on a nice walk along from Sewerby in the afternoon and some retro retail therapy...

 

Nice retro station Paul! I wish you well with the neighbor issue finally getting solved

As you all know, I'm busy with my business and the spring boom, which also includes maintaining the equipment. Well after the first two weeks of mowing, and having two belts and a spindle go out on my Cub Cadet riding mower, I decided it was time to get my back-up 2006 Craftsman LT1000 mower repaired. But since my equipment represents my professional image, I decided I needed to do more than just repairs, and in fact, a full restoration was in order. Unfortunately it didn't occur to me to take "before" photos at the time, but I included a photo of another junk Yard Machine mower I plan to restore as a close approximation of the condition the Craftsman mower was in, after sitting in the yard exposed to weather for the last 5 years, and before I started the restoration. Next to it is what the Craftsman looked like new in 2006.




The entire project cost me $180 (the 2021 version of this model costs ~$2600-$3000) and a lot of time. The seat was torn just as badly as the one in the picture of the Yard Machine, but I found replacement seats cost $150 and I refused to pay that much. So, instead I got the idea of Gorilla taping all the cracks in the vynil seat and then applying several coats of Flex-Seal in a can, with a brush. It worked like a charm (I did the same to my Cub Cadet seat). The only part of the body that isn't a new paint job is the main hood that is the darker grey color. I used Rust-oleum's Recolor Wipe-new to restore the paint and decals.

 

Nice gear there Matt and yes, image is everything so well done for getting it all looking good. I hope the boom keeps booming...

 

Brilliant results there, Matt - glad to see that you are another guy determined NOT to get ripped off by the present craze of companies charging the rest of us over the odds prices because they think we are desperate to jolly up our homes and replace and repair our gear as travel and holidays continue to be very limited so they feel it is OK to cash in on our desire to improve our lot after the recent shite we've all been subjected to. It's not on charging these exorbitant sums so good on yer, pal, for doing a great job and saving some money.

Paul, so sorry you've had to endure more pain with the cracked rib and that daft noisy cow from upstairs. Let's hope that this time she has played right into your hands/the eyes and ears of the law. The woman and her hell brood should be removed ASAP and dropped (from a great height) on to a very remote island in the middle of the South China Sea.
Get well soon, buddy and great to see your games set-up there/console collection all revamped and pride of place etc. Looks like you've got some tasty faves on offer in that tower of entertainment.

Graham, thank you so much for your thumbs up and greets of late. We have just finished the decking, steps and lights tonight and Bev is over the moon with the new living space outdoors.... shame it's gonna persist it down all afternoon tomorrow but never mind. We;re busy with my mam anyhow (hope yours is OK) and will be able to enjoy our new "outdoor living space" to the max soon/rest of the summer. Just hope I can get the grass to come back as it's now had a year of bricks, cement mixers, tile cutters, wood and machinery crushing it and leaving it looking like a... builders yard so here goes the great restoration programme as well as sorting out my retro cave and getting that looking like something semi decent.

Al, hope to see you Tuesday tea, mate.
Got your numero so we'll fine tune the meet-up (me mam lives near Sewerby so we might get a cuppa tea there if we find we're both broke!)
What do you reckon to fish n chips, as well as computer chips and a Guinness?
I'll get me coat.
Have a good rest of bank holiday weekend, folks.

 

Did my shop, 4 bags, 2 full of water bottles, discovered I could feel more pain than I first thought. Took forever with a stupid traffic light entry system that everyone ignored (bar me). Thankfully the chest is a little easier today (or maybe I've OD'ed on the tramadol).

So glad to hear everyone is having a good time and things are coming together well, it would be a shame to let this covid cast a 2 year negative on all of us, although I do worry about testing 3,000 person raves in Liverpool before lockdown is finished and even more worried that although they were tested as negative for the rave that the 'after' test isn't mandatory so the results will be a hodge podge...Very unscientific..

Good night last night, no upstairs and the end of series Line of duty (stunning TV) meant the Irvine house was all smiles....Hell, I think I even saw Felix with a grin

And as Ted Hastings said (almost) look after Joseph, mary and the wee donkey...

 

I love the series and for various reasons know almost all the abbreviations but I love when they get used...

 

Hi Matt, the machine under the PS1 is a PS4 and yes its a PS2 but side on

 

Huh, I thought I'd seen a PS4 before, but I guess not.

I'll have a new set up for my consoles soon, having moved them to a more convenient location to connect to the projector. But currently they, and the projector are only temporarily set up in a hap-hazard fashion until I get the projector mounted from the ceiling and shelves for the consoles installed. This opened up a lot more room for my 8-bit stuff over at my 'XL command center' though. Even room to move my 3D printer over there and give me badly needed workbench space back, and I still have more space on the upper shelves. Everything is currently in disarray though, atm, as I had to stop dead in the middle with too much stuff to do surrounding my business. But, hopefully I'll get time to finish sorting it all soon.

