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paulrickards

@[email protected]

Artist exploring vintage plotters with modern code. Retrocomputing repair and collecting. Mixes the best of new and old. He/him #RetroComputing #PenPlotter #c64 🏳️‍🌈

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@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

I couldn't find any, so please enjoy the sounds of this Mac Plus booting from the internal floppy drive I made. Sound on!

A still image of a Mac Plus with sounds of it starting up from the internal floppy drive.

@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

Hamburger, döner, bento, kebab, meatball: aka the junk drawers.

A series of menu icons of rectangles and circles, more often called hamburger, döner, bento, kebab, and meatball.
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@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

Getting a fake AppleTalk ImageWriter to show up in the Chooser took longer than it should have.

A screen shot from MacOS 9 showing EtherPeek capturing Ethernet packet data with two packets opened for inspection detailing the early stages of ImageWriter discovery. On the right is the Chooser with the AppleTalk ImageWriter selected and on the right a printer named "Soft ImageWriter" is highlighted.
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paulrickards OP ,
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So far, the fake ImageWriter is proving frustrating, likely because of my limited skill set.

I can get the printer to show up reliably in the Chooser, responding to NBP LkUp requests with NBP LkUp-Reply packets. But the host never sends a PAP ATP OpenConn request and eventually times out.

Admittedly, I'm missing a lot of the AppleTalk stack which might have something to do with it.

I have a hardcover copy of Inside AppleTalk on the way.

@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

3D printed differential growth coasters!

I love when my hobbies combine to make new things. Here I take the differential growth algorithm I made for and combine it with to make drink coasters. Each one is unique.

A beige coaster on a wooden table The coaster has a design on top of differential growth which resembles the growth of coral or the brain with arms emanating from the center of the coaster reaching to the edge with multiple segments.

A beige coaster on a wooden table The coaster has a design on top of differential growth which resembles the growth of coral or the brain with arms emanating from the center of the coaster reaching to the edge with multiple segments.
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@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random
@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

Found this super cool Mac 128k prototype keyboard w IIc/IIgs key caps:

“This is a "one of a kind" prototype built at Apple's Accessory Products Division that was located in Garden Grove, CA. This keyboard was a prototype of a low profile keyboard intended for the original 128k style Macintosh. (This design never went into production.) I worked at this facility until it was sold in 1985 and acquired the keyboard during an employee sale.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20190429054910/https://alexsappleorchard.blogspot.com/

A beige keyboard with Apple IIc/Iigs key caps and a coiled cable.
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@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

A 3D printed flat Mac by JCS (Joshua Stein, maker of Wikipedia Reader and Subtext BBS for System 6 and the BlueSCSI WiFi DA).

https://jcs.org/notes/2025/12/18/3macbcrnbls2y

There's also a video of it with a M0100 mouse:

https://jcs.org/notes/2025/12/18/3macax7xops2y

Pretty awesome! Is it a new top cover for the keyboard that holds an iPad with some USB adapters? Something else?

#

Side view of a beige plastic keyboard resembling an Apple M0110 and attached flat LCD display on a wooden table.
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@paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

Ever since I saw the Typeframe (a DIY writerdeck or cyberdeck), I wanted to build one. And so I did! I tweaked the design here and there to fit what I had on hand and my tastes. Here's the result. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

A small computer in beige plastic that resembles a slabtop from the mid 1980s. A rainbow backlit keyboard with beige, dark gray, and orange keycaps is in the front with a small LCD screen on the upper left folded flat down on the case.

A small computer in beige plastic that resembles a slabtop from the mid 1980s. A rainbow backlit keyboard with beige, dark gray, and orange keycaps is in the front with a small LCD screen on the upper left folded flat down on the case.
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paulrickards OP ,
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The Typeframe is modeled after the Epson PX-4 and looks like a twin. The 7.9" LCD is also a touchscreen. I chose a Raspberry Pi 5 and an inexpensive ready-made keyboard. It's all powered by a 10 Ah battery and charges with USB-C. And lots of 3D printing and cable management.

