Collection Of Old Films Rescued For Preservation

February 28, 2023 by Chris Lott 31 Comments

Periscope Film owners [Doug] and [Nick] just released a mini-documentary about the rescue of a large collection of old ~~35 and~~ 16 mm celluloid films from the landfill. The video shows the process of the films being collected from the donor and then being sorted and organized in a temporary storage warehouse. There is a dizzying variety of films in this haul, from different countries, in both color and black and white.

We can see in the video that their rented 8 meter (26 foot) cargo truck wasn’t enough to contain the trove, so they dragged along a 1.8 x 3.6 m (6 x 12 ft) double-axle trailer as well. That makes a grand total of 49 cubic meters of space. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations says that filled to the brim, that would be over 30,000 canisters of 600 m (2,000 ft) 35 mm movie reels.

When it comes to preserving these old films, one big problem is physical deterioration of the film stock itself. You will know something is wrong when you get a strong acetic or vinegary odor when opening the can. [Nick] shows some examples where the film has even become solidified, taken on a hexagonal shape. It will take months to just assess and catalog the contents of this collection, with damaged films that are still salvageable jumping to the head of the queue to be digitized.

Film Scanning Artist [Esteban] Performing Color Correction

Films are digitized at 4K resolution using a Lasergraphics ScanStation archival quality film scanning system, and then the restoration fun begins. One issue demonstrated in this video is color deterioration. In the Eastmancolor film technology introduced in the 1950s, the blue dyes deteriorate over time. This, and a plethora of other issues, are corrected in the restoration process.

We’re particularly jealous of film scanning artist [Esteban]’s triple-headed trackball. We learned from a quick Google search this beast is merely the entry level control panel from UK company Tangent — they make even larger flavors.

If you’re interested in doing this with 8 mm home movies, we covered a project way back in 2011 of a DIY home movie scanning project. We also covered one of Periscope Film’s restored training films about NASA soldering techniques from 1958. Kudos to organizations who focus on keeping these types of interesting and historical films from being dumped in the landfill and lost forever.

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Digital Replica Of Antique Weather Monitoring Instrument

February 22, 2023 by Bryan Cockfield 8 Comments

Computers and digital sensors have allowed for the collection and aggregation of data barely possible to imagine to anyone in the instrumentation scene even sixty years ago. Before that, things like weather stations, seismometers, level sensors, and basically any other way of gathering real data about the world would have been performed with an analog device recording the information on some sort of spool of paper. This was much more tedious but the one thing going for these types of devices was their aesthetic. [mircemk] is back to bring some of that design inspiration to a digital barometric display.

The barometer is based around an Arduino Arduino Nano and a relatively large I2C display to display the captured data. It also uses a BME 280 pressure sensor board, but the technical details of this project are not the focal point here. Instead, [mircemk] has put his effort in recreating the old analog barographs, which display barometric data on a spool of paper over time, on the I2C display. As the device measures atmospheric pressure, it adds a bar to the graph, displaying the data over time much as the old analog device would have.

We’ve discussed plenty of times around here that old analog meters and instrumentation like this recreation of a VU meter are an excellent way of getting a more antique aesthetic than is typically offered by digital replacements. Adding in a little bit of style to a project like this can go a long way, or you can simply restore the original antique instead.

Drawing Knots On An Oscilloscope Using Analog Means

February 22, 2023 by Maya Posch 13 Comments

Generating interesting imagery on an analog oscilloscope is a fun activity enjoyed by many, with an excellent demonstration by [Henry Segerman] provided in a recent video which covers [Matthias Goerner]’s demonstration. Using the electron beam, shapes can be drawn onto the phosphor of the oscilloscope’s CRT — all without touching any digital circuitry. At the core are analog components like an operational amplifier integrator, multipliers and other elements.

With just a number of these simple components in a circuit, it’s possible to draw a wide variety of shapes, all by applying the appropriate trigonometric parameters. In addition to the drawing of shapes, it is also demonstrated how these analog signals can be used for an analog audio synthesizer, and finally the image displayed on the oscilloscope is captured on Kodak (Polaroid) instant film, making the entire generating, processing and capturing chain fully analog.

While we’d be the last to campaign against digital electronics, it is fascinating to consider just how much can be done with analog electronics and a bit of mathematics. We assume that everyone did pay attention during math classes, making this a perfect chance to use all that knowledge of trigonometry.

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OG DOOM Shows Off The Origins Of Multi-Monitor

February 7, 2023 by Jonathan Bennett 13 Comments

We have a thing for DOOM, and we admit it. The source was released, and clever hackers have ported the engine to every system imaginable. It’s a right of passage, when hacking a machine, to run DOOM on it — be it a VoIP phone, or tractor. But the original 1993 release does have a few notable tricks, and there’s something to be said for recreating that experience on period hardware. And that’s what we’re covering today: [Tech Tangents] discovered DOOM’s multi-monitor support, and built a 4-computer cluster to show it off.

