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IrregularShed

Member since Jun 2016 • Last active Jun 2021
  • 3 conversations
  • 19 comments

South Walean hacker/maker/tinkerer/devbot, with too many projects on the go at any one time to complete any of them.

Most recent activity

  • in Porting to new Devices
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    I'd like to give you all a big round of applause for making the effort, an Espruino build for RP2040 will be fantastic (and save me from having to fragment my Covid-fogged brain into supporting Python as well all the other things).

  • in News
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    My very, very crude HDMI recorder is going to pay dividends!

  • in News
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    Looks like I've got (yet another) project to try and squeeze into the Christmas break!

  • in News
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    Here's the font!

    https://gist.github.com/IrregularShed/38­f91e1bd53152681957f701454cc391

    The 'raw' js URL that Github creates is far too long for Espruino so I tested it using require('https://goo.gl/JTR7Gc').add(Gra­phics); - it looks wonderful on a TV! I'll bodge together a VGA connector next to try that out...

    The Home Computer project is on a list of things I want to try already, but I'd really like to try and get a PS/2 keyboard to work so that I could use that. Membrane keyboards are so ZX81... ;)

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  • in General
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    Ah, makes sense, it's a classic board. I'll have to pop a sticker on it so that I don't blindly update it by accident :)

  • in General
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    Attempting to use the TV module is failing - I'm getting:

    >Uncaught Error: Module tv not found
     at line 1 col 19
    var g=require("tv").setup({type:"pal",video:­A7,sync:A6,width...
                      ^
    > 
    

    ... when trying to run the examples. I've taken a look in espruino.com/modules and, true enough, the module is missing. And I'd just soldered resistors and a header to my board :(

  • in News
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    The copyright on the Spectrum ROM (and by extension its font) is a gloriously complicated affair :)

    In 1999 Amstrad clarified the issue as best they could at the time; the ROM image itself is distributable without issue provided an Amstrad copyright notice is attached and there's no financial gain. Since then, Amstrad has become part of Sky, and they've taken the same stance but have also clarified commercial usage - if you want to include the ROM as part of a product, especially if you use the Sinclair and/or Spectrum trademarks, you need to license it (which involves payments to a charity of their choosing). If it's something that can be downloaded onto flash memory for use, the copyright notice is all that's needed. In short, this is why the ZX Uno can exist as a wholly open source device, while the ZX Spectrum Next project is making payment to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

    TL;DR - provided there's a copyright acknowledgement it's OK :)

    I think later on I'll be getting an original Espruino hooked up to a monitor to satisfy that itch!

  • in News
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    It's the ZX81 (at least the uppercase is) and Spectrum font, so from a year down the line. Almost all the characters are in a 6x6 grid in the centre of an 8x8 character; IIRC the ZX80 font was more like a 7x7 grid.

  • in News
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    Inspired by this I had to try out something that's been knocking around my mind since I got it - I had to return to my roots and try out the Sinclair font on my Pixl.js. It's too big to be practical, in reality, but if anybody has any interest I'll tidy it up and share it.

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