 

I'm with you there Paul. Playing 8/16bit machines with a 14" crt gives me a warm retro glow. Much like the display itself

 

Here, here. The old uns are the best for the old kit, fellas.
Reet, bed time...I'm up at 5 for my 1st polling station duties ever.
Wish me (and the Monster Raving Retro party) well!

 

Matt,

That's a wicked hi-fi set-up to hook up to your newly acquired thing of retro techno electronic synth beauty the good old STYLE, sorry Stylophone - brilliant combo, matey.

By god, I bet all the lights in Oklahoma County dim when you crank that up to 11!

Here's the original post, mate:

https://atari-owner.com/club/thread...-at-you-from-out-of-the-future.500/#post-4116

Please do let us have some vids/recordings of your new musical magnificence in full flow when you get chance.

 

Hi, Matt.
Stories which take us back to our wonderful childhood days (I remember visiting my gran's with my home computer and being so happy there just chilling out and having a different 'freedom' to that normally granted to me at home) seem to appeal to us greatly. I can just imagine you and your kid bro experimenting with creating sounds by clanging one metallic object off another and... well, letting our imaginations run riot.
You're gonna have so much fun with all this kit once you start unleashing those creative juices.
Do let us see and hear the results, bud!
It's a terrific acquisition - I am right now being transported through time and space to...

THE FORBIDDEN PLANET!

 

Yep, all of those sound effects in that scene I can recreate on my Stylophone, except maybe the electrical current discharge effects.

 

No tunes from me, I'm to music what Michael Jackson was to child care...

The stylophone was just a retro kick but a nice one..

Shame its dented by the thought of Rolph Harris saying "can you tell what it is yet?"

Yes I can Rolph, its your hard on..Piss off you nonce..

Talking of slapping little balls around, I really would love to have embraced subbuteo more as a kid, liked it from the miniature model stance but was rubbish at it. As said I liked to make model aircraft and space ships and then light them with grain of wheat bulbs etc..

Hey ho...

 

All I'm doing is making noise and sound effects with it so far. Though musical talent runs in my family, I only ever learned a few guitar cords in my 20's when I was hanging out with a friend and his band in California in the 90's. I had an acoustic guitar at the time, but I think that was lost in storage in Texas. I've long forgotten it all anyway. Besides doing sound effects and maybe digitizing them into the Atari at some point, for be to actually play music on this thing like in the videos, I'd have to find some sheet music made especially for Sytlophones (or analog synthesizers) that show the right place to touch the Stylophone for the notes and since I have a version with adjustments, I'd also have to find what the normal Stylophone is set at to make it sound the same. I can't read music, though that is something I want to learn, with my Atari, if such a program exists, I don't know if any of the musical creation programs actually teach musical notation or not. And I also want to get that guitar tutor program Thunder Mountain published for the Atari to learn to play the guitar again, once I get another guitar. I'll probably just download ATR's though, and see what's what before I look for a genuine article.

And on that note, I received a couple new toys again today, the first being Atari's Planetarium that I decided to get a complete copy of for $15 after playing around with the ATR. And the other item is a smart watch that I can use with my Android phone to keep up with calls and texts and not have to have my expensive smart phone in danger's way while on the job. I got the smart watch on clearance for $15 too! So if it's a piece of shite or gets broken on the job, I'm out $15 and not $200. I have yet to turn it on and set it up and try it.

 

Basically, the smart watch is a remote extension of your smart phone and connects and syncs with your smart phone via bluetooth and it notifies you of voice messages and texts and calls and you can answer and dial your phone remotely, it has a camera on it and pictures are sent to you smart phone, clock, calendar, anit-lost location search for phone on watch or watch on phone, timers for reminders,pedometer for exercise and a sleep monitor, built-in MP3 player or connect with phone through BT for music playback (it only has a USB input on the watch, so I'll probably have to get a special BT or USB headphone set to use with it for that), and you can connect with facebook, twitter and Whatsapp if you install a SIM card in it(none of which I need, so I won't) and apparently it has a web-browser that I can surf the net with, again, if I install a SIM card. I don't know if it's just for memory and I can use any old SIM card, or what, the instructions are pretty thin and in broken English coming from China. But all I need it for is all the stuff that doesn't require a SIM card anyway, just BT syncing.

 

Well, the 800XL arrived today. After a few teething problems getting a decent picture it's now setup in its new home.
The only thing not working is the LED power light which is kind of annoying as my other XL has the same problem lol



(please ignore my balls)

I'm going to try advertising the 130XE on Facebook and Gumtree first so that I can show it working to any potential buyers. If you know anyone around Glasgow looking for a new old Atari I will give a finders fee

https://www.gumtree.com/p/atari/atari-130xe-computer-with-sdrive-max-complete/1405453222