Andrew Roach @ajroach42@retro.social

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10) some more:

I don’t want to use the pcmcia slot if I can avoid it. I only have one, and I plan to use that for file transfer, backups, and data storage.

I think that the pi or the ESP8266 is probably my best bet. I have several of both kicking around waiting for me to do something with them.

Going with the Pi would give me the added bonus of having a full Linux box available if I need one.

Going with the esp8266 would feel more authentic, but probably not work as well??

10) this is not 8. Networking options

- Get a 16 bit pcmcia type II WiFi card, set up a wireless BG router, try to figure out if I can do WPA2 in DOS

- get a pcmcia type II Ethernet card, wire myself in to my home network

- buy or build something like a wifi232 (that is a WiFi enabled microcontroller that plugs into the serial port and is interacted with like a modem with AT commands.)

- run SLiRP on a pi (probably a 0W), connect to it via serial or Ethernet.

- other stuff?

8) it has a backlit monochrome VGA screen, but the contrast on it is inconsistent. Text and most DOS applications look great, but I find myself adjusting the contrast slider and playing with the pallet options every time I have a reason to go in to Windows.

9) the pointer is ridiculously stiff. It takes actual pressure to engage it at all and it moves very slowly. I’m going to seek out a different driver to mitigate this.

8) I’m considering my networking options. This needs it’s own toot.

4) one I have verified that I can read data to/from the pcmcia slot, I’m going to backup the HDD, and then remove it and replace it with a CF card (I think I already have an adapter.)

5) while I’m in there, I need to replace the cmos battery.

6) The power plug is in the battery, so I’ll have to be careful with it when I rebuild it. If I break the casing, I won’t be able to power.

7) after having used my HP 200LX and a 286 desktop for a while, this 486 is absolutely greased lightening.

On the gateway handbook 486 #retrocomputer project:

1) the driver I found on the HDD was for spinning metal ATA HDDs, and cant be used with flash cards.

2) but there is a flash driver out there in the world, that works with this cardsoft subsystem, I just need to find a download (archive.org, here I come!)

3) It has Windows 3.11 and the Windows terminal program, and a serial port, so I’m going to try to do file transfer from a Linux box to it via serial.

It’s been picking up the pace recently. We’ve got ghosts popping up now, and hints that something bigger is coming.

It was a daily show, 5 days a week, done mostly in single takes, very little editing, With minor flubs and errors abounding.

It aired from 66 through the mid seventies, but feels much more like an early Tv production as a result of the live nature of the show.

I haven’t talked about this in a while, but a couple of nights a week we watch an episode or two of the 60s soap opera Dark Shadows. We’re around 30 episodes in to a 1200+ episode series.

I *think* I have every episode. They’re short, right at 20 minutes. The early episodes are classic soap opera fair.

Later on it’s supposed to get darker, and dabble in the supernatural, before finally giving way to a full fledged vampire plot line. And time travel?

It appears there is something called cardsoft on the hdd, and in the cardsoft folder is something called atadrv.exe.

I assume I can add this to config.sys, load it high as a device, and have it recognize my compact flash card in the pcmcia adapter as an ata hdd.

I have not tried this yet, but I will when I get back home.

And the music is good!

Mostly 60s garage and psych? plus a fair amount of instrumental late 50s/early 60s rock?

Which seems impossibly lucky for me.

My HP200LX automatically mounts PCMCIA cards as Drive A.

I don't know how normal DOS or early Windows machines would have handled that.

I assume I need to load a device driver. I don't know the specifics of that.

If you've worked with #PCMCIA cards on #DOS and want to give me some pointers, I'd appreciate it.

Alright, my workday is nearly over. I have about an hour left, and I'm about my new computer.

It's the perfect size to use, although a dash too big to comfortably carry without a bag (at least, with the power adapter, once I have it running on AAs, that'll be better.)

I need to figure out how to tweak the mouse sensitivity, because it's very stiff.

I also need to figure out how to get DOS to recognize and mount an ATA PCMCIA card.

The local coffee shop is beautiful.

I'd never been before. It's all exposed brick and wood and metal, with a decor that straddles the line between rustic and industrial.

The coffee is Wonderful, and locally roasted. It's cheap. The wifi is *fast*, and it's open 7 to 7.

I got my handbook 486 in the mail!!

I have to do my job, so I can't play with it, but Damn am I excited.

Hotspot is :100: being throttled once I hit 20GB of use.

That's good to know! I shouldn't have to use it as my primary internet source much longer, but if I do, I can adjust my workflow to mitigate that.

In the meantime, I'm headed to lunch, a coffee shop, and better internet.

Wish me luck.

I should go to bed, but instead I'm researching cases, and case production.

After the SRAM/Video processor, the most expensive part of the BASIC ENGINE is the fuckin' case.

And it's not even a cool case. It's just a generic RasPi case.

If I could remove that from the equation, or at least substitute something more interesting for the same price, I'd feel better about the whole thing.