Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sharp PC-G850 Serial over WiFi Module

YAEP (Yet Another ESP Powered Project): An ESP8266-12 powered WiFi module for the Sharp Pocket Computer via the 11-pin connector connects wireless to PCs for transfer of programs and data. The ESP8266 connects to your home WiFi or acts as an AP for initial configuration. The Serial port of the G850 becomes accessible via TCP on port 23. You can use telnet or netcat (nc) for simple direct transfers to/from the PC or use socat to create a virtual com port. The module supports 9600baud and shortens CTS/RTS and pulls these signals up to +5V, so you need to use XON for flow control. Please note: The G850 uses inverted serial protocol logic levels (i.e. logical “high” is represented by a “low” (0V) TTL level, logical “low” is represented by a 5V TTL level. The ESP8266 uses the SoftSerial library on GPIO 4 and 5, which supports inverted logic levelsRaw TCP is implemented without encryption on port 23. You can connect via telnet to receive or send data or programs but everyone on the same network can read the transferred data in clear textThe module does only support serial port communication (i.e. it does not emulate the CE-126 synchronous communication for print and cassette tape commands)In the TEXT/Sio/Format menu enable 9600 baud, 8N1 and no flow-control. End-of-file “1A” allows the G850 to stop listening when receiving a file. You can still send files without the end-marker, but need to interrupt the “load” command by pressing “ON/BREAK”. The received text will be in the editor. Sleep…

Read More »

Vertical Pinball Machine

Vertical Pinball Machine Parts: Windows 10Pinball FX3 (Steam)34” QHD Ultra Wide 1440p Monitor (Samsung LS34J550WQUXEN)7”Screen Display 1024*600 LCD MonitorRadeon RX590Dell Optiplex 3020 (8GB RAM, 3.2GHz i5-4570Inductive Plunger (allows trick shots)2x45W Stereo, 68W SubwooferOak case ArchitectureThe vertical Pinball machine was build on a Windows 10, Optiplex 3020 (i5) with 8GB RAM and a 16GB Radeon RX 590 (8 GB GDDR5). The Dell Optiplex shows a BIOS error when the front cover is not connected (and I threw it away before realizing I should have kept the cable). So I added an additional Arduino that emulates a keyboard and sends an “F2” keystroke 5 seconds after power-up. I am particular proud of the inductive plunger, which allows skill shots without use of a linear potentiometer (no wear!). You can Google “Arduino Inductance LM339” and will find good description of how to do it. Schematics and board can be found in the resource section. One problem remains unsolved: I need an external keyboard to shutdown windows. I did not want to mess with any software that maps keystrokes, so at the end of the gaming night, I pull out a little wireless keyboard and shutdown Windows. No enough of an inconvenience to warrant drilling another hole in the cabinet. CabinetI ordered a kitchen worktop (2m x 0.9m x 2cm), cut it into 12cm wide boards of 2cm thicknes and various lengths, halved the thickness to about 8mm (thereby doubling the number of boards), glued the boards together to form 8mm thick sheets and cut the sides of the…

Read More »