L Break Into Program
@breakintoprogram.co.uk
Blog: http://www.breakintoprogram.co.uk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BreakIntoProgram
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/breakintoprogram
Software developer & electronics dabbler. Restoring & programming vintage computers from Acorn Atom to ZX81.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BreakIntoProgram
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/breakintoprogram
Software developer & electronics dabbler. Restoring & programming vintage computers from Acorn Atom to ZX81.
Really good morning chatting to the staff.
November 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Really good morning chatting to the staff.
And there’s more. Really appreciated the staff being proper nerdy about their machines.
November 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM
And there’s more. Really appreciated the staff being proper nerdy about their machines.
Mum’s up from Norfolk for the week. Went to Quarry Bank Mill and got chatting to staff operating the machines. Very interesting and quite noisy!
November 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Mum’s up from Norfolk for the week. Went to Quarry Bank Mill and got chatting to staff operating the machines. Very interesting and quite noisy!
And there’s more… There’s a load of books, magazines and disks too. He was just glad it was going to a good home.
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
And there’s more… There’s a load of books, magazines and disks too. He was just glad it was going to a good home.
Some interesting stuff in here…
November 27, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Some interesting stuff in here…
A chap I’ve kept in touch with who visits our repair cafe has just given me a load more C64 stuff.
November 27, 2025 at 10:42 AM
A chap I’ve kept in touch with who visits our repair cafe has just given me a load more C64 stuff.
Discovered what the original bug was. To do a signed divide, I first get the sign (XOR the high bytes). I can then use that to determine the sign of the result. I then get the absolute value of the dividend and divider, do an unsigned divide, pop flags, and negate if result should be negative...
November 23, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Discovered what the original bug was. To do a signed divide, I first get the sign (XOR the high bytes). I can then use that to determine the sign of the result. I then get the absolute value of the dividend and divider, do an unsigned divide, pop flags, and negate if result should be negative...
A rare photo of me and Mrs B enjoying our expensive market beverages. Plus some other shots of the market, inside the cathedral, and the ferris wheel in Albert Square.
November 22, 2025 at 6:58 PM
A rare photo of me and Mrs B enjoying our expensive market beverages. Plus some other shots of the market, inside the cathedral, and the ferris wheel in Albert Square.
Clipping and stars now use the fastDiv I was wittering on about earlier. I've optimised the perspective calculation to get rid of two multiplies per point. World ordering is still in C. Happy with that.
November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Clipping and stars now use the fastDiv I was wittering on about earlier. I've optimised the perspective calculation to get rid of two multiplies per point. World ordering is still in C. Happy with that.
It's a bit quicker already and think I can see further optimisations... The red band is 100 normal C lib divides in z88dk, the green shorter band is the fastDiv.
November 21, 2025 at 1:08 PM
It's a bit quicker already and think I can see further optimisations... The red band is 100 normal C lib divides in z88dk, the green shorter band is the fastDiv.
Ok, that seems to work. Cool.
- DIV = doing a/b in C
- C = the C version of my fastDiv
- ASM = the Z80 version of my fastDiv
- DIV = doing a/b in C
- C = the C version of my fastDiv
- ASM = the Z80 version of my fastDiv
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Ok, that seems to work. Cool.
- DIV = doing a/b in C
- C = the C version of my fastDiv
- ASM = the Z80 version of my fastDiv
- DIV = doing a/b in C
- C = the C version of my fastDiv
- ASM = the Z80 version of my fastDiv
My coding buddy was on hand in case I needed a purr review.
November 21, 2025 at 8:51 AM
My coding buddy was on hand in case I needed a purr review.
Huh. File Explorer in Windows 3.1 doesn’t seem to be Y2K compliant.
November 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Huh. File Explorer in Windows 3.1 doesn’t seem to be Y2K compliant.
That is a very good match. And the drive is formatting disks that the old one used to gripe over.
November 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
That is a very good match. And the drive is formatting disks that the old one used to gripe over.
Job’s a good-un.
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Job’s a good-un.
Let’s see if this replacement floppy works any better than the one I tried. It’s certainly a better colour match. The old one is almost brown. Thanks @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social for gifting me that!
November 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Let’s see if this replacement floppy works any better than the one I tried. It’s certainly a better colour match. The old one is almost brown. Thanks @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social for gifting me that!
Fitting the BIOS CMOS battery to the Elonex. It was designed for the BBC Master. This is a bit of a bodge, but it’ll do. Will secure wires with some Kapton tape and a couple of dabs of hot glue.
November 18, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Fitting the BIOS CMOS battery to the Elonex. It was designed for the BBC Master. This is a bit of a bodge, but it’ll do. Will secure wires with some Kapton tape and a couple of dabs of hot glue.
Been an utter swot and unpacked everything. And someone is very pleased to see me… @catintoprogram.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Been an utter swot and unpacked everything. And someone is very pleased to see me… @catintoprogram.bsky.social
Back home now after a wonderful weekend at the @computinghistory.org.uk exhibiting at RetroFest 2025. Thank you again to all the museum staff who looked after us, and @shortcircuit.org.uk for organising it. Here’s to next year!
November 16, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Back home now after a wonderful weekend at the @computinghistory.org.uk exhibiting at RetroFest 2025. Thank you again to all the museum staff who looked after us, and @shortcircuit.org.uk for organising it. Here’s to next year!
Getting coffeed up before RetroFest
November 15, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Getting coffeed up before RetroFest
Journey down to Cambridge was slow but steady. All set up now, ready for the weekend. Thankfully everything survived.
November 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Journey down to Cambridge was slow but steady. All set up now, ready for the weekend. Thankfully everything survived.
Hahaha! Last time I stripped a keyboard was my BBC Master. It wasn't quite that bad though. I really need to do my Einstein next, a couple of the keys are sticking a bit now.
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Hahaha! Last time I stripped a keyboard was my BBC Master. It wasn't quite that bad though. I really need to do my Einstein next, a couple of the keys are sticking a bit now.
RIghto, that'll do. Just need to pack some tools - minimum is my screwdriver set and a multimeter. Oh, and my personal belongings. I have no idea how I managed to do this whilst holding down a full-time job. It's taken best part of the day to get this ready.
November 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
RIghto, that'll do. Just need to pack some tools - minimum is my screwdriver set and a multimeter. Oh, and my personal belongings. I have no idea how I managed to do this whilst holding down a full-time job. It's taken best part of the day to get this ready.
Z88DK installed on the old MacBook I’m taking, and a tweak to the colour pots on my Spectrum as it kept switching to a bluish screen. Seems stable now.
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Z88DK installed on the old MacBook I’m taking, and a tweak to the colour pots on my Spectrum as it kept switching to a bluish screen. Seems stable now.