Andy Toone

@lockfarm.bsky.social

1575 Followers 856 Following

Petabytes in my day job, kilobytes in my spare time. Maker of Beasts - https://feersumbeasts.com/ 8-bit Z80 kit Technologist, cynical optimist, occasional CTO, regular tinkerer. Rural hideout in UK

The Zorkulator - a Z80 based CP/M handheld computer.
The Mini Hustler Huntsman - a British greenhouse on six wheels.
The Zorkulator is a (real) Z80 based handheld computer running CP/M and including the classic adventure.
Count Binface for Clacton on Sea
A MicroBeast with a VideoBeast graphics chip, showing programmable raster interrupts.
A terminal prompt showing the version of MicroBeast BeastOS and VideoBeast.
NanoBeast just before it expired - 0% battery after over 11 hours runtime
NanoBeast on 1% battery
NanoBeast showing 64% battery
NanoBeast with the prototype battery circuit, running off a small LiPo battery pack.
MicroBeast kit Z80 computer, running CP/M
The Zorkulator - a Z80 pocket calculator format CP/M computer. The caption reads: "Your move, Commodore"
Past me had the foresight to buy some big steel snips. Present me is having fun making little bits of metal.
Zorkulator has a handy I2C connector right on the front, ready to plug into small devices like this OLED screen.
NanoBeast - an 8-Bit Raspberry Pi?!
A Pocket Computer on a desk. It is the footprint of the first Pocket Computer - the Sharp PC-1211 (or Radio Shack PC-1)
L33t coders do it in 8 bits.
AI is not good at coding if you include any metric beyond "It gives an answer"
VideoBeast produces 6 layer, 512 colour graphics. Hardware scrollable, sprites, tiles, text and bitmaps. Multiple palettes, multiple resolutions and a few other tricks for 8-bit hosts.
Signal trace of an SPI load. The gaps are where the Z80 thinks about what to do next...
MicroBeast, showing off both high res and LED displays.
The upcoming Lotus 135
The MicroBeast is a complete computer kit in a box - build it and then just plug in and go.
MicroBeast in a bright red case.
The MicroBeast 'kit in a box' Z80 computer, and the NanoBeast 'plug and go' card - both running the same BIOS and operating system.
Upcoming Forth implementation for MicroBeast
Expand MicroBeast with a handy backplane.
My NanoBeast Z80 board, plugged into a prototype battery and display PCB. All powered off a small LiPO and monitored with my new Sipeed SLogic 16 channel logic analyser.
A grassy path, currently occupied by a duck.
Testing the charge circuit with NanoBeast - running off USB power and charging in the background. I need to add the maths in to turn that charge rate into a "time left to full/empty" estimate.
A NanoBeast Z80 computer driving a 14 segment LCD display with a rather shiny backlight.
A prototype PCB for a few expansions for MicroBeast and NanoBeast.
The MicroBeast emulator, showing trace logs that can decode machine state. This trace is set up to interpret CP/M BDOS calls.
The debug screen for the BeastEm emulator, showing label lookup.
The debug output from the new NanoBeast PCB - the Z80 boots and transmits "Nano bootstrap v1.1" to the host terminal.
NanoBeast revisions - the new board is on the bottom. Plenty of improvements to the first design.
It had to fit in a small package, ok? What do you mean, rod for my own back?
The NanoBeast prototype being built. You can build your own MicroBeast if your main interest is in the hardware and how it works, or you can plug in and start coding with the NanoBeast.
Professor Branestawm
The PlayDate console.
A normally white Cocker Spaniel, showing a tide mark where the duck weed reached as he sploshed around in a very muddy ditch.
Bonus marks for a good name for this thing, though we all know it looks like a frog.
A MicroBeast Z80 kit, looking immaculate.
MicroBeast runs for at least five hours on this little battery pack.
A diagram showing how VideoBeast can act like a 16K, 8K or 4K memory chip, and optionally access registers as a separate 'I/O' device.
My HP-15C, a lovely piece of engineering.
MicroBeast memory map, with live mappings shown in the BeastEm emulator.
PCB standoffs baking in a UV light.
Keyboard frames being laser cut for MicroBeast kits.
Description of the new Boot options update in BIOS 1.7
The Eiffel Tower against a winter blue sky.
Hawaiian god of war "Kūkaʻilimoku"
The infamous MicroBeast 14 segment LED display.
Two swans completely occupying the bridge I need to cross on my way home.
Our suspicious looking Cocker Spaniel with torn paper in the background and a paintbrush in his mouth.