More info. to build your own: https://www.typeframe.net/

An closeup view of a small computer in beige plastic that resembles a slabtop from the mid 1980s. A backlit keyboard with beige, dark gray, and orange keycaps is in the front with a small LCD screen on the upper left folded flat. On the top right of the case is the Typeframe logo in orange on a dark gray background.
An side view of a small computer in beige plastic that resembles a slabtop from the mid 1980s showing the red power button and SD card slot on the side. A small LCD screen is tilted up toward the viewer and the keyboard is backlit in a rainbow of colors.

paulrickards OP ,
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paulrickards OP ,
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A small computer in beige plastic that resembles a slabtop from the mid 1980s. A rainbow backlit keyboard with beige, dark gray, and orange keycaps is in the front with a small LCD screen on the upper left tilted up toward the viewer. On the screen is flying toasters screen saver from After Dark.
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    • paulrickards OP ,
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    I added an internal speaker (from an old iPad) and headphone jack to my Typeframe. Since I used a Pi 5 with no on-board analog audio, I used a USB audio dongle.

    I was delighted to learn of the simplicity of switching 3.5mm headphone jacks. They have 5 poles instead of 3. The audio source and internal speaker are wired to the headphone jack pins. They're normally closed and the internal speaker works. Plug in headphones, it switches. So simple!

    The rear corner of a beige plastic laptop-style computer showing speaker grill cutouts just below the tilted display.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    I also cobbled together a systray icon for the battery status using Python. It retrieves the battery info from the Power Management Hat over serial and updates the systray icon as needed. The tooltip shown appears when you mouse over or tap the battery icon.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    Writing zen, where the only distractions are Flying Toasters when you're idle 😉

    Word 5.1a isn't too bad at 640x200 resolution. The UI is unobtrusive, crisp and legible, and big enough to touch.

    A beige laptop-style computer with a colorful keyboard and a very wide screen that's tilted up towards the viewer with the Flying Toasters screen saver.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Your periodic reminder that there were typewriter pen plotters. Yes, a typewriter that would draw text. Or a plotter with a keyboard attached, depending on your view.

    I've collected a few, plus other oddities with pen plotters in them. Have a look:

    https://biosrhythm.com/?p=2143

    A typewriter pen plotter with paper inserted in front of the keyboard. A stylized drawing of Magritte's 'The Son Of Man' is drawn on the page.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Four Commodore 8-bit machines running 10 PRINT.

    A composition of four photos. Clockwise from top left is a Commodore PET 2001, VIC-20, Commodore 128, and a Commodore SX-64. All four are showing the 10 PRINT program as short segment of the output of alternating slashes below it.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    .jpeg or .jpg? Poll follows.

    A Firefox dialog, "You have used the extension ".jpg" at the end of the name. The standard extension is ".jpeg". You can choose the standard extension instead." Buttons "Use .jpg" default, "Use .jpeg", and "Cancel".
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    My PowerMac 8500 battle station still runs like a champ! Originally 120 MHz PPC 604 upgraded to 500 MHz G3 with 704 MB RAM. I used this machine all the way through Mac OS 9.1 and even installed an early version of Mac OS X on it for some time.

    Screenshot of Mac OS 9.1 showing 704 MB of memory, a G3 processor at 499 MHz and a graphing calculator app showing a colorful complex 3D graph.

    Screenshot of Mac OS 9.1 showing 704 MB of memory, a G3 processor at 499 MHz and a graphing calculator app showing a colorful complex 3D graph.
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    @mwichary@mastodon.online avatar mwichary , to random

    One could make an argument that the Canon Cat prototypes in some ways look even better than the final result.

    Canon Cat prototype
    Canon Cat prototype

    Canon Cat prototype
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    paulrickards ,
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    @mwichary Interesting to see the handle on both of those. Wonder how heavy it was with those CRTs.

