Retro Thing

Super 8 Projector Kit: Now Shipping Worldwide

Gakken's new 8mm movie projector kit [first mentioned in March] is now available for export from Retro Enterprises in Tokyo. The unit costs € 79.99 ($125) including worldwide shipping, English instructions, an empty take-up reel and bonus splicing tape.

It will project Super 8, Single-8 and Regular 8mm film and runs on three AA batteries. Best of all, this thing is extremely small -- it measures a mere 21.5 cm high and weighs a only 190 g. Don't expect a huge image or perfect quality from this kit - it's hand cranked with a white LED light source, after all. That said, it looks perfect for art installations and crazy steampunk modding. 

The staff at Retro Enterprises speaks English and German and has many years of experience with small format film. They're also home to the only independent Single-8 processing lab in the world and stock dozens of beautiful Single-8 and Super 8 cameras and supplies.

Gakken Hand-cranked portable projector [Retro Enterprises]

Retroputing: Build A Classic RCA COSMAC ELF System

The original RCA COSMAC ELF appeared on the front cover of the August 1976 issue of Popular Electronics. It was a complete computer based on the RCA 1802 CPU and cost under $100 to build from a bare board. Another $20 would get you a B&W video display. Outstanding value, and these things lingered in the classified section of magazines like BYTE throughout the early 1980s. Spare Time Gizmos has recreated the machine, and even offers discrete logic replacements for some parts that might be hard to find. The price for a partial kit is around $100, but be warned that you'll have to key in programs using 12 switches on the front panel.

The secret to the ELF's success was its incredibly low price. It was sold through detailed display ads, catering to budget computing enthusiasts who wanted to try their hands at programming but couldn't afford something more advanced. The base unit featured a two digit 7-segment LED display and a mere 256 bytes of program memory.

By early 1979, Netronics Research and Development was offering an assembled ELF II with built-in B&W video and hexadecimal keypad for $99.95. Accessories included a $39.95 "Giant Board" with cassette I/O and various serial and parallel connectors. 4K of static RAM cost $89.95 and an ASCII keyboard was another $64.95. With a bit of forethought, it was possible to build a respectable system over the course of a few months without breaking the bank.

The 1802 processor is still manufactured by Intersil, leading Spare Time Gizmos to release an updated design as the Cosmac ELF 2000. The new machine includes 32K RAM and an optional 32K EPROM containing utilities and BASIC, FORTH and CHIP-8 languages. There's a six-digit LED display. It also supports the original video chip (no longer in production) and there are fully decoded I/O ports. A bare board costs a mere $20 and a partial kit full of the most important components can be yours for a very reasonable $100. Should you wish to add 80 column video, flash program storage or extended I/O, that's possible too.

Check out the Spare Time Gizmos COSMAC ELF 2000
The history of the COSMAC ELF

Presto Magix - Cartooning For The Artistically Declined

I've got to be a little suspicious of a plaything that never seemed to appear in any toy store in my neighborhood.  Presto Magix kits showed up in card stores, hospital gift boutiques, and where I grew up; the butcher shop.  Instead of theorizing about some cruel arts & crafts cartel, let's examine the friction based world of Presto Magix.

If you're a model builder, or perhaps worked in the publishing world P.M. (pre-Macintosh), you probably remember dry transfer decals.  These thin decals don't require water or solvents.  You simply position the carrier sheet, rub down on the decal with a pencil which transfers the decal to your model or rock zine headline.  Each Presto Magix kit includes a sheet of full color character decals, and a cardstock backdrop to use as a canvas to create your own fantasy scenes.

Presto Magix licensed all manner of movie characters, cartoon personalities, sports teams, etc. so that you and your trusty pencil can create custom cartoon panoramas without really knowing how to draw.  The best part is that once finished, there are usually plenty of transfers left over that you can use to populate your notebooks and folders.  The decals are fragile, so even a tough-as-nails squad of Star Wars stormtroopers can be beheaded with one careless swipe of an eraser.

