Sven Petersen
@svenpetersen1965.bsky.social
Into electronics, engineering, retro computing, open source hardware, photography, etc. etc. pp.
http://tech.guitarsite.de
http://tech.guitarsite.de
Two of 200 connectors were soldered in the wrong orientation. The solder bath was a great help. Used some masking tape and carefully pulled them out, after the solder joints melted simultaneously. It was a flux mess. The nano sponges were good to clean up after the rework.
November 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Two of 200 connectors were soldered in the wrong orientation. The solder bath was a great help. Used some masking tape and carefully pulled them out, after the solder joints melted simultaneously. It was a flux mess. The nano sponges were good to clean up after the rework.
Nano clones are such a mess. Some have an ATmega328p, some have a 328pm, some accidentally bought ones have a 168 as a processor. Arduino IDE cannot program a bootloader for the 328pm without modification. The ATmega168 is a bit underwhelming.
November 2, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Nano clones are such a mess. Some have an ATmega328p, some have a 328pm, some accidentally bought ones have a 168 as a processor. Arduino IDE cannot program a bootloader for the 328pm without modification. The ATmega168 is a bit underwhelming.
I have tackled the #BMP280 temperature/pressure #sensor on the #picoCalc. Byte level I2C programming (actually normal) in #MMBasic. 24 byte of calibration data and a lengthy calculation procedure included. And I have learned about weather service and actual air pressure:
November 1, 2025 at 11:26 AM
I was watching a live stream of @morefunmakingit.bsky.social some days ago, when I have seen this tool on his desk. I didn’t know that it existed, before. I then did a short research and had ordered it, before the live stream was over. #goatsFoot #pryBar #Wera #Wera127456
October 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
I was watching a live stream of @morefunmakingit.bsky.social some days ago, when I have seen this tool on his desk. I didn’t know that it existed, before. I then did a short research and had ordered it, before the live stream was over. #goatsFoot #pryBar #Wera #Wera127456
Birth of some C64 keycaps. I have made the trays to speed up the process. If you screw up, you screw up 9 key caps at once 🙂
October 21, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Birth of some C64 keycaps. I have made the trays to speed up the process. If you screw up, you screw up 9 key caps at once 🙂
Last weekend, I have found Raspberry Pi Pico 2W and I intended to upgrade my PicoCalc. I was aware, that the display might break, if I am not careful. When I finally assembled it, I have moved the mainboard a bit, pulled the display out of place and it broke. A replacement is already on its way.
October 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Last weekend, I have found Raspberry Pi Pico 2W and I intended to upgrade my PicoCalc. I was aware, that the display might break, if I am not careful. When I finally assembled it, I have moved the mainboard a bit, pulled the display out of place and it broke. A replacement is already on its way.
Testing the latency in USB keyboard mode with VICE and David’s Midnight Magic. This succss when there is latency. 120/sec scan rate feels as good as the regular keyboard. I have also added VICE soft and hard reset and attach disk and cartridge image to the additional two buttons.
October 12, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Testing the latency in USB keyboard mode with VICE and David’s Midnight Magic. This succss when there is latency. 120/sec scan rate feels as good as the regular keyboard. I have also added VICE soft and hard reset and attach disk and cartridge image to the additional two buttons.
The broken Pro Micro is good enough for practicing with the solder pot. Quite nice for desoldering multi pin components. You need to mask with kapton tape, what you want to keep. Flux is helpful, too.
October 11, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The broken Pro Micro is good enough for practicing with the solder pot. Quite nice for desoldering multi pin components. You need to mask with kapton tape, what you want to keep. Flux is helpful, too.
Bought the C64 style key caps from Crazy Ali in January in the hope, I could do something meaningful with it. I have also ordered this keyboard, recently, because I really need a US layout keyboard. Now I have put the keycaps on. Nice keyboard. The original keycaps were not any bad.
October 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Bought the C64 style key caps from Crazy Ali in January in the hope, I could do something meaningful with it. I have also ordered this keyboard, recently, because I really need a US layout keyboard. Now I have put the keycaps on. Nice keyboard. The original keycaps were not any bad.
So, today, I have finished the USB keyboard work package for a positional US keyboard layout for vICE and quickly added the German layout, too. It was fiddly to find some special keys, like the pound sign. When the thing is not connected to a C64 and does not detect scanning, it acts as a usb kbrd.
October 8, 2025 at 9:39 PM
So, today, I have finished the USB keyboard work package for a positional US keyboard layout for vICE and quickly added the German layout, too. It was fiddly to find some special keys, like the pound sign. When the thing is not connected to a C64 and does not detect scanning, it acts as a usb kbrd.
If you are making a USB keyboard, it is easy to screw up your source code. I have done that three times today. If the keyboard does not find scanning by a C64, it switches to HID USB keyboard (for VICE). I don’t know a few scan codes, yet. The rest works.
October 7, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If you are making a USB keyboard, it is easy to screw up your source code. I have done that three times today. If the keyboard does not find scanning by a C64, it switches to HID USB keyboard (for VICE). I don’t know a few scan codes, yet. The rest works.
