 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Remote Control MM and flashing cursor.
| Author | Message | ||||
donmck Guru  Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Two Subjects, one thread, save the internet from self destruction. :-) I couldn't help myself. In at JB-HiFi today, and I saw a new 19" OKANA brand LED TV (LED1900) for $99. VGA in, USB for firing up a movie, HDMI, Composite Video, Audio, Component Video, and to top if off, it has two sets of I/O. One lot on the back, and one on the left hand side. More specs: 1366 x 768 pixels, integrated digital TV with HD built in-tuner, Analog TV support, Pal-B/G Nicam. I actually got it as a CCTV monitor, but with the little Maximite, I had to give it a whirl.. First thing I noticed was that the screen was pointing down at a noticeable angle, enough to annoy me, and no apparent adjustment. So I snipped up a packer strip out of a DT201 SimmStick, disassembled the mounting bracket, and packed it to the angle I felt would suit me better. Pay peanuts get monkeys. OK, now we have it set up so that it suits me, let's plug in my Maximite to the USB for power, wack in the VGA cable, and a keyboard. Power it up with the remote control, and away we go. Maximite V2.4, run some programs, try and get better adjustment out of the set. Not great but workable. Then I went into a time warp, and realized that my TRS-80 monitor was a 12" B&W TV with a video mod I found in Electronics Australia. A simple switch intercept after the tuner, and I think an RCA connector, a cap, and one resistor. But it looked much the same the resolution I was getting years ago, so it painted the picture for me. But there was something funny. If you swallowed a clown by accident, would he taste funny? There was something different after 33 years. What was it? Sitting here watching it for a few minutes. Why does it look very different? Didn't I have a flashing cursor? It is sitting there rather dull. No flashing cursor. I almost rang Mick up to check. So I googled "TRS-80 Model I flashing cursor" and up it came. It was a driver you needed to load. I remember I put it into my DonMon Rom based program, so you never had to load it. It tells you the thing is alive, and not sleeping, which is rather re-assuring when you are sitting there at 03:00 trying to work out why your code doesn't run. On, off, on, off. I very much liked my old flashing cursor. Hey Geoff, can we have a flashing cursor. Pretty Please. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
||||
Nick Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 512 |
I'll second that Don. The computer looks alive and waiting with a flashing cursor. Either a solid block or flashing underline. Both look good. |
||||
| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Thanks Nick, added to wish list, #27 http://www.themaximitecomputer.com/wish-list-priority-level- poll/ I gave the choice of flash rate, and block or underline, so you set it up to suit yourself. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
||||
captainbill Newbie  Joined: 16/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 37 |
Howdy Y'all How about a roll your own cursor to go along with my roll your own prompt idea? An 8 bit val Which will define which horizontal lines will be part on the cursor. Changing this system variable could then be done in software. An editor could have different cursors for insert or overstrike, for example. Maybe even a blinking/steady cursor could be similarly controlled, with adjustable blink rate. Maybe variable colors when we get our color VGA ;-) Maybe a tic based interrupt cursor routine could give interesting results. Three bytes fit nicely in an exact integer in a 32 bit numeric variable. Or we could use a string variable. If Geoff wants to allow MMBasic on multiple platforms, how about making the program generic to load almost anywhere with almost any boot loader. It its very first run it could move itself into any flash location. Perhaps on that first run it could find a file of specific name on SD card with board specific info. If it finds no such file, it loads standard Maximite defaults. I have ideas. I'm not just another pretty face, your know. I haven't posted in a few days. I have been lurking in the background, watching. Seems to me we are moving in a good direction with MM. If MMBasic were to be hosted on the Diligent 100 pin board, we could control the whole world in Basic with all those pins. Cool! I have ideas. I'm not just another pretty face, your know. I haven't posted in a few days. I have been lurking in the background, watching. Seems to me we are moving in a good direction with MM. If MMBasic were to be hosted on the Diligent 100 pin board, we could control the whole world in Basic with all those pins. Cool! My three grown kids just can't understand why I get excited about a tiny computer like the one I had and outgrew before they were born. They are amazed that I just upgraded to an Adroid cell phone from my ancient, battle scarred flip phone. Been trying to get the courage to solder the 22mic Tantalum without breaking the board. S'long all Y'all Bill Old school. Still interested. Head in the clouds. |
||||
sparkey Senior Member  Joined: 15/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
dear domminick ...um ten bucks for a usb sd card adaptor suits about 11 different types of cards usb 3 complinant ...it works on my lexor 4gb card ...office works airport west ...thought i would ad that one oh an works on any scandisk cards as well..regards brian thanks.. technicians do it with least resistance |
||||
| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
G'day Cap'n Bill, You have old phones and grown up kids laughing at you? This is the back of my current one: 
Imagine what they say to me. Dad, I threw out one better than that 2 years ago. I was also thinking about this business of house keeping bytes, or flags. Much the same lines, but if we allocated reserved memory of say 128 or 256 bytes, and loaded them with a patch of our own settings. That is basically what you said. I knew your weren't just a pretty face. Solder the "Cap In Bill" (Cap'n Bill), after all, you can only break it and it's only money. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
||||
| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Thanks very much Brian. I go to Office Works, I never see you there, do I? :-) Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
||||
| captainbill Newbie Joined: 16/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 37 |
Howdy Don It's 3am down there, I think. Don't you ever sleep? Bill Old school. Still interested. Head in the clouds. |
||||
| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
G'day Cap'n Bill, I saw a sign on the side of the road the other day that said, 'Tiredness can kill.' I didn't know that. Last Sunday, I stayed up all night watching Formula I and Nascar Sprint Cup races. I could have died. I possibly sleep more than most. However the Internet has been my full time job for 12 years now. If I have a waking thought, rather than kick it around in my mind all night, I do something about it, scribble it down, send a message, whatever it takes, then go back to bed, and I have a sound sleep. The only real commitment is my hourly morning walk, at around 06:00 to 07:00. Doctor told me I was fat and ugly, and had to exercise. I have been walking for 12 years, and am still ugly. Matter of fact I am still fat. I am that fat, that I show up on radar at the local International airport when I go for that morning walk. Do I need a new doctor? Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
||||
 Print this page |
