Category Archives: computers

BASYS nostalgia fest

BASYS was a newsroom computer system used very widely in the 1980s and 90s by many radio and TV broadcasters: the BBC and ITN in the UK, CNN and NBC in the USA, the ABC in Australia and probably many … Continue reading

Posted in BBC, computers, media, nostalgia, radio, TV | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bangle.js 2 hackable smartwatch – first impressions

The new version of the Bangle.js watch caught my eye on Kickstarter as the price seemed very reasonable. It’s a hackable smartwatch with lots of features: accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, thermometer, colour LCD display, Bluetooth, heart rate sensor and GPS plus … Continue reading

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Ceefax from an old Raspberry Pi

Got an old Raspberry Pi? Nostalgic for the golden age of teletext? Why not make your own in-house teletext server? For those who may be unaware, teletext was a service common in European (PAL TV standard) countries that transmitted news … Continue reading

Posted in computers, nostalgia, Raspberry Pi | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

micro:bit pulse oximeter

Around the same time I bought a cheap eCO2 sensor, I bought a MAX30100 pulse oximeter board for a few quid. I never got it working, partly because the protocol for making it work is very complex (way more complex … Continue reading

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CCS811 indoor air quality sensor on a micro:bit

I was clearing out my toolbox of gubbins the other day and discovered an inexpensive CCS811 air quality sensor I’d bought ages ago and never done anything with. These are small sensors that measure Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and can … Continue reading

Posted in microbit | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments