Macintosh Emulation and Printing using Mini VMac on a PocketCHIP

Alternate title: I want to print from an emulated Mac on a pocket computer to my ImageWriter II over AppleTalk.

I’ve had a PocketCHIP for several years now. I picked it up right after the Kickstarter campaign was finished sometime in 2016/2017. It’s a great little Linux-based handheld device that combines a lot in one package (touch display, keyboard, storage, battery, sound, USB port, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.). The novelty wore off and I stowed it away in a box. The company Next Thing Co. went out of business shortly thereafter in March 2018.

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Zenith ZL-1 MinisPort Laptop repairs

(This was originally a Twitter thread from June 14, 2020.)

June 14, 2020

Say “Hello, World” to my new Zenith ZL-1 MinisPort laptop from 1989 with an 8088 running 8Mhz, 1MB RAM, and a backlit LCD display. Weighs just under 6 pounds.

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Installing an Ethernet card and video card and other upgrades for a Mac SE/30.

(The following was a Twitter thread on March 10, 2021 for #MARCHintosh.)

But there’s only one slot, you say? It’s all a matter of using a clever part to adapt a pass-through.

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Another Visit to The Computer Museum at System Source in Baltimore MD.

On July 10, 2021, I visited the Computer Museum at System Source in Baltimore MD as part of the Vintage Computer Federation (VCF) Repair Workshop. I also visited the museum in 2020.

Warning: Image heavy page ahead!

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A Visit to The Computer Museum at System Source, Baltimore, MD

On Feb 15, 2020, I visited the Computer Museum at System Source in Baltimore, MD as part of a VCF Federation Repair Workshop weekend. The museum there is mind blowing. Want to see some pictures?

Warning: Image heavy page ahead!

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Commodore PET 2001 Repair

(This was originally a Twitter thread from November 6, 2017.)

November 6, 2017

A huge box has just arrived! And inside are lots and lots of packing peanuts. Wait, wait, there’s something else in here. It looks like it’s from the future.

Say 10 PRINT”HELLO WORLD” to the Commodore PET 2001 from 1977, one of the “trinity” personal computers. Big thanks to @FozzTexx!

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Radio Shack TRS-80 PC-2 Pocket Computer and Plotter Refurbishment

(This was originally a Twitter thread from November 15, 2019.)

November 15, 2019

Say 10 PRINT “Hello, World!” to my new Radio Shack TRS-80 PC-2 pocket computer with printer cassette docking interface. Has BASIC and “2640-character program and data memory”— so a little over 2.5K of RAM. Many thanks to @FloppyDays, it’s all in tip-top shape!

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Typewriter Plotters

Did you know there were typewriters that used ball point pens to draw not just text but also graphics? I’ve collected several of these over the years. Read on to discover a world that you didn’t know existed.

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Another Commodore 64 Black Screen Repair

(This was originally a Twitter thread on September 23, 2018)

September 23, 2018

On the bench today is a Commodore 64 picked up from @Recta_Pete at Atari Party East 2018. This revision is the cost reduced long board because of the sparse components around the VIC-II. I already spot several problems.

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Commodore 64 Black Screen Repair

(This was originally a Twitter thread from September 26, 2018)

September 26, 2018

Next on the bench is an early #c64, 1982 original motherboard with 5 pin video out and a lovely ceramic VIC-II. These tend to be tricky in my experience.

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