AliExpress has pissed me off massively! In early September, I have bought a Pencil for my iPad for about 30€. It was defective. So I wanted to return it. They were not able to send me a return label, although I contacted the service twice. Now, they have refunded 10€ 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
October 6, 2025 at 9:38 PM
AliExpress has pissed me off massively! In early September, I have bought a Pencil for my iPad for about 30€. It was defective. So I wanted to return it. They were not able to send me a return label, although I contacted the service twice. Now, they have refunded 10€ 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Whereever I go, I have to do tech support for other people, usually for computer or tv. Is it a rule, that people older than me have the most complicated setups :-)
September 30, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Whereever I go, I have to do tech support for other people, usually for computer or tv. Is it a rule, that people older than me have the most complicated setups :-)
The curse of the pro micro. This is at least the fifth on which I have broken off the USB micro connector. They are just attached on SMD pads. The version with the usb C looks more reliable. The holding latches are through hole.
September 29, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The curse of the pro micro. This is at least the fifth on which I have broken off the USB micro connector. They are just attached on SMD pads. The version with the usb C looks more reliable. The holding latches are through hole.
I could not sleep, so I tidied up the lab after midnight. Found a little display in my Arduino box. So I hooked it up to my C64 keyboard project to try it out. Made a little logo. Of course, it did not work instantly. It was past 3am, when I finally have slept.
September 29, 2025 at 9:55 AM
I could not sleep, so I tidied up the lab after midnight. Found a little display in my Arduino box. So I hooked it up to my C64 keyboard project to try it out. Made a little logo. Of course, it did not work instantly. It was past 3am, when I finally have slept.
Went shopping at Lidl and found this. I was thinking of getting a 20m hose for compressed air, already. Maybe, this works. I always have a strange feeling with supermarket brand tools. The step-drill bit was good.
September 26, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Went shopping at Lidl and found this. I was thinking of getting a 20m hose for compressed air, already. Maybe, this works. I always have a strange feeling with supermarket brand tools. The step-drill bit was good.
Now, I can use the USB-serial converter for programming the ESP8684 module on my project pcb. The status LED is blinking. I have used the schematics of the ESP8684 devkit m1 as a base. No buttons (reset & boot) required for programming. DTR & RTS do that job.
September 16, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Now, I can use the USB-serial converter for programming the ESP8684 module on my project pcb. The status LED is blinking. I have used the schematics of the ESP8684 devkit m1 as a base. No buttons (reset & boot) required for programming. DTR & RTS do that job.
I got my #ESP8684 Devkit M1 blinking. Of course, it was not supported by the Arduino IDE, so I had to download the ESP-IDF, which is a shell/DOS like application of only 1.5 GB download size. The target to select is ESP32C2, not ESP8684. Things you have to find out…
September 16, 2025 at 7:58 AM
I got my #ESP8684 Devkit M1 blinking. Of course, it was not supported by the Arduino IDE, so I had to download the ESP-IDF, which is a shell/DOS like application of only 1.5 GB download size. The target to select is ESP32C2, not ESP8684. Things you have to find out…
The #Omnifixo is such a handy thing! Here, I am just using the clamps, which have a magnetic foot, to hold a display for testing in front of the case. The construction of the clamps makes it easy to position them. And it is perfectly stable. It is worth every cent!
September 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
The #Omnifixo is such a handy thing! Here, I am just using the clamps, which have a magnetic foot, to hold a display for testing in front of the case. The construction of the clamps makes it easy to position them. And it is perfectly stable. It is worth every cent!
After 3 months, my #picoCalc arrived. It was an easy build. Even if you have two left hands and five thumbs on each (like me). It is a Raspberry Pi pico based mini computer, which runs e.g. a BASIC interpreter (picoMite) and has accessible GPIO pins. Let the distraction begin! 🤣🤣🤣
September 9, 2025 at 10:46 AM
After 3 months, my #picoCalc arrived. It was an easy build. Even if you have two left hands and five thumbs on each (like me). It is a Raspberry Pi pico based mini computer, which runs e.g. a BASIC interpreter (picoMite) and has accessible GPIO pins. Let the distraction begin! 🤣🤣🤣
Social media is full of moon eclipse images. I went out, waited an hour until the clouds were almost gone. Took a time lapse and kind of failed. This is by far better than my time lapse 🤣🤣🤣
September 8, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Social media is full of moon eclipse images. I went out, waited an hour until the clouds were almost gone. Took a time lapse and kind of failed. This is by far better than my time lapse 🤣🤣🤣
I prepared food with tweezers. It did feel right. 🤣🤣🤣
September 7, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I prepared food with tweezers. It did feel right. 🤣🤣🤣
@morefunmakingit.bsky.social did some nice SMD repair work. Great Sunday morning video to watch.
September 7, 2025 at 8:33 AM
@morefunmakingit.bsky.social did some nice SMD repair work. Great Sunday morning video to watch.