    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Tried to make a stamp today with my 3D printer using PLA for the handle and TPU for the stamp. Results are meh. Maybe the flow rates aren’t right which leaves the gaps. I did use the iron feature on the top layer too.

    A light blue plastic stamp handle laying on the side with the stamp bottom showing in black of the Mac Classic dialog icon. Paper is below with several imperfect stamps on it.
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    paulrickards OP ,
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    That’s somewhat better. 100% infill (was 20%) and top iron at 20% flow (was 10%). Also using the TPU (85A) manufacturer settings file for Bambu P1S.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    LaserWriter 8 Page Setup

    paulrickards OP ,
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    Stamps, stamps, stamps!

    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    🐖 Start pig-mode?

    A Mac System 7.5 dialog box from ResEdit with a small pig icon, the text "Start pig-mode?" and Cancel and OK buttons. It apparently constantly tries to free up resources, aiding developers. To see it, hold command-option-shift and choose About ResEdit from the Apple Menu.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Been working on a case for the tiny ALPS pen plotter mechanism. It takes 2.25” wide receipt roll paper. Electronics will go beneath. Might add a roll paper holder. Maybe a battery pack too?

    A white 3D printed case with a small plotter mechanism inside with paper coming out with cursive hello printed on it. There’s four buttons on the top of the case. Some tiny pens are next to it on the table.
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    paulrickards OP ,
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    My tiny plotter works! I finished most of the controller board last night. It’s running GRBL for ESP32 so I can send jobs over WiFi or BT. Still some clean up and tweaks to the case to make maintenance easier.

    It follows B. Dring’s project from 2019 but modified for this tiny plotter.: https://www.buildlog.net/blog/2019/09/inktober-2019-project-post-1/

    What should I name it?

    A tiny pen plotter in a white 3D printed case drawing hello in cursive.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    I think I've finished building my tiny plotter. It consists of modular 3D-printed boxes that snap together in colors borrowed from the JLPGA edition of the PowerBook 170.

    In the top is an ALPS DPG-1302 2.25" wide receipt paper plotter. In the middle section is the ESP32 and motor drivers. In the bottom is a 18650 battery pack with USB-C charger. Hanging off the back is a roll paper holder borrowed from the Commodore 1520 plotter.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    I love these big chunky Radio Shack buttons. I got them years ago when they went out of business. The left one is latching on/off.

    Edit: How could I forget the chromed panel mount power LED on the front 😍

    paulrickards OP ,
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    This tiny plotter prints in four colors, weighs 0.6 kg, stands about 10 cm tall, is battery powered, and prints over WiFi using GRBL.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    If it reminds you of your Atari 1020 you had, that's because ALPS made the plotter mechanisms and they use the same pens. The difference is my plotter uses the 2.25" wide variant and the Atari 1020 (and Commodore 1520, and many, many others) used the 4.5" wide type.

    ALPS also made a 8.5" wide type that was used in many typewriter plotters. Yes, typewriters!

    https://biosrhythm.com/?p=2143

    paulrickards OP ,
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    Got a vintage ALPS plotter? Two things you need to know.

    1. The X/Y gears on the motor spindle are likely cracked. I had 3D printed versions available at Shapeways. Maybe they'll be available again soon? There's also brass ones too.

    2. Pens are likely still available from Best Electronics in California. They have black and 4 color sets. They're NOS so it's a roll of the dice how long they'll work. Search for Atari 1020 pens.

    paulrickards OP ,
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    Plotting differential growth of a circle on my tiny plotter

    video/mp4

    paulrickards OP ,
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    Did you know the Amiga Kickstart boot screen is stored as vector data? It uses only 412 bytes. 💾

    A tiny pen plotter drawing the Amiga Kickstart hand holding a disk.

    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

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    paulrickards ,
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    @NanoRaptor Does a magnet near the lens change the behavior?

    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Rate my battlestation!

