Tindie

It’s fair to say that Tindie has lots of variety. For example, a casual search reveals that it’s pretty trivial to find boards and systems in the Tindieverse ranging all the way from 64-bit down to 1-bit! Sat at the lower end of the scale is the 4-Bit Microcontroller Trainer V2 board from Subsystems.

This excellent little device is the second version of the project and is a little more affordable than version 1 as fabrication has moved to surface mount technology. The trainer simulates a 4-bit microcomputer that can be programmed in machine language. There are 31 different instructions in the simulated architecture and the hardware includes a small LCD display, a speaker and an onboard keyboard. There’s memory onboard also in two slots to save two different states.

Even if some of the above was a little hard to understand, you have no need to worry — there is a quite brilliant curriculum written out for this device linked off the product page. The curriculum PDF is well worth a download in its own right as it steps through from absolute fundamentals before jumping into machine language.

We think it’s fair to say that if you went through the curricula on this device, despite it being only 4-bit, you would have a fine foundation in the very essence of computing. Supplied fully assembled this device is powered via the Micro USB socket making it a super portable learning device to carry with you.

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Raspberry Pis are absolutely ubiquitous! They turn up all over the place — inside art installations, running servers, managing home automation, and a million other applications. As the generations of Pis have advanced, their power requirements have gone up, and recent versions require high-power USB adapters that can provide a few amps, minimum. Instead of having a USB adapter and wearing out the USB connector, why not connect the Pi directly to the mains?

This awesome Mains Power HAT does exactly that — taking 110-240VAC at 50/60Hz and outputting 5V at 3A, which is often all that’s required for installations that get tucked away in closets or hidden away behind other equipment. The fact that it accepts voltage standards from all over the world is a really nice touch — when I first read it was made in the UK, I figured it would require 220-240VAC only, but clearly, the designers intended this to be useable by anyone! Another nice touch is a second set of terminals as a mains passthrough — you can power an additional device (up to 1A) from these other terminals!

Of course, when working with mains power, safety is important. If you don’t know how to safely connect this device to mains, then it’s worth asking a certified electrician for help. Also, keep in mind that safety codes in many areas require installations like this to be entirely enclosed. This is easily accomplished with any size project box that will fit the Pi and HAT. The device does come with a custom 3D-printed shield that blocks the bottom of the HAT from making contact with anything. Make sure you check your local fire and safety codes before installing a device like this in a permanent fixture!

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The one point of contention on the original Commodore 64 is definitely the keyboard — you either love it or hate it. I’m okay with it for short periods, but if I were to type in something more lengthy its clunky keys and lack of wrist rest are definitely downsides. This doesn’t solve the wrist rest issue, but the MechBoard64 Mechanical Keyboard definitely addresses the mushy key feel!

This version is a DIY kit, with a few surface-mount parts pre-soldered for you. If you’ve ever assembled a custom mechanical keyboard before you know the process — it comes down to a lot of repetitive soldering. As the product page notes, it’s important to take your time and make sure to solder in a well-ventilated area. This is more important than usual because of the length of time you’re likely to be soldering. If you’re using leaded solder, make sure to wash your hands very well after such a long soldering session!

Once you’re finished soldering the Gateron keyswitches, it’s time to put the anodized frame on, and then use the included 3D-printed key adapters to attach the original Commodore keycaps. After this is complete, use the included ribbon cable to attach the keyboard to the original keyboard header, and you should be ready to test.

A note about the keyswitches: because they are pretty much standard footprints, you could, in theory, replace them with your preferred brand of keyswitch. Just make sure the footprint is compatible with Gateron switches and it should be a snap to customize. The very patient could even solder in individual socket pins to make the keys hot-swappable, though it’s worth checking if this will cause issues with the clearance inside the C64.

In any case, we are glad to see a project putting keyboards back into C64s instead of removing them! There is a pre-assembled version available also if you’re not up to soldering that many switches.

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We are always on the lookout for interesting little interface doohickeys! This small button cluster caught our eye as it looks really neat and could add a touch of industrial design to your next project. The Navigator Plus is simply 5 buttons on a PCB. The buttons are neatly clustered to create a circular array with a button in the centre. Each of the outer buttons has an arrow marker and the centre button has a dot. Each of these acts as a diffused window to 5 individual white LEDs built into the module.

Each button has a broken-out pin and an internal pull-up resistor. The other side of each button is wired directly to a common ground which is broken out to a single pin. This makes it simple to connect up but means it can only really be used in designs that momentarily connect an I/O pin to ground to signal button presses.

Similarly, each of the LEDs is broken out to a pin with the negative terminals all connected to ground. Using GPIO pins on your microcontroller that can drive an LED correctly makes using the backlight much simpler. All the pins, both LED and buttons, are broken out to standard 2.54mm spaced pin headers making the module breadboard compatible.

Looking at the short video below they have an example where the LEDs on the device flash in a pattern as the device initialises. We hadn’t considered that as an idea, but it looks great! At an estimated 20-25mm diameter we could imagine these modules finding their way into all manner of projects.

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Who doesn’t love a good 286 motherboard? Screaming along at up to 25MHz, powering through floating-point workloads with a 287 co-processor, addressing multiple megabytes of RAM! What an absolute powerhouse! Well, if you want to power that powerhouse, you’ll either need to find and restore an AT power supply from the time or generate the required -5V that was removed when AT became ATX. The Voltage Blaster from PCRestoration does exactly that!

It plugs into the ISA backplane and generates the -5V rail that many ISA cards require. And as a nice touch, it has LEDs showing each power rail so you can tell at a glance if something is wrong with the power supply! This Enhanced version features thicker ENIG plating on the connector, so it should last a long time. It uses a linear regulator to create the -5V, so the resultant voltage is very clean and smooth. This is useful as a lot of cards use +/-5V as analog reference voltages for ADCs and DACs, and the cleaner they are, the better the performance can be. Additionally, it has protection diodes and high-quality Wurth electrolytic capacitors.

