In this video he interviews Ralph Baer inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey and the electronic game Simon.

Inventor Portrait: Ralph Baer from David Friedman on Vimeo.

I really enjoy Pixel Art..

Penny Arcade has a great article on Pixel Art and tips for people who want to create pixel art.

Link to the article penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-art-of-retro-on-modern-hardware

So Classic Gaming Expo is back for 2012.

I have always wanted to go to this in years past but I was never able to so I cannot give an opinion but I found some other people who have and here are some reviews.

If I can somehow find myself over there this August I will write an article.

Here is a video from Gamester81 on Classic Gaming Expo 2010

Here is video 1 of 2 about the Classic Gaming Expo 2010 by VegasPeterArceo

Here is video 2 of 2 about the Classic Gaming Expo 2010 by VegasPeterArceo

Spare Time Gizmos have been putting together a number of great kits over the years:

• The Spare Time Gizmos MP3 Player
• The Spare Time Gizmos Life Game
• The Spare Time Gizmos SBC6120 Front Panel 

Normally they do very short runs of these kits and once they are gone, they are gone..

Spare Time Gizmos posts all the information for you to make your own, but they stop making kits.

However, if something is popular they may make an exception and in this case, they brought back the COSMAC ELF 2K kit.

The COSMAC ELF 2k is not just a replica of the original COSMAC ELF, but an improvement on it with more modern features.

From the website:

The Spare Time Gizmos’ COSMAC Elf 2000 is a reproduction of the original COSMAC Elf as published in the pages of Popular Electronics magazine, August 1976. Although I tried to keep the look and feel of the original, I had no hesitation about updating the Elf 2000 with the “latest” in hardware. Unlike its ancestor, the Spare Time Gizmos’ COSMAC Elf 2000 features:

• An expanded memory to 32K RAM and an optional 32K EPROM. The EPROM, if installed, contains a power on self test, extended hardware diagnostics, an Editor/Assembler, interpreters for the BASIC, FORTH and CHIP-8 languages, and a BIOS and bootstrap for the ElfOS disk operating system. A jumper is included to allow the CPU to start up at address 0×8000 (EPROM) rather than the normal 0×0000 (RAM).
• An included CDP1861 Pixie chip video display circuit. If you don’t have an 1861, the Elf 2000 has space and standoffs to mount a daughter board that plugs into the 1861 socket and contains a discrete logic replacement for the 1861. 
• An I/O expansion connector and mounting holes for I/O daughter cards that fit on top of the main board.
• An optional lithium coin cell and a Dallas DS1210 NVR controller to make the RAM non-volatile. Any programs you toggle in or download today will still be there tomorrow!
• A true RS-232 compatible serial port using a DS275 EIA level shifter and a DE9F connector.  
• Fully decoded I/O ports, including the CDP1861, switches and display, so there will be no conflicts with any add on peripherals. In addition, all I/O decoding, memory mapping and other control functions are implemented in a 22V10 GAL so they can be easily changed without any wiring modifications.
• Six TIL311 displays for a full address and data display.
• Switches mounted on a separate piece of plastic or aluminum, like the original ELF, that connect to a header on the Elf 2000 PC board. If you don’t like toggle switches, the Elf 2000 can also accommodate a Super Elf style hex keypad and push button controls.
• An automatic bootstrap to allow the Elf 2000 to be used without any switches or keypad. On power up, it can wait for download from a PC, or automatically begin running a program stored in EPROM or non-volatile RAM. A VCC low voltage monitor in the Elf 2000 ensures that the CPU is reset on power up and power down regardless of the switch settings.
• A circuit that works with either the original CDP1802 chip or any of the later CDP1804/1805/1806 chips. The classic Elf “load” mode, of course, requires a genuine 1802 chip.

Here is your chance to build your own ELF and try your hand at RCA 1802 Programming.

Each kit is $80 and you can order them here: www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/Elf2K.htm#Ordering

For more information about the COSMAC ELF and the RCA 1802 you can check the following sites:

www.cosmacelf.com

Wikipedia

Incolor.com has the original article from Popular Electronics

SGI Personal Iris 4D/20

We were trying to make it work for the upcoming Vintage Computer Fest East .

