HereBeDragons
@heredragons.be
Also known as @herebedragons3 on the other site. Collector of all things Dragon - and much else beyond. Occasional fixer of computers, more commonly a breaker of them. See also https://retrofest.uk/ and @shortcircuit.org.uk for exciting events info!
Did I mention we're running another festival just next weekend? I'm not sure, I might have done ... we'd love to see you all there! Saturday is almost sold out but there's still plenty of tickets for Sunday ... www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/74909/re...
Retro Computer Festival 2025 (Gaming Edition) - Sunday 16th November - Event Ticket - Computing History
Click here for information on Saturday Were very happy to announce our 2025 Retro Computer Festival and this time with a twist.Click here for information on Saturday We're very happy to announce ou...
www.computinghistory.org.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Did I mention we're running another festival just next weekend? I'm not sure, I might have done ... we'd love to see you all there! Saturday is almost sold out but there's still plenty of tickets for Sunday ... www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/74909/re...
... plus without the heatsink the regulators get to a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun within minutes. One day I've promised myself I'll come up with a system for diagnosing and repairing these machines.
November 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
... plus without the heatsink the regulators get to a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun within minutes. One day I've promised myself I'll come up with a system for diagnosing and repairing these machines.
... plus a massive heat sink that gently cooks everything inside. First the caps go, then the transformer for driving that gorgeously retro VFD display. They're maddening to work on, with fragile ribbons always threatening to tear ...
November 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
... plus a massive heat sink that gently cooks everything inside. First the caps go, then the transformer for driving that gorgeously retro VFD display. They're maddening to work on, with fragile ribbons always threatening to tear ...
Sadly, yes. Passed from one company to another (Sinclair -> Newbury -> Grundy), no one invested in the ULAs that would allow them to fit a single PCB (and originally a battery) in the pretty case (not much bigger than a Spectrum). Instead there's three PCBs stacked in there ...
November 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Sadly, yes. Passed from one company to another (Sinclair -> Newbury -> Grundy), no one invested in the ULAs that would allow them to fit a single PCB (and originally a battery) in the pretty case (not much bigger than a Spectrum). Instead there's three PCBs stacked in there ...
You win the prize, it is indeed! Not sure what the prize is, mind you ...
November 8, 2025 at 5:09 PM
You win the prize, it is indeed! Not sure what the prize is, mind you ...
Haha, that's Carl Sagan isn't it? From Contact?
November 8, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Haha, that's Carl Sagan isn't it? From Contact?
One of my colleagues said he would like to stop, then start, our main front end web server, rather than just send it restart signals like we normally do. Two days later we're up to our eyeballs in Apache related chaos and it's still not 100%. The answer isn't always to turn if off and on again!
November 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
One of my colleagues said he would like to stop, then start, our main front end web server, rather than just send it restart signals like we normally do. Two days later we're up to our eyeballs in Apache related chaos and it's still not 100%. The answer isn't always to turn if off and on again!
TO9+? Oh, I wish. But the TO8D is a great machine too ...
November 2, 2025 at 9:28 PM
TO9+? Oh, I wish. But the TO8D is a great machine too ...
Hence my CP400II motherboard currently lives in the original's case. They were designed by award winning Italian industrial designer Luciano Deviá who was possibly presuming that no one in Brazil was likely to see the Timex 2068 that might, err, have inspired his design.
November 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Hence my CP400II motherboard currently lives in the original's case. They were designed by award winning Italian industrial designer Luciano Deviá who was possibly presuming that no one in Brazil was likely to see the Timex 2068 that might, err, have inspired his design.
I was about to suggest the same. I'd stick a scope across A, B and Y (11,20,28) and see what you're getting. If this were me, I'd get a second, working, Dragon and work my way along the schematic and see at what point the two Dragons differ. Very happy to lend you a Dragon after RCF in Cambridge!
October 30, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I was about to suggest the same. I'd stick a scope across A, B and Y (11,20,28) and see what you're getting. If this were me, I'd get a second, working, Dragon and work my way along the schematic and see at what point the two Dragons differ. Very happy to lend you a Dragon after RCF in Cambridge!
Remind me - what's up with it again?
October 30, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Remind me - what's up with it again?
Definitely very yellowed! Although luckily, since then, I've been fortunate to get a more original one.
October 29, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Definitely very yellowed! Although luckily, since then, I've been fortunate to get a more original one.