It does take up a slot in the ISA backplane, which may or may not be an issue. Other solutions don’t use this approach, but the Voltage Blaster has the advantage of being extremely easy to install and therefore can be very handy to have if you are commonly working on vintage PCs. I’m personally a fan of the black and gold look, and if you are interested make sure to check out the product page! PCRestoration also sells a motherboard battery replacement kit — remember, never leave batteries in old motherboards! So many motherboards have been permanently damaged by leaking batteries.

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Pentesters and security researchers have all sorts of neat gadgets for practicing their trade. A popular tool are USB dongles that can quickly enter text and mouse movements at a completely inhuman rate. This can be used to exploit security holes during a physical pentest, or it can be used for totally innocuous purposes. The PicoUSB is an inexpensive, Pico-based version of the original device, called the Rubber Ducky.

While the PicoUSB is based on the concept of the Rubber Ducky, it uses a slightly different syntax for its scripts. Make sure to check out the GitHub repo to see some example code and a list of the supported commands. We’re hoping to see the implementation grow in the future — and because it’s open-source, you can contribute and/or fork your own custom version if you want!

The PicoUSB uses the flash storage chip to store scripts. Because they are just text files, the amount of space required is very small. There’s all sorts of mischief you can get up to — just remember, it’s unethical and likely illegal to use these on computers that you don’t own without explicit permission! This is VoltMake’s first product on Tindie, so let’s give them a warm welcome!

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When it comes to LEDs Tindie is well served! We see lots of different addressable RGB LED projects on here and it’s nice to think Tindie is helping bring a little brightness and colour to the world. At the very very small end of RGB LED products, we spotted these excellent MicroMatrix panels.

The MicroMatrix panels are sold as a pack of 4 which are thankfully pre-assembled as these tiny 1.5mm square addressable LEDs would be a challenge to hand solder! Each individual panel is populated as an 8*8 LED display. The LEDs are SK6805-EC15 which are WS2812 compatible, meaning most NeoPixel code will be workable.

On the back of each panel are a pair of ground and 5V pads for power. There is also data in and data out allowing each LED on the panel, or multiple panels, to be addressed individually. So it’s in essence the same to work with as an LED strip, but square and small with each panel being only 20mm * 20mm.

As the connectors hint at, you can of course chain these diminutive panels together to create larger matrices and indeed you could buy and add more panel sets. Perfect for small-scale model lighting or wearables we can’t wait to see these panels pop up in projects!

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The new and improved version of the CardClock is not only stuffed with more LEDs, but it now has a gorgeous swappable wooden front plate. The circular LED array on the left shows time in a traditional analog clock style, and the right-hand 223 RGB LED array shows the time digitally with all sorts of crazy patterns and colours!

Not only is it roughly the size of a credit card, meaning it can be used just about anywhere, but it’s powered by USB using the included 90-degree USB cable. This makes a nice and neat appearance (though it’d be cool to have the option of having the cable exit rearward instead for an even cleaner look) and makes running the clock easy.

It’s powered by an ESP32 which synchronizes the clock to NTP servers every three hours when connected to Wi-Fi. It updates an on-board RTC which keeps the time if internet isn’t available, and it has a supercapacitor to keep the time if you need to unplug the clock and move it.

If you’re looking for a great gift for a hacker friend or just want a super cool, small digital clock on your desk/bench, the CardClock v2 will definitely turn heads and get you some serious nerd cred! Check the video below for a demo.

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Having recently watched an excellent video about flip-dot displays, when I saw this product come up I was interested right away. This Electromechanical Status Indicator breakout can be super useful in low-power projects, or in projects where LED displays are inadequate or don’t meet accessibility requirements. It simply takes setting one pin high or low, and then a quick pulse of current to flip the display from one state to another. After that, you can completely disconnect power if desired — the display holds its state magnetically.

Not only do these displays make an audible click when they change state, which can help get attention to the state change, but they are also somewhat tactile. If you look closely, the red state has a raised circle whereas the green state is completely flat. This could probably be felt by someone with limited vision, though you’d have to test it before using it for anything important.

If you want to learn more about flip-dot displays in general, check out the aforementioned video by Mike’s Electric Stuff which goes into quite a bit of detail on how flip-dots work! And for a demo of this display, check out the video embedded below.

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Soft cards are becoming increasingly popular for vintage computers. Because the cards have modern processors or FPGAs on them, they can easily emulate just about any peripheral ever made for vintage systems, as well as expanding the limits of what can be done on these machines! This ESP32 SoftCard Expansion for the Apple ][ features the ESP32-WROVER-E, a powerful dual-core processor with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in. Data is loaded from an SD card, and the list of features is absolutely jaw-dropping.

Like the original Z80 SoftCard, it enables 80-column video output, but this card additionally features audio generation and output. It firmly answers “Yes!” to the age-old question – can it play DOOM? Not only can it play DOOM, but it even supports custom WADs. It can also play Wolfenstein 3D, emulate a Mac Classic, emulate an IBM PC/XT running DOS and Windows 3, emulate Sega Genesis, NES, and TurboGrafx-16, connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, playback videos stored on the SD card… the feature list goes on and on.

The board comes with a 32GB SD card pre-loaded with many of the above features. Additionally, it can work in an Apple IIgs, Laser 128, and many of the Pravetz clone machines. So if you’ve got an Apple II or clone and want to breathe some new life into it, definitely check out the product page, and be sure to read the full list of capabilities in the documentation!

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