COMP RADIO

Love old tech, vintage computers, ham radio, electronics, vintage games, software, kits, and all related!

[Matt Hughson (NES & Game Boy Developer) @matthughson]

Is it just me, or do batteries leak way more than they used to?

Feels like once a month I'm opening a device in my house to find a leaking battery. 🔋

[Bosco @BoscoMac]

I am disappointed with the quality. The connectors were bent, too. I would have expected better quality from Yaesu. #yaesu #rotor #g5500 #hamradio #sat

[Alessandro Graziani  @W6MOQ]

😂 VHF/UHF Amateurfunk said 👇
(ukwfreund)

🤖 DX-Roboter ruft CQ DX 💣💣 on 28.478 MHz USB, mehrsprachig 11 elements 🇩🇪 Optibeam!
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

🤪 #hamradio

[Eliana @eliana_jordan]

2 years ago i hated mondays

today i couldn’t wait for monday to start

building your own apps changes everything

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Starting Windows 3.1 like it's 1994

[📹 pc_user_486]

[Dante retro dev 💾 @dantemendes]

Indianapolis 500: The Simulation for the Commodore Amiga (Papyrus/Electronic Arts/1990) is a groundbreaking racing game and one of the best motorsport simulators of the 16-bit era.
1st on MS-DOS PC (1989), it's essentially the same game (although on A500 you'd turn off details, A1200 shown here enables it maxed). Game's downside is that it features only one oval track. Formula One Grand Prix a year later featuring the tracks from 1991 season, surpassed it, content-wise.

[Luce @lucyshow11]

I had no idea there was an actual radio shack that was still in business!!!

[Ti-Fi @TiFiGaming]

Had a friend give me one of these amazing brand new shells from @Hoskbrew . Excellent fitment, high quality new shells. Turned out great.

[BlazingPaddles @K4NYMRadio]

Your Daily dose of CW. Take two QSOs and call me in the morning.

[FanlessTech @FanlessTech]

Twenty-six years ago, Apple nailed passive cooling with the PowerMac G4 Cube

[Eleonora Sayaka Chialva @EleonoraSayaka]

Stocked up on Z80 CPUs! 📦 Thanks so much Luigi for sending them to me!

[Nemanja @nemanjan00]

Maybe I will find something interesting

[memestech💻😁daily computers @ratethissetup]

Is this setup smart or insane?

[COMP RADIO @RadioCompHobby]

Polaroid's 0.07 megapixel Y2k camera - Fun! Digital 320 https://t.co/GghZzF0lPf via @YouTube

[Black Cat Systems @BlackCatSystems]

Apparently I'm collecting old Radio Shack Weatheradios now. I picked up the cube today for $2 along with Vornado brand ten transistor radio at an auction. I got the one on the right last week at a flea market, I think for $3? Maybe one day I'll come across a Timekube.

[Trent Von Holten @308Greenfield]

Rate my $50 retro PC haul

[regis.g.galland @GallandRegis]

Petit projet qui m'a quand-même pas mal occupé. Une carte mère de PC-Engine qui intègre les fonctionnalités d'une Supergrafx. #NEC #PCE #retrogaming

[RossRadio @cqcqcqdx]

2 meter, 220, 440 J-Pole antennas.
SWR on all antennas 1.2 to 1 or less.
RG 213 U connected to a triplexer.

[Coin Shot ☁️ @CoinSh0t]

This geek built a portable solar panels and made $400,000.

Device fully charges your phone in one hour using only sunlight.

Apple tries to buy the patent to build these panels into its next products.

I took his device apart and realized it can be rebuilt with $10 and Claude:

Straight version on the DIY route.

Parts (compact panel, ~$10-12):

- silicon solar cells with pre-soldered busbars (tabbed), around 12 small ones or 4 larger ones
- tabbing wire and flux
- a Schottky blocking diode, so it does not drain backward at night
- a backing: FR4/PCB, acrylic, or thin plywood
- clear epoxy resin for potting, or an acrylic sheet on top
- a 5V USB boost converter (~$1-2), or a power bank module as a buffer
Assembly:

Voltage math: one cell is about 0.5V. USB needs to stay above 5V under load, so either run 12 cells in series for ~6V, or run 3-4 cells at ~2V and step it up to 5V with the boost converter.

The boost route is easier and less soldering for a compact build.

Solder the cells in series with tabbing wire, positive of one to negative of the next.

Work fast, the cells are brittle and crack from overheating.

Put the Schottky diode in the positive lead.

Glue the cells to the backing and pot them in clear epoxy, or cover them with acrylic. That gives rigidity and weatherproofing.

Run the panel output into the boost converter, then USB into the phone.

Route it through a power bank buffer so a passing cloud does not drop the charge.