This is the actual box from my friend’s website: www.obsolyte.com/sgi_iris/

It’s a rather cool looking machine..

Anyway, we plugged it in and turned it on.

After the initial pop we saw bright red coming out from inside the machine and with that lots of smoke.. Crap! we didn’t know if we had a short or busted a capacitor. Needless to say the machine was on fire and we had to put it out before it caused more damage.

After unplugging it and everything we found that we indeed busted a cap.

Burnt Capacitor in SGI 4D/20

Here is the same image with an arrow pointing out the capacitor.

Burnt Capacitor in SGI 4D/20

The capacitor caught on fire.

Notice the white interface below the capacitor. There is one above it as well, but it is black from the fire.

The bad part is the capacitor is so burnt, we don’t know what size to replace it with.

Well this machine may not make it this year… I may bring it just as a prop and run demos on the other machines..

If you liked this, here are some previous Bustin Cap posts

Busted Cap on a Heathkit H17 Drive Controller

Busted Cap on an Altair 8800b

If you have a computer that you would like featured here to admin at this 8bitaficionado.

Tron will be turning 30 this year…

Yes… Tron was released on July 9th 1982 and well every vintage computer person I know has something in common.

They like the movies Tron and War Games.

War Games will be 30 next year so for now I am concentrating on Tron.

So a artist who posts by the name of Tron Legocy put up a bunch of videos and I liked them so much I wanted to share. I want to thank TronLegocy for all the hard work on making these videos.

Here is a video of Flynn’s Arcade built out of Legos.

Here is a video of the TRON Legacy Recognizer built out of Legos.

Tron’s ENCOM Big door scene in Lego format

TCNJ Hosts 37th Annual Trenton Computer Festival on March 10, 2012

The 37th annual Trenton Computer Festival (TCF), the world’s original personal computer show, will be held Saturday, March 10, at the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing Twp, NJ. The TCF is an excellent opportunity to see, learn about, and discuss the latest in
computers and digital and electronics technology while interacting with leaders in the profession.

A full schedule of informative panel sessions, tutorials, demonstrations, and other computer-related educational events is scheduled from 10 am – 5 pm. The opportunity to study for and take amateur radio license exams will also be offered. All events will be held in the Social Sciences Building.

TCF is proud to continue the tradition of associating with other premier conferences. The Information Technology Professional Conference (IT- PC) and the Integrated STEM (science, math, engineering, and technology) Education Conference (ISEC) will be held Friday, March 9, also in the Social Sciences Building. IT-PC and ISEC attendees also
have free admission to TCF.

This year’s keynote speaker is Jeff Gomez, the President and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, the world’s leading producer of transmedia entertainment properties. Starlight Runner has been an integral player in the production and marketing of blockbusters such as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron Legacy, James Cameron’s Avatar, and Hasbro’s Transformers. Jeff is a consultant to governments and organizations across the globe, and spoke about his company’s work at the TEDx conference in Geneva in September,
2010. He will speak on “From the Inner City to Pandora: The Power of Story in a Tech-Driven World”. His story is sure to inspire.

Admission to TCF is $10 in advance and at the gate. Advance tickets may be purchased from www.tcf-nj.org. Attendees who purchase tickets in advance are eligible for special door prizes and conference access. Parking is free.
Visit www.tcf-nj.org for more TCF ’12 details, including speaker registration.

TCF was started in 1976 by Sol Libes, founder of the Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey, and Dr. Allen Katz, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at TCNJ. A nonprofit educational corporation, TCF is operated by volunteers from TCNJ, local computer affinity groups including the New York Amateur Computer Club (NYACC), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Region 1 and its Princeton Central Jersey section, and the Princeton Joint Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)/IEEE Computer Society Chapter. TCF is a major contributor to TCNJ’s School
of Engineering Scholarship Program.
TCF, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational corporation under the Internal Revenue Code.

Thank you artist Chris G over at deviantart.

Skyrim ported to intellivision? Just kidding.

Artist Bridgit Scheide made a box art rendition of Skrim for Intellivision.

I have to say this is a rather awesome piece of art.  Thank you Bridgit Scheide.

I’m sorry but I had to make a Atari 2600 version using LabelMaker 2600.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, am I am no artist by any stretch of the imagination.