Today I Received...

[NormanDunbar]

Thanks Tobias.

Yes, I'm afraid it's not QL related. It's to do with microcontrollers. I can't say much about it just yet though. In case the idea gets stolen by others, apparently. I have to be finished 400 plus pages by February.

I foresee exciting, frustrating and busy times ahead.


Cheers,
Norm.

[vanpeebles]

Good luck with the book!!

I was looking at those weird 3d printers that work with liquid resin. They look amazing in action

[NormanDunbar]

Good luck with the book!!

Thanks - I might need it! At least I've had plenty practice all these years of writing for QL Today etc. I now have deadlines to meet though.

I was looking at those weird 3d printers that work with liquid resin. They look amazing in action

Aye, good quality prints, but apparently the resin is nasty nasty stuff. I don't have any experience of it myself, although I used to build boats etc with GRP, that was bad enough, styrene monomers (resin) and methyethylketone peroxide for hardeners. That MEK stuff sets paper, rags etc on fire! Then there was a cobalt accelerator - never mix that with the MEK! Boom!


Cheers,
Norm.

[vanpeebles]

I keep meaning to look into grp for cars parts. I knew a bloke at work once who is a whizz with it, and makes kit cars etc.

Do you think a resin printer would be any good for ql parts or cases?

I'd love to see a version of the Ql Waferdrive keyboard and case!

[NormanDunbar]

GRP is fine for car parts, within reason - structural integrity notwithstanding! Mould making is a chuffing nightmare! Mould, paint, sand, polish, repeat ad nauseum!

I have no idea how strong resin printed parts would be I'm afraid. The only things I've seen printed in resin are small models and test prints. If they were created using the stuff I used to work with, then they would need something embedded for the strength - hence the GRP has glass fibres embedded in the resin for the strength. Resin on its own is brittle and structurally unsound!

Cheers,
Norm.

[Pr0f]

I was back to work on the 2nd, and waiting for me was this little beauty...

[Ruptor]

Since nobody has asked. It sounds significant but why?

[Pr0f]

Since nobody has asked. It sounds significant but why?

It's an eprom piggy back version of the chip used to read the keyboard and provide sound on the QL. It's much easier to wipe and program the eprom chip, or even use an eprom emulator to try out code changes to the code in this chip - known as the IPC in the QL.

[Ruptor]

Thanks I didn't grasp what it was never having used one. My first development was testing assembler code by changing eproms and then moving on to chips like the 8051 that had onboard eprom where you changed the whole chip. At that time emulators hadn't caught up with the progress of the microprocessors and cost £10K plus that was a fortune then.

[tofro]

You should be able to build a Hermes with this guy.

Cheers,
Tobias