Robert Price

As on display :))

Robert Arthur Penfold is a well known electronics designer and wrote many books on electronics and articles for projects in the Maplin Magazine. He has sadly passed away 😔 RIP. sdiy.info/wiki/R._A._P...

I gave a talk at EMF titled "Men in Tech #YesAllMen", in which I told my experience of being a woman in tech. I was afraid to publish it in case it affected my current or future employment. With all the current news I would like to add my 2¢. So here is the recording: youtu.be/WXL6K1lhvt0?...

For this year's #RetroChallenge I am looking at using the SPI protocol from a #RC2014 computer. In this post, I show how I was able to control a MAX7219 LED Matrix using Z80 assembly language. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

Not just nice to hear - vital to hear. This is what those "legitimate concerns" seek to conceal - families being driven out of their homes by bigots.

I've recently been playing with making my own ZX Spectrum ROM cartridges. I've written up how I created a cartridge for retro computing legend @onlyretrofans.com's game Jurl. When used on a ZX Interface 2, the game now boots instantly at power-on. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/maki...

I asked him how he did it on Youtube & he said: "Speech is synthesized from subphonemes." ... "At all, there are 23 256-byte subphoneme waveforms, along with other 34 256-byte waveforms for instruments, that are well-packed." www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKO...

This is an amazing bit of coding on the ZX Spectrum. 12.5k, but does need 48k to run.

I’ve finally been able to get hands on one of Paul Farrow’s ZXC4 ROM cartridges for the ZX Spectrum.

Make a Doctor Who title less scary.

Make a Doctor Who title less scary.

This is an incredible finding. If reproduced could bring big health benefits. Am wondering if big cycling nations have lower Alzheimers and dementia.

It’s new #RC2014 day. Where better to start soldering than the capacitors on the backplane.

This time next week I’ll be sending FREEZE‑ZX Issue 03 to print — the long‑awaited next chapter is nearly here. You can preorder your copy today from: freeze64.com/freeze-zx-is... Issue 02 sold out fast, so grab No.03 while you can. #ZXSpectrum #Z80 #Speccy #SinclairSpectrum

Who needs a fancy PlayStation or XBox when you can play Kill The Bit on your #RC2014 Orton 3C instead. All 28 bytes were toggled in by hand.

I’ve been using a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 to spy on my #RC2014 Orton 3C’s data bus. At the moment this just displays the hex value it can currently see. This means I can make sure the values I’ve toggled in are correct without having to mentally convert from binary.

Happy Valentines Day! Here’s a little program for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum to plot a heart on screen.

@peteronion.bsky.social is it too early to ask if you are organising another RC2014 Assembly this year? I really enjoyed the one last year and I would love to attend again.

Testing out my #RC2014 Orton 3C Digital IO module on my #RC2014 Picasso. The power light is blinding, so I may need to swap the resistor for a bigger value like the numbered LEDs. Apart from that, it’s all looking good for both input and output.

Excellent article by #Eastbourne consultant orthopaedic surgeon @scarlettmcnally.bsky.social. She's the person on the cycle below. She highlights contradictions on transport at national and local level. The #NHS and @eastsussexcc.bsky.social need to do better! #ActiveTravel @cyclinguk.bsky.social

This is a very good article. Enabling much more active travel and discouraging driving is a public health intervention that will reduce the load on the NHS.

With help of @robertprice.bsky.social , I've connected my Timex Sinclair 2040 printer to my @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel4th. ZX Printer was well-supported by #JupiterAce with lots of software, which I'll be exploring. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/usin... www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/sw_zxprinter...

More community links to people's fab projects have been added to my site for the interfaces (below) that I make for #RC2014 & compatible systems. 2014.samcoupe.com - ZX True Tone (ZXTT) - SAA1099P Soundchip Interface - ZX-RC and SAM-RC Bus Interfaces - SID Soundchip Interface - Graphic OLED

On the West Rise Marsh in Eastbourne.

Do you like 68000 assembly source code? Then here is some.. github.com/djh0ffman/TT...

I tried to expand on my #RetroChallenge and build an #RC2014 module that could decode the 8 bits returned from a NES controller using just 74 series logic and a 555 timer. It didn’t work. I think I have the timing slightly out so some of the logic is triggering too early. I need a dual scope!

The #RetroChallenge may have finished, but I have a bonus post. The SNES controller is an extended version of the NES controller. So, I have reworked my #RC2014 NES controller module and Z80 assembly language example code to use the SNES controller. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

Great to see the ZX-RC2014 Bus Interface in use here to use Robert's RC2014 NES Controller module on the ZX Spectrum! The Bus Interface gives your #ZXSpectrum two #RC2014 expansion slots and with an optional ZX through port too. Info/Purchase at: 2014.samcoupe.com

It's the final day of the #RetroChallenge so I've written about my finished project. In this post I explain how I was able to connect my RC2014 NES Controller module to a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and how I hacked the Manic Miner code so I could use my new module. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

My most popular cartoon by a long chalk is also oddly niche, in that it mostly appeals to a generation who remember the song it refers to and enjoy the nostalgia for their youth. I can draw one for you if you like. www.worldofmoose.com/collections/...

I teased this a few days ago, but here's the latest part of my #RetroChallenge I've been able to put together the various parts I've already written up, and I can now move a pixel on a LED matrix using an NES controller on my #RC2014. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

I've been using the 8x8 LED Matrix module on my #RC2014 recently as part of the #RetroChallenge I've written up how it works, and also added a demo program in Z80 assembly language converted from the original BASIC example. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

I've written about creating a reusable Z80 subroutine to read the NES controller on my #RC2014 computer as part of this year's #RetroChallenge To test it out, I output the returned value to LEDs. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

More progress on my NES controller module for the #rc2014 #RetroChallenge. I am now able to move a pixel around on an 8x8 LED module using the NES controller. Lots to write up over the coming days.

I’ve plugged in the 8x8 LED matrix for my #RC2014 for the first time in ages. The first job was to rewrite Shiela Dixon’s smiley example from BASIC to Z80 assembly language to help me understand how it works. It’s definitely working :-)

I've been working a bit more on my #RetroChallenge, getting an #RC2014 to talk to a NES controller. In my latest post, I explain how I've used Z80 assembly language to work out which buttons are being pressed and to print this back over the serial terminal. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

I've soldered up the PCB for my RC2014 NES Controller #RetroChallenge Thankfully, it all seems to work, so I've written about how to use this from MS-BASIC. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

More work on the #RC2014 NES controller #RetroChallenge this evening. I have designed a circuit and PCB that should allow me to bit-bang the NES controller from my RC2014 computer. www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/rc20...

That’s my #RC2014Assembly name badge module built and working. The LEDs are connected to the bus so I can see what is happening in my #RC2014 in real time. I did have to remove the LED on the RX pin for it to work when using a serial terminal. This is a great little module.

The increasingly far right seem to have infiltrated pretty much everything now - even a political party led by a former human rights lawyer who used to let refugees sleep on his couch makes “a country of strangers” speeches - racism and hatred emboldened every day

The EHRC is not changing course on their bathroom ban. They don’t care what the consultation said. So what happens now? 🧵 archive.ph/inGpF