There is a catch, of course. DOOM 1.1 has the multi-monitor support, and under-the-hood, it works by running a copy of the game on individual computers, and controlling the drones over the network. As the game’s network code was updated for version 1.2, the multi-monitor feature was axed to make the network code easier to maintain. So, find a 1.1 shareware release, install it on a DOS machine with IPX drivers, and start each iteration with a -net flag. Use -left and -right to set the drones to the appropriate view. And that view is ninety degrees left and right.

Maybe not ideal, but at the time it was one of the first games to have any sort of multi-monitor support at all. Likely inspired by a commercial flight simulator setup. Either way, it’s a neat feature, and kudos to [Tech Tangents] for showing off this obscure feature of a beloved classic!

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A Commodore 64 accessing an online service

The WiC64 Brings Classic Commodores Online, Google Maps Included

February 4, 2023 by Robin Kearey 29 Comments

A computing platform is never really dead unless people stop developing new software for it. By that measure, the Commodore 64 is alive and well: new games, demos, and utilities are still being released on a regular basis. Getting those new programs onto an old computer was always a bit of a hassle though, requiring either an SD card adapter for the Commodore or a direct cable connection from an internet-connected PC. Luckily, there’s now a simpler way to get your latest software updates thanks to a WiFi adapter called WiC64. This adapter plugs into the expansion port of a classic Commodore and lets you download programs directly into memory. [Tommy Ovesen] over at [Arctic Retro] bought one and explored its many features.

The basic design of the WiC64 is straightforward: an ESP32 mounted on an adapter board that connects its data bus to that of the Commodore 64, 128 or VIC-20. A simple program, which you still need to transfer the old way, lets you configure the device and connect to a WiFi network. Once that’s done, an interactive BBS-style program is launched that allows you to access a range of online services. The WiC64 developers provide these, but since the system is fully open-source there’s nothing stopping you from running your own servers as well.

Services currently available include an RSS reader, several multiplayer online games, and even a radio station that plays non-stop SID tunes. There’s also a direct link to CSDB, an online database of Commodore 64 programs and demos which you can now simply download and run directly on your C64 – in effect, a modern app store for a classic computer.

One feature that really seems to defy the C64’s hardware limitations is a fully functional version of Google Maps. Even with the Commodore’s limited resolution and color depth, it does a pretty decent job of showing maps, satellite photos, and even Street View images.

Using the WiC64 requires no hardware modifications to the Commodore 64, but a custom ROM is available that enables a few convenient features such as LOADing programs directly from a web address. There have been several attempts at getting classic Commodores online, but none so far that managed to get complex apps like Google Maps running. We have seen YouTube videos being played on a Commodore PET though.

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Retro Computer Enclosure Without The Sacrifice

January 30, 2023 by Tom Nardi 29 Comments

The unique look of early desktop computer systems remains popular with a certain segment of geekdom, so it’s no great surprise when we occasionally see a modern hacker or maker unceremoniously chuck 40+ year old electronics from a vintage machine just to reuse its plastic carcass. We try not to pass judgement, but it does sting to see literal museum pieces turned into glorified Raspberry Pi enclosures.

But with a little luck, perhaps the Retro Wedge Computer case designed by [AndyMt] will be able to save a few of those veteran computers from an unnecessary lobotomy. As the name implies, this 3D printable model is designed to resemble “wedge” desktop computers such as the Atari ST, TI-994A, and Commodore 128. But don’t be put off by its considerable size — the model has been chopped up so no piece is larger than what can fit on a fairly standard 230 x 230 mm print bed. Continue reading “Retro Computer Enclosure Without The Sacrifice” →

Wolfenstein 3D, As You Never Imagined It.

January 27, 2023 by Jenny List 21 Comments

When tracing the history of first-person shooting (FPS) games, where do you credit with the genesis of the genre? Anyone who played 3D Monster Maze on the Sinclair ZX81 might dare to raise a hand, but we’re guessing that most of you will return to the early 1990s, and id Software. Their 1992 title Wolfenstein 3D might not have been the first to combine all the elements, but it’s arguably the first modern FPS and the first to gain huge popularity. Back in 1992 it needed at least a VGA card and a 286 to run, but here in 2023 [jhhoward] has taken it back a step further. You can now slay virtual Nazis in 3D on an 8088 PC equipped with a lowly CGA card.

Whether the gameplay survives in the sometimes-bizarre CGA color schemes and whether it becomes too pedestrian on an 8088 remains as an exercise for the reader to discover, but it’s a feat nevertheless. The textures all need converting to CGA mode before they can be used and there are even versions for the shareware and paid-for versions of the game. It’s possible that an 8088 may never be able to say yes to “Will it run DOOM?”, but at least now it can run the predecessor.