evank

I'm home from Brickfair Baltimore. The two-day show went well. Extended play of my Simon game revealed a memory leak in my code, which I fixed with help from Gemini. Also, one of the touch sensors stopped springing back. Fortunately a colleague had convinced me to design a quick-release system for the sensors, considering that very possibility that one might crap out. I swapped in a fresh sensor (my last one!) and that problem was solved. The public reacted with overwhelming positive comments. Everyone knew how to play or they learned very quickly. I was afraid the old Radio Shack speaker might be too loud. I realized it was only too loud in the privacy of my home. It was difficult to hear in the crowded Lego convention! I should have acquired an amplifier. My next show is in suburban Philadelphia this fall. I'm going to try and have a different model ready, but I'll keep Simon assembled just in case. Perhaps next time I'll bring it with my laptop and two USB-C bridges instead of an Apple II, just rewriting the code for GWBASIC. Here's a not-so-good picture of my table this weekend. I took it Friday during setup hours. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_5K74axQqZABK2kXQcAzpDQY0GN9PKG-/view?usp=sharing

Excuse me, a byte.

Obviously I love all of the Interface A hacking that's been going on for the last couple of years. But I think it's going too far, if one's goal is to directly attach a small computer directly to Interface A. Just use Lego Mindstorms at that point! What's next, Bluetooth gadgets between the Interface A ports and the Lego peripherals? Why use Interface A at all, then? Connecting a modern laptop, or using a modern retro-style handheld like the Pocket 386, should be the end of our road ..... in my humble opinion. :) Don't engineer out all of the fun of Interface A! More often than not, at the Lego conventions I attend, people my age (GenX) ask: Cool Lego model, but what's with the old computer? "I'm glad you asked," I tell them.

I never figured out how do to that multi-quote thing, so I'm replying to all of this manually. 11 months goes fast .... Sometimes ideas just come to me, and sometimes I consciously try to conjure them. I bring a spare Apple II, one spare Interface A, and spares of all the little stuff -- power supplies, peripherals, axles, gears, wires -- anything that can and does break, in my experience. I also bring a toolbox with everything I'd possibly need to make Lego or quick computer repairs, like handle tools, wire strippers, electrical tape, a pocket multimeter, magnetic parts tray. Also USB chargers, power strip, and all sorts of miscellaneous things I've needed at Lego cons over the years. And most importantly, a bottle opener for after-hours! :) I'm convinced that BASIC is the best choice. LOGO is too simple sometimes, and how do I explain to a 10-year-old or otherwise non-technical visitors that I'm taking a bit from this stack and putting it in that register? OTOH, everyone can understand "X=3".

Welcome back @ryandesign. LOL I thought you hit-and-ran. Just curious where in the US you're located? Asking because there are several other Interface A fans that I know here, but most of them aren't on this forum.

It's been quiet in this thread. I am focused on getting ready for Brickfair this weekend. After the show, I have five Lego tasks: repair the punch card reader that got damaged in transit home from Brickworld in June, continue working on LEPSON, try connecting my borrowed MSX computer to Interface A, update my website (there is SO MUCH to add!), and get back to work on Blocky Kong.

Brickfair, normally around the DC area, is in Baltimore this year (this coming weekend) because the DC-area venue is under construction. I'm displaying my working Lego "Simon" game.

>> As I understand it, the BBC used its User Port, while the Apple II used a card installed in one of its expansion slots. @Diego that's correct. I assume there are one or more C64 emulators; that computer also goes through a user port.

Welcome @ryandesign. Your profile says you're in the US; whereabout? I'm in New Jersey. I gave up on trying to learn assembly several years ago. I understand the concept, but I don't have a knack for programming this. I managed a hello world and decided to stick with BASIC. :) Do you have any ideas for what you want to build? I have tons of extra 4.5V motors but most of them are work out and sound terrible when you apply power. However the motors are easy to find. My problem is a shortage of touch sensors. I have some extra 9767 cards, but the path of least resistance is to buy one of Jason Merrill's replicas. See www.blocko.net.

I'm late to this party, but I voted for no limits: mix everything together. My favorite thing about Eurobricks is the custom creations. If someone built theirs in part or full using non-Lego stuff, what do I care? As long as it's comparable and they disclose it. I know this view isn't popular but that is how I feel.

Not quite :) rewatch that section in context. My wireless comment was about Bluetooth for Bliss' device, but you would still need power to 9750. Sorry for not being entirely clear there. When I mentioned Bliss' device, I had no idea that Diego was about to show me something new.

Here is my new Youtube video, mainly focusing on TC LOGO Connect, the (new, cool!) Sidekick, and BrickInterface.

