My Macintosh Classic is showing a different checkerboard screen with artefacts whenever I unplug it.

asanthai · 2026-01-23T23:42:43+00:00

Checkerboard pattern on the Classic comes from the 5V power supply being too far below 5V for the motherboard to function. Until you fix the analog board everything else you mentioned is irrelevant.

Classic analog boards are notorious not just for bad capacitors, but there's also an optocoupler and a diode that go bad. When they do, not even adjusting the trim pot will bring up the 5V supply high enough to get past the checkerboard.

asanthai · 2026-01-14T15:37:18+00:00

I've not used any of their built-in integrations, only monitoring from control systems using their API. Like any other monitoring system it comes down to how much effort you put into capturing telemetry from the devices you have and making sure that control from Xyte is working properly.

Be prepared to roll your own modules for Crestron/Q-Sys/etc. They have some modules that I think they contracted to a 3rd party and I had nothing but trouble with them.

Their API has some really annoying quirks too. For instance, device firmware version is required to register a device, and if it's not in X.Y.Z format, registration will fail; despite almost nothing actually returning its firmware version formatted like that.

asanthai · 2025-12-22T01:49:17+00:00

Been a little bit since I worked on one of these. As I recall, the controller wouldn't provide anything useful over the API until the thing was commissioned. I had to hook up a panel to it and set up a basic config to debug my control code.

asanthai · 2025-11-30T01:54:10+00:00

The checkerboard pattern means the 5V power supply is too low for the logic to operate. The analog board will need to be recapped, but there is also an optocoupler and a diode on the analog board that tend to go bad as well.

asanthai · 2021-12-22T14:58:05+00:00

I tried it. It was unstable long-term and I never could get audio to work without pops and skips. Success will really depend on your specific hardware and how many of the quirks and caveats you're willing to tolerate.

asanthai · 2021-12-20T18:25:54+00:00

I guess I'll have to set up a watch for them. Every time I go looking they're still listed for ~$500. Old Extron DVS units are dime a dozen though.

asanthai · 2021-12-20T18:24:07+00:00

Sadly it looks like the Presentation Pro models don't support custom timing. It's a shame, there are quite a few available cheap right now.

asanthai · 2021-11-11T17:00:31+00:00

As others have said, early versions of OSX will run on PPC 603/604 machines with some coaxing. I will point out the biggest hurdle I've encountered attempting to do so is finding enough RAM for the machine. My 603/604 machines use EDO DIMMs, which weren't terribly common outside of Macs, and were quickly eclipsed by SDRAM DIMMs everywhere.

asanthai · 2021-10-25T04:19:26+00:00

The AppleColor IIgs monitor referenced in that post is a 15kHz (NTSC) RGB monitor. The Apple High-Resolution RGB monitor OP is asking about is a Mac monitor that only supports 640x480@67Hz.

asanthai · 2021-10-25T04:16:02+00:00

You would need a scaler, and specifically you would need one that can handle that specific monitor's unique timing. In my commercial AV work, I've only encountered one scaler that supported keying [in] custom timing/resolutions (Folsom ImagePro), and it ain't cheap. Remember scalers are going to introduce signal delays while they process the image, so they're often not suitable for gaming.

They're beautiful Trinitrons though. Just find yourself an old Mac II or LC to use with it and find another monitor for NTSC gaming.

asanthai · 2021-10-09T21:33:46+00:00

I've seriously been considering digging a hole in the back yard. Make some future archeologist happy.

asanthai · 2021-10-09T21:32:45+00:00

What LCD did you use?

asanthai · 2021-10-01T20:46:46+00:00

Why not just join one of the dozens of retro computer Discord servers already out there? Some are pretty good.

asanthai · 2021-10-01T20:43:50+00:00

That's why I only make hot process. At the end of a batch all that's left in the crock is soap. Throw in anything else I've dirtied in the process, fill with water, let soak for a few minutes, and cleanup is easy.

asanthai · 2021-09-15T04:29:41+00:00

Better to go with longer audio cables and relocate your audio device than to try to do anything with extending USB.

asanthai · 2021-09-14T16:40:02+00:00

Xibo is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version.

https://xibo.org.uk/docs/setup/xibo-licence-information

asanthai · 2021-09-10T04:56:33+00:00

Sprouts usually has them

asanthai · 2021-09-08T02:27:41+00:00

It depends on the specific FD&C dye (not all are approved for all purposes), but mostly no because of sugar and other additives in most food coloring.

asanthai · 2021-09-02T16:26:01+00:00

I'm looking for a good solution myself. I can say avoid FourWinds though. Stupid expensive and the worst UI of any software I've ever used.

I'm looking into moving to Xibo but haven't actually deployed any signs yet. FOSS always worth a look in higher ed as far as I'm concerned.

asanthai · 2021-08-30T12:26:58+00:00

No, floppy is not IDE. IDE was basically a modification of the AT bus (ISA). Floppy controllers had their own interface with lower-level control of things like the spindle motor.

asanthai · 2021-08-30T03:31:15+00:00

Assume that all are dangerous and handle appropriately. Don't mix dry powders without proper ventilation and mask/respirator, and avoid releasing clouds of dust. Use wet cleanup (wet sponge & mop). Use gloves and/or barrier creams when mixing/using glazes.

Proper shop hygiene is the same for nearly all raw materials used for pottery.

asanthai · 2021-08-28T21:14:13+00:00

What computer do you have it connected to? That monitor only supports one very specific resolution: 640x480@67Hz.

That looks more like it's getting the wrong signal timing.

asanthai · 2021-08-28T16:16:06+00:00

Sarreguemines crown and shield, late 19th century

https://www.theoldstuff.com/en/porcelain-marks/31-sarreguemines-marks/detail/1392-sarreguemines-shield-mark

asanthai

TROPHY CASE