Richard Cini wrote:
> Lee -- I know decidedly unvintage, but you can use an ATMEGA88 as a composite
> color video chip...

Of course I can. *Any* modern micro can generate video. For that matter,
there are many little boards I can buy that do it all for me. Nothing to
design, no software to write. But what's the fun in that? :-)

I guess it's like doing a jigsaw puzzle. You could just buy the finished
picture; no assembly required. But the fun is in the assembly.

And for me, the fun is in the design. Not the modern "beat every problem
to death with a sledgehammer" approach, but rather the Dr. Dobbs
"running light without overbyte" philosophy.

So, I set a hard goal for myself, and then see if I can achieve it. How
simple can it be and still do the job?

For inspiration, I look back on things like the Heathkit H19 terminal
(1979), Sinclair ZX80 (1980), and Voja Antonic's Galaksija computers
(1982). They all used a Z80 with minimal vintage hardware to produce a
terminal with keyboard and video. There are also Don Lancaster's "cheap
video" tricks, which mostly centered on the 6502.

I have several designs that *almost* fit on an Altoids size card. But
none have quite given me that "aha" moment yet.

Lee Hart
--
"We do these things not because they are easy; but because they are
hard." -- President Jack Kennedy, on the Apollo moon mission
? --
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377,