elb on Technology

I unbox and assemble an MNT Pocket Reform mini laptop from MNT Research (mnt.re), and give some impressions of the build quality and process. This build is the RK3588 model, with a kit from July/August of 2025. Before people come at me; I ment...

A PDP-11 paper tape containing a BASIC program is read through a Decitek portable high speed paper tape reader.

Booting a PDP-11/34A to Unix V6 from an RL01 disk, then some minimal interaction on a VT-100 terminal. In 2019 I had a PDP-11/34A, RL01 disk drive, and VT-100 terminal in my office at work. A student and I managed to get Unix V6 booting on it....

A Transistor Specialties frequency counter from about 1960 running its internal self test. It contains a 1 MHz ovenized oscillator, and provides a number of features, from frequency counting to period timing to interval counting.

A quick video of a homebrew opto-isolated RS-232 to 20 mA current loop adapter in operation. The serial protocol analyzer sends a string of U*, waits a few ms, sends CRLF, then waits a few ms, and repeats. This is because U and *, with 7-bit e...

This is a Teletype Model 35 ASR, an ASCII Teletype machine running at 110 baud, printing The Quick Brown Fox from a paper tape. The model 35 is a rugged ASCII machine built on the same principles as the Model 28, but having functionality compar...

A quick demo of connecting a TI Silent 700 printing terminal to an IBM 5150 via modem connection through a homebrew line simulator. The lighting, audio, and camera work are all awful because I used my phone; pardon the quality and enjoy the demo!