    This is a Sony Anycast Station AWS-G500HD from 2007. It's essentially a Sony luggable PIII 933Mhz PC that runs Linux 2.4.20 with a ton of FPGAs to do the heavy lifting of a video switcher. Plus glorious physical buttons, faders, dials, and removable keyboard. Oh, and a jog wheel.

    A Sony laptop-style computer cosplaying as a video production switcher with keyboard, buttons, sliders, and dials on the bottom and a LCD on the top showing several windows of different video sources including "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, Look Around You: Maths, a Lisa sales pitch video, and a rotating cube.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Repairing an Okimate 20 printer. Given the complexity of this thing and age, it's quite repairable and the output is really nice.

    An Okimate 20 printer with the cover removed revealing the inner workings of the printer including belts, gears, and electronics. Paper is loaded and printed with barber pole test.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    TIL the Kensington Turbo Mouse can use a billiard ball.

    Photo of a beige trackball with an 8 black billiard ball in it next to a Mac Plus keyboard.

    Photo of a beige trackball with an 8 black billiard ball in it next to a Mac Plus keyboard.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    When looking at the front of a 3.5" floppy disk, which way is up?

    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Time to relax with some MIDI floppies. I hope I remembered to rewind them 😄

    Context: https://mastodon.social/@paulrickards/114932544350156869

    Floppy STL model based on @NanoRaptor design: https://www.printables.com/model/1368681-rewind-your-floppy-disk-a-nanoraptor-design

    CD jewel case floppy tray STL model: https://www.printables.com/model/1365838-35-floppy-disk-jewel-case-insert

    A Roland MT-120S MIDI floppy disk player/recorder in black with a yellow 3D printed floppy disk with cassette reels bolted into the middle. On top is a CD jewel case with a 3D printed 3.5" floppy disk tray in blue with a red 3D printed floppy cassette disk inside it. To be clear, the disks are fake and not real and is based on an image by @Nanoraptor.
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    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

    GenX kids will know the pain of needing just the right kind of pencil to rewind.

    A photo of a 3.5" computer cassette, in this case Install Cassette 5 for Macintosh System 7.5
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    paulrickards ,
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    paulrickards ,
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    paulrickards ,
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Happy 40th Birthday to the Amiga! Here’s my A1000 taking a selfie of the keyboard with a FrameGrabber from Progressive Peripherals & Software.

    A beige computer, keyboard, and monitor with a small camera on a tripod to the left pointed at the keyboard. The screen shows a view from the camera.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Very large Truchet tiles in monochrome of varying widths.

    Black India ink on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL pen plotter generated and controlled with Python.

    Available in my shop: https://shop.paulrickards.com/truchet-tiles/

    A pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs and horizontal and vertical lines in portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in black ink. The composition is tilted slightly to the right.
    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs and horizontal and vertical lines in a large portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.
    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs and horizontal and vertical lines in a large portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.

    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs and horizontal and vertical lines in a large portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.
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    paulrickards OP ,
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    Another very large Truchet tiles in monochrome of varying stroke widths but in an orderly wave pattern.

    Black India ink on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL pen plotter generated and controlled with Python.

    Available in my shop: https://shop.paulrickards.com/truchet-tiles/

    A pen plot on white paper of a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping as a series of overlapping horizontal waves in black ink.
    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping as a series of overlapping horizontal waves in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.
    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping as a series of overlapping horizontal waves in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.

    Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a pen plot on white paper of a small number of large Truchet tiles of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping as a series of overlapping horizontal waves in black ink. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of black ink in varying widths.
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    @paulrickards@mastodon.social avatar paulrickards , to random

    Everyone’s on their Hand386 so I dusted off my PocketChip and look at that, I’m running System 7.5.3 thanks to Mini VMac! It’s delightfully quick!

    My hand holding a Pocket Chip with MacOS System 7.5.3 displayed on the screen with the About this Macintosh window open.
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    paulrickards OP ,
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