Presto Magix are fun, but I hope that this isn't another plaything that barely passes as "creative".  Granted you get to use some aesthetic sense when placing the little decal people, but all you're really doing is burnishing the little guys into place.  We've written about a lot of DIY projects before here at Retro Thing, with varying degrees of creative value.  Even with paint-by-numbers projects, you do perform the act of painting, and there are opportunities for individuality.

Maybe I'm expecting a little too much from these little project kits.  My fear is that as the label "educational" is applied to more and more inane things, fun and cheap Presto Magix kits could start putting on airs.  I just like to think of them as probably the most fun thing that I ever found at a plumbing supply house.

Paint by Numbers kits
DIY Mona Lisa... sort of
Art-O-Mat - art dispensed by vending machine
Fine art with Crayolas

Build Your Own Sinclair ZX81... To Satisfy Your Lust For Power?!

The Sinclair ZX80 set the computing world on fire as the first computer available for under £100 ($200 in the USA). You could buy a kit version for a mere £79.95 including postage. Best of all, it was built using more-or-less off the shelf parts, so reproducing one almost 30 years later is a relatively straightforward task.

For those who didn't experience the wonder of Sinclair's debut machine the first time around, the cheesy-looking ZX80 featured a membrane keyboard that would look more at home on a bank machine or microwave oven, and the screen flickered while running a program. To add insult to injury, the measly 1K memory (a mere 1024 bytes) was shared by the program, video display and variable stack. It didn't matter. The breakthrough price ensured that tens of thousands were sold before the little machine was replaced by the million-selling ZX81 in 1981.

Now -- a few dozen laps around the sun later -- Grant Searle has cobbled together instructions for building your own ZX80/ZX81 reproduction. You'll need a total of 22 ICs plus a sprinkling of other components. He even provides a couple of membrane keyboard overlays to help you build your own Sinclair membrane keyboard.

Grant gets 10 out of 10 stars for an ingenious project, although I can't imagine more than about three deranged souls opting to go through the trouble of building their own Sinclair in this day and age, especially when any true fanatic can pick one up on eBay for almost nothing.

How to build your own ZX80/ZX81

Minimig: Build Your Own Amiga 500 Clone

The Amiga 500, released in 1987, was Commodore's most successful Amiga model, thanks to its all-in-one good looks and reasonable $595.95 price tag. Dutch electrical engineer Dennis van Weeren never forgot his Amiga 500 and launched an ambitious project to build an FPGA-based version of the machine in early 2005.

The end result was the Minimig, a 12cm x 12cm board based on a modern 3.3V version of the Motorola 68000 processor. The Amiga's custom chipset was implemented in a Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA chip, and the board includes 2MB of RAM and an MMC flash memory card connector for program storage. van Weeren thoughtfully included a standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors, along with a 9-pin joystick port.

It's amazing that someone managed to successfully recreate a machine as complicated as the Amiga. There are a few little glitches that still need to be worked out (some sprite bugs and a few file system limitations), but basically everything works as you'd expect.

The Minimig board design and software has been released under the GNU General Public License, so anyone with fairly decent soldering skills can build their own Amiga clone.To get the system running, you'll need an  image of the original Amiga Kickstart ROM loaded into a memory card, along with a copy of the Workbench. Now just sit back, plug in your favorite Commodore-compatible joystick and enjoy a game of Lemmings (which was the first game to successfully run on the machine).

If you're not up to soldering together your own motherboard, Acube Systems Srl in Italy offers a fully assembled board with 1GB SD flash card for €138 plus shipping. One thing you should be aware of is that van Weeren's design includes ports on several sides, making it challenging to house. Luckily, Swedish enthusiast Illuwatar stepped in to produce a version in a standard Mini-ITX form factor, allowing you to house your little Amiga clone in a standard PC case.

