Reminds me of highschool math. At some point you needed a graphical calculator, you could upload programs onto them but that required hooking them up to a computer with a crazy expensive data cable. So I found a schematic, ordered the components for a fraction of that price and learned to solder. It looked ugly AF, but it worked. Next step I wrote a program containing the formula’s I needed, uploaded it and installed a program which hid your program menu until you pressed a certain key combination. It could even simulate a hard reset, as you could get spot-checked and asked to do just that.
I could also have just memorised the formula’s, but that wouldn’t have been fun. And unlike all those formula’s I still use my soldering and programming skills. 😋
Well, it did help that they used a simple serial connection back then and didn’t require any advanced electronics. Just a bunch of resistors and basic stuff like that, all relatively large components that are easy to solder with what I had back then. I’m not sure how easy it would be these days with USB.
Reminds me of highschool math. At some point you needed a graphical calculator, you could upload programs onto them but that required hooking them up to a computer with a crazy expensive data cable. So I found a schematic, ordered the components for a fraction of that price and learned to solder. It looked ugly AF, but it worked. Next step I wrote a program containing the formula’s I needed, uploaded it and installed a program which hid your program menu until you pressed a certain key combination. It could even simulate a hard reset, as you could get spot-checked and asked to do just that.
I could also have just memorised the formula’s, but that wouldn’t have been fun. And unlike all those formula’s I still use my soldering and programming skills. 😋
Respect dude. Those cables are stupidly expensive (to match the calculators I guess), I just bit the bullet on mine
Well, it did help that they used a simple serial connection back then and didn’t require any advanced electronics. Just a bunch of resistors and basic stuff like that, all relatively large components that are easy to solder with what I had back then. I’m not sure how easy it would be these days with USB.
USB is actually really easy too. It’s only four wires.
Understandable soldering bollocks