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(I think it's about time) to do some . . .
⚡ In(tro)ductivity ⚡
Three Encounters of Electrifying Kind, or, Please Allow me to Introduce Myself Although I have no Wealth nor Fame.
1st encounter: As a kid, a few years old, I already constructed my first radio, not a real working apparatus but one made of an old shoebox and some empty wooden thread spools that my mother had dyed in bright colours for me.
2nd encounter: Around the age of six, Saint Nicholas gave me an electric toy train with a 4,5V battery control box, it soon got upgraded with a transformer of the same size as a flat battery, it fitted snug in the controller.
In those days we had 110V AC mains voltage, then 220V AC came around the corner.
Street by street all household electrical appliances (including lightbulbs, thingomagics, whojemabobs, whatsjemacallits and loads of whattefers) were upgraded with 220V parts (free of charge (FL.0,00), or is that a false memory ?!).
Vacuum cleaners got newly wound electric motors, radios were given a new transformer, new heating elements were built into old flatirons, etc., most of this was returned within an hour or a day or two (mobile workshops also came around the corners of our streets).
However might been it, in my train control a larger transformer did not fit, therefore the power plug was replaced by a transformer 2 to 1 (probably the first wall warts I've seen).
Nowadays many plugs have legs that are partially insulated, not then (those were bare leg sxi days) !
Now there's a reason for this insulation I like to tell about, wall sockets were (for reasons of safety) placed on a level to high up for toddlers kids and most other critters.
Not me ! When standing on my toe tips I could reach just high enough to put the plug in the socket. One day, trying to plug in the somewhat heavier wall wart, I nearly dropped it, as I tried to catch it in a reflex (pins were already halfway in the socket) my fingers slipped between the two pins and I received a nasty shock of fresh new current (220V AC), óh boy, what a reflex that caused ! At first it scared the hell out of me, later on I became more curious, what vicious invisible monster could have bitten me like that ?
This event literally sparked my inquisitiveness towards electricity, later rewarded by the same Ol' Nick o' the Train. This time he gave me a Philips EE kit (he probably had a good connection with the same factory where my father was employed).
On a holiday in a rural area I surprised the farmer where we were guests with a two transistor radio, built by myself out of wires, springs and real electronic parts on a peace of perforated hardboard (an OA91 was worth a pocket full of pocket money, as I recal). I asked the simple soul if I could use the clothesline for an antenna, he said with a tone of disbelieve in his voice "All right kid", I placed my electickery on his workbench in the shed a peace of old wire went out the stable window to the iron clothesline, switch on, and there was Hocus Pocus Hilversum, in surprise his chin fell next to my radio on the workbench !
3rd encounter: All good comes in three they say. But was my first encounter with an Acorn Atom when I visited a friend and heard him grumble about his Atom's poor performance.
I was in my early twenties and by then I already had some experience with programming on a Sinclair ZX81 (I'll never forget those soft chewing gum "multifunction" keys).
After interrogating my friend about the trouble he experienced and getting his approval to try my diagnostic talents on the problem, I started by learning basic-, assembler- and machine-code language on his Atom.
A few visits later I was able to fumble a program out of the keyboard, of which I later learned that such software was known as TSR (Terminate Stay Resident), this program monitored what the µp was executing and poked a small list of the most important recent events (data and addresses) in a vacant part of memory, overwriting it time and again (memory was scarce).
I programmed my friend to refrain from all activities regarding the Atom as soon as the annoying error occurred again, but leave the power on please !
By peeking the poked memory I diagnosed the cause was data in the floating point ROM changing over time !
Because ROM is not supposed to behave like that, we went to the shop where he had purchased it (Stuut & Bruin, óh how sad I am, my foster home is gone). None of he shop assistants believed what I was telling them, "Hé, over here, come and listen to this" and "You can't ram data into ROM, it doesn't change !" they said laughingly, a nitwit newcomer as I was to them.
But I challenged them to prove this by putting the Atom on the torture rack (read test/workbench), and we all saw it happen !
What was the case here ? As the Atom was switched on, the ROM was at room temperature (all sound and well), but after intensive use the temperature rose causing some bits to topple, with unwanted random results.
We received a ROM replacement for free, the problem never occurred again, my friend was happy and I became a Six Five O Two addict and a regular customer at Jos de Bruin's store with privilege of 10% off and freedom to roam the whole store unattended, I just had to make a list of items I was trying to steel on a little paper bag and then they'd pick a price out of thin air.
Later on I started studying industrial electronics more seriously, for insiders I say VEV MIE, MTS and Anthony Fokker HTS (Binkhorst), I became a freelance electronics engineer, working as a roadie and technician for different bands in the 's-Gravenhaagsche and Voorburgsche pop scene and for several recording studios all over the country, repairing and building all kind of equipment (sometimes tailor made according to my own design), I also tinkered a bit in mathematics when I was thirtyish (Open University).
I was filling the jobless time gaps between those activities as a freelance motor courier for international military and ministry staff, oil company or bank, had to take care of travel tickets, visa, transport of contracts and other securities, visiting embassies and the real rich, along the way discovering that money, travelling around the world and meeting other VIP's not necessarily makes one happy, "Is Mr. Soandso home, I have the pocket money for his weekend in Casino Zandvoort, beware it is a lot, watch out, the envelope is almost tearing!", etcetera.
In summer doing my work on my private motorbike a big black BMW R60/6 (same model as the police used, which fact saved me from many fines), in winter in a company car, a hitch-hiker on the passenger seat, under his butt an envelope (if he'd only knew what he was keeping warm), after they got to know me, gates of military sites were opened remotely for me as soon as I appeared above the horizon, no GSM trace-tracking boss, no one knew my whereabouts, doing 160 klicks on the motorway, as soon as job was done and customers were happy, lying in the sun on the grass beside a river, FREEDOM !
At some point the "Randstad" became more of a ghetto than I considered healthy, I grabbed my chance and emigrated to the "dark inlands of Drenthe". But on a stay at the same Atom owner's house in "Het Haagje", he asked for my assistance on a similar error as before with the Atom but this time in a brand new state of the art 486 PC.
The Sysop at his employer's office (PTT Neherlab, the PC was meant to be used for working at home), could not find the cause of trouble.
After intensive extensive research (diagnostic software downloaded from the sysop's server brought no result), I discovered an SMT resistor on the loose, hiding between the contacts of a DRAM connector (I never discovered where it originated). The only way I could see the darn thing was by aid of a small flash-light with my head halfway inside the open PC casing (don't worry, I took antistatic precautions).
The method I applied to remove the resisting resistor was a well dosed slap with the flat of my hand on the bottom of the upside-down turned machine (I never told my friend). I caught the bug(ger) (not my friend, the resistor) with a strip of Cellotape®, nailed it on a piece of white card, wrote "To Sysop, with compliments" on the card and handed it over to my friend (don't know what became of it, did he really dared to deliver it ?), meanwhile, problem solved !
As time went by I had less of it for the Atom, but now I am re-tired (opnieuw van banden voorzien ?) I have tightened my ties with the ghost of Acorn. Trying to create a new Atom before I die (doesn't that sound a bit like a worn-out god ?).
Anyway, this story tells more about me than I meant when I started to write it, nevertheless . . . not making this endless, hope it made sense and stop making sense.
The End (of the ⚡ In(tro)ductivity ⚡).
I know, I know, I'm lazy, I just copied my introduction from an other Forum and pasted it here (but still, it's about me).
_________________ Gr  tings, Louis May your wires be long and your nerves be strong !
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