James Holden – Leeds, UK

5 January 2024

3D Printed Darkroom Printing Tongs

I needed a set of darkroom print tongs, so I modelled some and 3D printed them. They’ve vaguely inspired by the ones available from a popular brand, and seem to work quite nicely. If you want to print your own, you can download the STL.

Photography

8 March 2023

A “night mode” volume switch for the BBC Master

BBC Micros are great, but the volume level was clearly intended to compete with a classroom full of noisy children. When playing games at night, the sound output is far too loud. It’s possible to wire in a volume control, but that would require breaking into the audio circuitry to intercept the signal before the output amplifier IC. I didn’t...

Acorn

7 February 2023

Modelling Solar PV Output

At the start of November 2022 I had 4.455kWp of solar PV installed, with 11.8kWh of battery storage. The inverter and battery are a Solax X1 Hybrid G4 3.7kWh and two Solax Triple Power 5.8kWh batteries. The app gives you some nice graphs of your usage, in particular the solar PV output. On a sunny day there’s a definite shape...

Renewables

26 January 2023

A Cheap RGB SCART to HDMI Scaler

Having been burned by a couple of the cheaper SCART to HDMI converters that only convert composite video, I was cautiously pleased to find this model for only £26 on Amazon that seemed to support RGB, which offers much better image quality. I’d been looking for an RGB SCART adapter for some time because, although the kitchen TV supports the...

Retro Computing

19 January 2023

BBC Micro/Master Serial Cable

Interfacing a beeb to a PC is sometimes useful if you want to transfer data between the two systems. The BBC has an RS423 serial port on the rear of the case, but with an unusual 5-pin “domino” layout DIN plug. This carries the following signals: These are electrically compatible with the RS232 port on a PC. However, the suggested...

Acorn

28 May 2020

A circular walk from Churwell to New Farnley

This is an enjoyable and varied circular walk from Churwell, taking in Gildersome, Nan Whins Wood, and New Farnley. You could, of course, join the walk anywhere on the route and return to your starting point. From the Ibbetsons, follow the ginnel to Rooms Lane and cross the motorway bridge. Bear right down the tree-covered section and emerge on Gelderd...

Walking