Looks like tonight ain't happening. I started making some improvements to Simon :) and now it is time for sleep. But I'm off from work tomorrow. Video ahoy!

Somewhat related: for anyone on Facebook who enjoys the sets from 40-50 years ago :) I run a group there called "Square Pistons". https://www.facebook.com/groups/squarepistons

Whoa. I step away for two days and everything's changed! LOL .... By the time I get my video interview of Diego posted, it's going to be obsolete. :) Except for one thing. One awesome thing that he only told me. :) I shall published it no later than tomorrow night, but hopefully sooner.

I installed the new software tonight and I've got the languages menu. Excellent work!! In a day or two, I'll try accessing multiple devices via BASIC. I can try up to three devices at once because I have your product and two Brick Interfaces.

I considered putting all of that information into the video, but then decided against it because I wanted people to see the game, not the technical details. However I'm happy to answer those questions here. :) Yes, it's designed to be fully interactive. My plan is to let as many people as possible play the game. I have to guard against kids who just want to bang on it and make lights/sound, and also against kids (and adults) who stand there playing over and over. Two 9750. There are 36 lamps: nine per color, arranged in three rows of three, installed horizontally in square frame. Each square frame is locked together with vertical technic bricks and black friction pins, so the frames are extremely strong. I wired each row together, so there's one wire per row, and thus three wires per color/button. There is one touch sensor mounted vertically along the side of each spring-loaded button (two 1980s Lego shock absorbers per color). I built a quick(ish)-release mechanism for the touch sensors, so they're easy to swap out if one fails. Although I currently do not have any extra touch sensors. This is a big problem for me. The challenges were: Evoking the approximate size and look/feel of the real game Wiring. There are 12 wires for the lights (as I said, 3 per button, which then split via shorter wires into 9 lamps total per color). There are four more wires for the four touch (button press) sensors, and another two for the pair of sensors that read the reset button. I could have used just one for the reset button, but I decided on two because those switches share sensor ports with the main color buttons, and I didn't want a single accidental color press to restart a game. By doubling the reset switch to two sensors, it makes an accidental reset highly unlikely. Building the quick-release thing for the main touch sensors. It took some to design a way for the sensors to stay put in a vertical position while the buttons are pressed, but also to be easily removable. In the code, I have NO experience programming arrays, so I had to learn how to do this in BASIC. Gemini saved the day by explaining it in the way that I needed to learn. All of my prior attempts to understand arrays, via BASIC manuals and in technical Facebook groups (Apple II, etc.) failed. Gemini understood better about my learning style. I also relied on Gemini again for the game sounds, along with my friend Ethan who's not on Eurobricks (but who loves vintage computing and Interface A as much as the rest of us), to develop some code that I could accomplish entirely through DATA and CALL commands. Another challenge in the code was making each letter of "PLAY SIMON" flash a different color on the computer screen. I solved that one with EI, Evan Intelligence! (Speaking of which, I borrowed a color monitor from my Apple II friend Jonathan, since mine broke.) Then in my modern video editing software (OpenShot, on Linux Mint), I realized the volume in the game-playing clip was very different than the volume in the other clip where I'm talking, so I had to learn how to equalize them. Today I got a package in the mail: a real 1979 Simon game in the original box! I realized that I put the word "Simon" upside-down on my game, because the real one has blue and yellow on top / red and green on bottom. Oops! I need to flip those letters and slightly change my code to correspond, so it has the right color in the right position.

I posted a new thread the other day but nobody seemed to notice. Hopefully that will change soon when we have dedicated vintage Lego electronics section. In the meantime, here's what I posted: my Simon game is done!

Hundreds of people, maybe more than a thousand, will play the game at Brickfair. So I made it short on purpose. I don't want anyone dominating my table.

I made a working "Simon" game, which I had as a child in the 1980s, out of Lego and some BASIC code on my Apple II computer + two Interface A devices. I'll debut this at Brickfair Baltimore, August 15-16.

I'm only really familiar with English documents, and honestly I'm waaaaay behind on uploading scans. All of my spare time these days is spent building Lego, not reading about it. :)

I have definitely changed my mind about the megathread! I am fully assimilated into the subforum concept. Now that I clicked on your link, I remember it. It's something I probably just skimmed over the first time. LOL as I've said before ... I am busy actually building Lego models that USE such software. You guys just talk about it. :)

Sorry, I did indeed miss that. Link?

It is absolutely possible, especially in LOGO. The pen is your turtle. As I understand it, there wasn't any special software for 1092. It's just motors. You could program them to move the pen around, the same as you'd program any other 4.5V motors.

I have a Macbook here at work, and both Linux / Windows available at home.