Minimig - An Amiga in an FPGA

DIY: Build A 'MAME Brain' For Under $150

MAME is an arcade game emulator that is frequently used to build multi-game home arcade cabinets. It simulates popular arcade system harware from the 1980s and 1990s, right down to the graphic display engines and sound systems.

Many enthusiasts have built MAME cabinets around old PC motherboards, but here's our guide to building your own Linux or Windows based 'MAME Brain' for less than $150. This tiny system includes an Intel Mini-ITX (6.75" x 6.75") motherboard with built-in processor, a 4 GB solid state drive, and a programmable arcade controller interface that allows you to connect real arcade buttons and joysticks for an authentic gaming experience.

DIY: Low Cost Gakken Tube Amplifier Kit

Japanese kit builder Gakken sells a stunningly affordable Vacuum Tube Amplifier kit. It retails for about $125, including a set of four surplus Chinese vacuum tubes (2 x 2P3 and 2 x 1B2). The kit comes with a pre-built circuit board, so no soldering is required. All you have to do is screw the various parts together, plug in the vacuum tubes and enjoy your new toy. The kit even includes a pin straightener to ensure you don't accidentally bend a pin while inserting a tube.

I suspect that the audio output is extremely low, since the unit is powered by a couple of D-Cell batteries. My first mod would be the addition of a power jack on the back panel for a regulated 3V wall wart. My second "mod" would be to substitute some slightly higher quality speakers. The plastic horns included with the kit look really cool, but I doubt they sound anything but awful. Also, you should be warned that the instructions are in Japanese only, but there are lots of detailed pictures for illiterate westerners like me.

Purchasing one of these could be a bit of a problem for those of us in North America. Engadget featured it this morning with a link to a Korean online retailer, but the product page isn't in English. The same goes for the official Japanese Gakken site. Luckily, there seem to be a a few of these on eBay at very reasonable prices.

Lots of assembly photos at funshop.co.kr [via Engadget]
Get your own Gakken tube amp kit for $123
More Gakken kits on eBay

DIY: Otokibako Electronic Music Box

Trust the Japanese to combine the old-school mechanical charm of a player piano with modern electronics. Elekit's Otokibako is a hand-cranked electronic music box that plays melodies from paper rolls using optical sensors to detect the black "notes." It offers a 3 octave range with 8 different playback tones and 15 pre-installed melodies. The wooden case just screams "paint me up!" and the experimental possibilities seem mind boggling. I might finally have found a good use for the waxy paper found in public washrooms.

I found the Otokibako while surfing the Elekit site, which is packed with beautiful vacuum tube amplifier kits, humanoid robots and all manner of odd electronic gadgetry. The English version of their site seems woefully incomplete, but you can always try you luck with a Google translation of their Japanese pages.

 Otokibako electronic music kit

PAiA: Affordable DIY Synthesizers

Somehow I've forgotten to mention the wonderful DIY devices from PAiA Corporation. Company founder John Simonton is often credited with creating the world's first programmable drum machine - the PAiA Programmable Drum Set. Its distinctive analog sound underpinned Peter Gabriel's Games Without Frontiers and Biko, among countless others. Although Simonton passed away several years ago, the company is still going strong.

The PAiA Fatman analog monosynth continues PAiA's long tradition of bringing affordable analog synthesis to the masses. This kit-based instrument is offered in rack-mount or table top versions for under $250. Over the years, it has earned the honor of becoming the world’s most modded synth, with dozens of useful tweaks available online for intrepid builders, including VCO hard sync and a subharmonic generator. Build one and you'll quickly discover that nothing beats a front panel filled with knobs. Don't despair if you're not the DIY type - they frequently appear on eBay.

Way back in the mid-1970s, PAiA offered a series of monstrous analog modular synthesizer kits at then-unheard of prices. The modern descendant of these ancient beasts is the 9700 analog modular system. Unlike the massive and temperamental instruments of decades past, the 9700 combines multiple sound elements into each module. The result is a surprisingly compact and affordable system starting at under $600.

