Cheap Computer PSU Puts On Weight With Box Of Iron

Humans are funny creatures. For whatever reason, when handling a piece of electronics, we tend to equate heft with value.  If something feels too light, it gives the impression of being cheap or inferior. As such, it’s not unheard of for gadgets to include a little chunk of metal that serves no purpose other than to add weight.

But a recent discovery by the aptly named [RedditCringe990] really takes things to a new low. Upon opening up the cheap power supply that came with their computer case, they noticed an odd little box that didn’t appear to have any electrical connection to the rest of the device. After unscrewing it from the metal body of the power supply and pulling the bottom panel off, they found it was packed full of iron filings.

At some level, you have to appreciate the attention to detail here. At first glance, especially if you were peeking through the PSU’s air vents, you could be forgiven for thinking the box was some kind of transformer. It’s even got some alphanumeric gibberish written on the side to help complete the look. Makes us wonder how many of these things might actually have gone undetected by less curious PC-builders.

As you might expect, the weighted box is only one of the issues with this particular PSU. As pointed out by fellow Redditor [Hattix], even the functional components are worthy of suspicion. There’s no protection on the input or output, no safety capacitor, and (unsurprisingly) no regulatory marks.

We’d say the thing might still be useful as a boat anchor, but now that the box of iron fillings has been removed, it’s probably not even heavy enough. Stay safe out there, folks.

The Sol-1: A 16-bit Computer In 74HC Logic With C Compiler And Unix-like OS

Sol-1 system pictured from the front. {Credit: Paulo Constantino)
Sol-1 system pictured from the front. {Credit: Paulo Constantino)

While the concept of a computer system implemented in discrete logic ICs is by itself not among the most original ideas, the way some machines are executed certainly makes them stick out. This is the case with [Paulo Constantino]’s Sol-1, which not only looks extremely professional, but also comes with a lot of amenities that allow for system development, including a C compiler and assembler, a Unix-like OS (in development), DMA, and a whole host of interfaces to interact with the system and peripherals (serial, parallel, IDE, etc.). Not to mention a SystemVerilog model and an emulator, all of which can be found on [Paulo]’s GitHub.

More photos and videos can be found on [Paulo]’s YouTube channel, as well as the Sol-1 website, which shows off the intricate wire wrap work on the back of each PCB. In terms of the ISA, there are 5 general purpose registers (one scratch) which can also be used as two 8-bit registers each. Most operations are supported, except for floating point. For future improvements and additions, Sol-1’s OS will get more features added, and the first major software to be ported to the Sol-1 should be Colossal Cave Adventure and similar text-based adventure (dungeon) games.

A Single Board Computer, With Vacuum Tubes

We have occasionally featured vacuum tube computers here at Hackaday and we’ve brought you many single board computers, but until now it’s probable we haven’t brought you a machine that combined both of these things. Now thanks to [Usagi Electric] we can see just such a board, in the form of his UE-0.1, a roughly 260 by 210 mm PCB with 24 6AU6 pentodes on board that implements a simple one-bit CPU.

The architecture starts with the MC14500B 1-bit microcontroller, which was the subject of a previous vacuum tube computer. People found the unusual architecture difficult to understand, so this board is an even simpler take. It doesn’t have all the features of the Motorola original but it is (just) enough to be a CPU.

The tubes are arranged in groups of four with heaters in series from a 24 V supply, while the inputs and clock come in the form of on-board suitably retro-looking switches. The final touch is a VFD of the type used in bar graphs, were used to show the state of the various bits. It’s a fully working computer in the simplest sense, and definitely worth a look in the video below the break.

It would be interesting to see whether the tube count could be reduced further, or is this a record. The number of physical devices could be cut by using tubes with more than one device in them such as double-triodes, but perhaps that would be cheating.

Meanwhile, if you think vacuum computing is all about the old stuff, perhaps you should look at the state of the art.

