Bits && Bytes ...Because learning is fun!

30 Dec 2024

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Connecting the Commodore 64 to a TV/Monitor

Whether you want to view your Commodore 64 on a vintage TV set or a modern wide-screen TV or monitor via HDMI, you can find out how to connect your computer below. As with any computer, the "video out" options provided by the computer will dictate the options available to you when you connecting to a TV or monitor. Depending on the revision of your C64, it will have either a 5-pin or 8-pin video port, as shown below, that outputs a Composite video signal as well as audio. In the case of the 8-pin port, the luminance (Luma) and…

29 Dec 2024

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Connecting the Commodore VIC-20 to a TV/Monitor

Whether you want to view your Commodore VIC-20 on a vintage TV set or a modern wide-screen TV or monitor via HDMI, you can find out how to connect your friendly computer below. As with any computer, the "video out" options provided by the computer will dictate the options available to you when you connecting to a TV or monitor. The VIC-20 has a single 5-pin video port, as shown below, that outputs a Composite video signal as well as audio. Commodore VIC-20 Video Connector With this setup, we have a few options depending on the type of TV/monitor you…

27 Dec 2024

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Connecting Vintage Computers to TVs & Monitors

FYI: This is a work-in-progress and is considered to be a "living document". I will update this post as I work with new systems and/or other system configurations are made known to me. Please drop a comment below if you'd like me to add a configuration to share with others. My Hobby One of my primary hobbies is collecting, and sometimes fixing, vintage computers. In general, I consider "vintage" to be any computer system over 20 years old. However, for the most part, I like to collect computers from the 1980's and 1990's. One of the (many) challenges that comes…

10 May 2024

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15 Quick Bits About the Timex Sinclair 1000

As we continue the "15 Quick Bits About..." series, we take a look at a vintage computer that I saw advertised a LOT (for $99 USD!) in various electronics magazines when I was a kid. However, it wasn't until many years later that my dad gave me one that he had picked up for $5 at a thrift store - still in the original box. What piece of computing history might I be talking about? I'm talking about the Timex Sinclair 1000. In this post, we'll take a look at 15 facts about the Time Sinclair 1000. Let's take a…

11 Sep 2023

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15 Quick Bits About the Commodore SX-64

It's time for the next installment of "15 Quick Bits About..." In this set of Quick Bits, we'll take a look at 15 facts about the Commodore SX-64. While I've owned several Commodore 64's (and VIC-20's) over the years, I've never owned an SX-64. If I ever come across one for a reasonable price, I'll no doubt pick one up. However, not having what is essentially a portable Commodore 64 doesn't mean that I can't learn more about it (and share it here) in the meantime. So, let's take a look... Quick Bits on the Commodore SX-64 The Commodore SX-64…

05 Sep 2023

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15 Quick Bits About the TRS-80 PC-2

Continuing the series of “15 Quick Bits About…”, let’s take a look at some facts (Quick Bits) about the TRS-80 PC-2. This is a small, handheld computer put out by Radio Shack in the early 1980's. While it's not much bigger than typical handheld calculators of that era, the PC-2 packed some pretty good power into the small form factor. Add in an 8K RAM expansion cartridge and the portable, battery-powered printer/plotter, and you could get some serious work done! Let's take a look... Side Note: It's September, so we are officially celebrating the month of SepTandy! SepTandy is when…

15 Jun 2023

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15 Quick Bits About the Palm IIIe

Continuing the series of “15 Quick Bits About…”, let’s take a look at some facts (Quick Bits) about a personal digital assistant, or, PDA, I would see being proudly used a couple of decades ago — the Palm IIIe. I did not own one of these devices myself at the time having just recently picked one up from a thrift store a few years back. Quick Bits on the Palm IIIe The Palm IIIe was released in 1999 by Palm Computing, shortly after the more expensive and more advanced Palm IIIx. [1] [3] Shipping with Palm OS 3.1, the Palm IIIe…

06 Mar 2023

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15 Quick Bits About the TI-99/4 & TI-99/4A

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A Continuing the series of "15 Quick Bits About...", let's take a look at some facts (Quick Bits) about a computer I would see in Wal-Mart as a child, but only recently acquired --- the Texas Instruments TI-99/4 & TI-99/4A. Quick Bits on the Texas Instruments TI-99/4 & TI-99/4A Texas Instruments introduced the TI-99/4 Home Computer at the June 1979 CES show in Chicago. [7] After some delays, due to parts shortages, the TI-99/4 was released by Texas Instruments in November 1979 for $1,150 (USD). [8] The TI-99/4A was released by Texas Instruments in 1981, a few months…

11 Feb 2023

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Updating Node-RED, npm, and Node.js

Introduction If you're reading this, then there is a good chance you use Node-RED for creating dashboards for your internet of things (IoT) devices. Node-RED is a great solution for controlling various IoT devices as well as for displaying the current status of these devices. As an example, here is a screenshot of one of my Node-RED dashboards: Node-RED Dashboard Like any other software package that you make use of, new versions of Node-RED get released every so often with various bug fixes and feature improvements. This post will show how to update your Node-RED instance as well as npm…

10 Feb 2023

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Updating a Node-RED Certificate

Time Flies! It's been almost a year since I posted Exposing Node-RED to the Internet. In that post, I talk about how I exposed a Node-RED dashboard to the internet. As part of that process, I configured Node-RED to work with a TLS/SSL certificate. Having been a year since I initially obtained my certificate, it recently expired, so it's now time to renew the certificate for my Node-RED instance. As an aside, I purchased my .app domain through GoDaddy, which includes a free TLS/SSL certificate (not sure if GoDaddy will always have this deal). While it's not an overly complicated…