Explore the PAiA product catalog

DIY: Almost Affordable Nixie Clocks

Before the world was flooded with cheap LED and LCD panels, there were Nixies -- neon-filled glass tubes. They usually contain ten cathodes in the shape of the numbers 0 through 9, and a wire mesh anode. When electricity is passed between one of the cathodes and the anode, the corresponding number shines with an endearing orangey-red glow. I think the only Nixies I've ever used in real life were on an ancient spectrum analyzer, which adds to the mystique for me.

There have been a number of Nixie clock projects in recent years, but most of them cost around $500 -- too much for most casual enthusiasts. Conveniently, Ramsey Electronics has stepped up to the plate with a pair of $170 clock kits. The wooden version features six IN14 Nixie tubes on a teak and maple base, while the aluminum model offers a half dozen IN12 tubes for a more modern look. If your electronics chops are a bit rusty, you can purchase either model factory assembled for an extra $40.

I find it amusing that both designs incorporate a low-cost PIC microcontroller as their brains, making these timepieces a wonderful example of vintage and modern technologies that complement each other perfectly.

Classic Nixie Tube Clocks [via The Red Ferret Journal]

DIY: Turn Your Oscilloscope Into An Old-School Terminal

Jan de Rie introduced his $24.95 Dutchtronix AVR Oscilloscope Clock kit almost a year ago. Now he's back with the AVR Scope terminal, an open source software upgrade that turns his clock into a seriously retro 20 x 12 display driver. It's a great way to repurpose your test bench oscilloscope to display serial information from your latest microcontroller-controlled widget or vintage computer project.

This project is a brilliant reminder of the early days of computing, when the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-1 was programmed to play futuristic games like Spacewar on an oscilloscope display. Of course, vector display technology was eventually surpassed by less expensive raster displays (similar to those used in old-school TVs, where the screen is scanned line by line) built into dumb terminals.

Jan tells us, "The code is currently targeted for the Dutchtronix AVR Oscilloscope Clock hardware but could be easily ported to an alternate platform consisting of an AVR and some form of a DAC. The Scope Terminal displays 12 lines of 20 characters each. There is also a line showing the current time (it's a clock hardware after all). Configuration is possible using a "Command Mode" where you can use a terminal (usually a PC) to set options (currently Time Change and baud rate change are supported). This alternate application can be downloaded to the AVR Oscilloscope Clock using the built-in bootloader; no AVR programmer required."

Dutchtronix AVR Oscilloscope Terminal

HE-RObot: The Next Generation of Heathkit HERO Robots

Heathkit is back with a brand new personal robot platform dubbed the HE-RObot. Technology has advanced considerably since the original HERO line was offered in the 1980s, so this blue beast features a Core 2 Duo processor as its soul, along with Windows XP Pro to enable its robotic delusions of grandeur.

Heathkit released four different programmable models in the 1980s, and they proved quite popular with hobbyists and educators. Just imagine R2D2 crossed with a mid-1980s Epson dot-matrix printer and you'll have a fairly good idea what they looked like. HERO Jr. (right) included a 32K ROM of "behavioral utilities" to control sensors, movement and even speech.

The modern HE-RObot is a rebadged version of the Model 914 PC-Bot by Canadian manufacturer White Box Robotics. It features multiple IR sensors (5 in the bumper and 3 in the drive bay), a Logitech webcam, CD/CD-RW drive, speakers, precision stepper motors, a 12 V battery pack and four LED headlights. It's capable of manual or autonomous navigation. The robot's software is based around an extended version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, which ensures that many programmers will be able to code for the platform "out of the box." Hopefully, there will be a slightly less demanding control app developed for non-programmers.

Until now, the most advanced robots available to many of us in the 21st century have been Roombas - glorified electric floor mops. I long for my own C-3PO to manage the household or a phalanx of battle droids to pillage backwards solar systems, and I'm hoping that the HE-RObot will be the gateway to my dastardly plan for galactic domination.