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Absolutely Everything About The Coleco Adam, 8-bit Home Computer

[Thom Cherryhomes] shared with us an incredible resource for anyone curious about the Coleco Adam, one of the big might-have-been home computers of the 80s. There’s a monstrous 4-hour deep dive video (see the video description for a comprehensive chapter index) that makes a fantastic reference for anyone wanting to see the Coleco Adam and all of its features in action, in the context of 8-bit home computing in the 80s.

[Image by Akbkuku, CC BY 4.0]
The Adam aimed to be an all-in-one computer package, targeting a family audience for both education and gaming purposes, with a price target around $600, a pretty compelling pitch.

The video is a serious in-depth look at the Adam, providing practical demonstrations of everything in various scenarios. This includes showcasing commercials from the period, detailing the system’s specs and history, explaining the Adam’s appeal, discussing specific features, comparing advertisement promises to real costs, and giving a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the system. All of the talk notes are available as well, providing a great companion to the chapter index.

Manufactured by the same Coleco responsible for the ColecoVision gaming console, the Adam had great specs, a great price, and a compelling array of features. Sadly, it was let down badly at launch and Coleco never recovered. However, the Adam remains of interest in the retrocomputing scene and we’ve even seen more than one effort to convert the Adam’s keyboard to USB.

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Computer Gear With — Um — Gears

Analog computers have been around in some form for a very long time. One very obvious place they were used was in military vehicles. While submarine fire computers and the Norden bombsight get all the press, [msylvain59] has a lesser-known example: an M13A1 ballistic computer from an M48 tank that he tears down for us in the video below.

The M48, known as a Patton, saw service from 1952 to 1987. Just looking at the mechanical linkage to the tank’s systems is impressive. But inside, it is clear this is a genuinely analog computer. The thing is built — quite literally — like a tank. What was the last computer you opened that needed a hammer? And inside, you’ll find gears, bearings, and a chain!

We don’t pretend to understand all the workings. These devices often used gears and synchros (or selsyns, if you prefer) to track the position of some external thing. But we are guessing there was a lot more to it than that. It’s probably an exciting process to see something like that designed from scratch.

We did think of the Norden when we saw this. Hard to imagine, but there were “general purpose” analog computers.

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An Intel 8008 On A Single-Board Computer

The last time we covered [Dr. Scott M. Baker], he made his Heathkit H8 run on a considerably older processor than it was made for. This time, apparently still not satisfied with the number of 8008 computers, he made an Intel 8008-based single-board computer.

The Mini-08, as [Scott] calls it, is based on his previous endeavour of downgrading the Heathkit H8. Its “CPU board” has even more memory than its predecessor at 128KiB RAM and ROM and an 8251 UART connected to a DB25 serial port. The entirely optional “display board” adds to that 10 digits of 7-segment displays, a backlit Cherry MX Blue hexadecimal keypad, a real-time clock and even a 4-voice sound generator!

[Scott] has also done an impressive job with the software, porting BASIC, FORTH, a clone of Star Trek and some utilities to his Mini-08. He demonstrates both BASIC and FORTH by printing “SCOTT WAS HERE” in a for loop and finishes off by showing how to use some of the display board with FORTH.

Like last time, he published design files and resources for you to enjoy. Overall, an interesting spin on the retro single-board computer concept.

Video after the break.

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The Taylor and Amy Show

The Avon Computer Goth Challenge

Hot off the heels of their musical debut 6502 song the good folk at the Taylor and Amy Show are at it again. This time instead of assaulting our auditory senses, they play with our perception of color all while keeping the spirit of retro computing alive.

To back up a bit, I had the pleasure of witnessing the discovery of the Avon Beauty Vision Computer while at the Vintage Computer Festival Mid-West (VCFMW) this past September. We had visited the home of our friend [Jim W] from VCFMW who nonchalantly pulled down from the shelf the reddest computer I have ever seen.

A crowd quickly gathered at this newfound treat, designed and built before the invention of the Blue LED, was fallen upon and the process of prying out its secrets began. I was not privy to the negotiations, but I did notice a brightly colored red suitcase being exfiltrated by highly trained operatives later that night.

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