HE-RObot will be available in early 2008, and I'm guessing it'll cost around the same as the Model 914 PC-Bot, which starts at $5595.

The HE-RObot at Heathkit Educational Systems

The Model 914 PC-Bot at White Box Robotics

Guitar Week: General Guitar Gadgets Replica Pedal Kits

General Guitar Gadgets bills itself as "the best DIY stompbox site on the internet," and it's definitely one of the most interesting. The company is based near Raleigh, North Carolina and offers a stunning array of kits, blank circuit boards and projects at great prices.

The wonder of building your own effects is that you're likely to save a lot of money while learning a lot about the design and construction of these relatively straight-forward electronic devices. Besides, it's ten times easier to repair gear that you've built with your own two hands.

The easiest way to get started is by purchasing a complete effects pedal kit. These range from $38 to $65 and include a pre-drilled case, PC board, components, knobs, 1/4" phone jacks, rubber feet and even solder. All you have to do is construct the kit and paint the case. It seems that most designs are replicas of classic analog pedals, including the MXR Phase 100, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi and Tycobrahe Octavia. Don't underestimate the fun to be had building and playing your very own collection of vintage pedals.

If you already have a respectable stash of electronic components, it definitely makes sense to check out the company's range of bare PC boards and more complicated projects, which start at under $10.

General Guitar Gadgets: DIY effects and projects

Guitar Week: Build Your Own Firefly Tube Guitar Amp

It's all fine and good owning a classic Strat, but don't forget that vintage instruments deserve to spend at least part of their life being played through real vacuum tube gear. The Firefly is one of the smallest guitar amp kits created by the AX84.com cooperative. It's a three tube design built around a pair of 12AX7 tubes and a single 12AU7.

This tiny device puts out around 1W - perfect for use as a warm practice amp or for oddball recording sessions. There are no tone controls, but there's a quite promising variable "boost" circuit to muck things up a bit. A double sided & silkscreened Firefly Revision 5 PCB costs $19, although the rest of parts will set you back another $150 or so.

By far the coolest thing about this circuit is that it has been released as "open hardware," so you can tweak the design or produce your own PC boards if you wish. John Calhoun has done a great job with his "Firefly PCB Guide," which includes lots of photos of the build process, along with a pattern to help you cut and bend an aluminum enclosure.

Order a Firefly PCB
Take a look at the Firefly PCB Guide [pdf]
Explore AX84, the Cooperative Tube Guitar Amp Project

Uranium By Mail Order!

United Nuclear sells a wide range of unusual and difficult to find scientific stuff, including a 13.8 lb meteorite (above), uranium, x-ray tubes, 600,000 Volt Van de Graaff Generators and other irresistible mad scientist gear. Looking for a great conversation piece that won't set off any Geiger counters? Their $15 'Hydrogen Bomb" t-shirts proudly display a complete & accurate schematic of a Thermonuclear Bomb on the front.

The neatest historical stuff they sell is Trinitite, the name given to the desert sand melted into glass by the heat from the first Atomic bomb:

"Early in the morning on July 16th, 1945, the first Atomic Bomb was detonated at the Trinity test site in the New Mexico desert. The nuclear explosion produced a blast equivalent of 18,000 tons of TNT and a ½ mile diameter fireball - with a temperature over 10 million degrees Fahrenheit, far hotter than the surface of the Sun. The intense heat melted the New Mexico desert sand into a light green, glass-like substance which was later named "Trinitite".

The resulting crater lined with Trinitite was buried for security reasons not long after the explosion. As a result, authentic samples of Trinitite are quite rare and very difficult to obtain. A few drums of Trinitite was saved from the burial... and this is that material. Once it is gone, there will never be any more. As supplies diminish, expect Trinitite prices to skyrocket."

Everything United Nuclear sells is legal to purchase in the USA, although I wouldn't try shipping a box of radioactive ore across international borders.

United Nuclear Scientific Equipment & Supplies