Are the RetroChallenge 2024 entries still supposed to get the final comments? I know they may come in August or September of the following year but the 2025 edition starts in slighly over a month and there are no final 2024 comments yet.
Code Protection Showdown: 1980s Edition! Transform Your BASIC Code Into an Impenetrable Fortress (or a Maze of Utter Despair) #retrochallenge. Full details here: https://hacking.museum/index.php/2024/11/07/code-protection-battle-1980s-style-how-to-turn-basic-into-a-fortress-or-a-maze-of-despair/.
We’re gearing up for a wild weekend as Hacking.museum sets up shop at the UnlockYourBrain hacking conference! Expect a ton of retro-style hacking madness, complete with our animated retro ISP modem setup and a series of nostalgic CTFs featuring the ZX81, ATARI ST, and more. See you there! #retrocomputer #retrohacking
To debug the machine, you have to listen to digital signals moving in and out of suspect parts. A logic analyser (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_analyzer) is a key tool. But my old one could only monitor 16 signals, so I did a #RetroChallenge side quest: get and set up this 136-channel beast!
#PERQ 2 machines have this diagnostic counter that counts up during boot. If it stops counting before some OS-specific number in the hundreds, there was a problem. When #RetroChallenge 2024 began, the counter was saying 010. Basic tests pass, but disks don’t work. No boot.
It’s just turned November here — that wraps up #RetroChallenge 2024! I dedicated my month to reviving an early 1980s #PERQ 2T2 graphical workstation. Let me show you how far I got… 
It's 2.45am, I can't get to sleep, so I've done something useful and written up my final reflections on this year's #RetroChallenge.
https://z80.timholyoake.uk/retrochallenge-2024-10-reflections/
Getting closer to the end of #RetroChallenge #RC2024. I discovered an 8 year old footprint error. But, other than that, I think this ZX81 module *should* work in a suitably modified #RC2014.
Now I just need to make suitable modifications to an RC2014!
Mission accomplished.
https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/wrapping-up-my-retrochallenge-2024-project
Say you want to turn the #PERQ HSYNC and PERQ VSYNC signals shown into the VGA HSYNC and VGA VSYNC signals. (TTL levels.) How do you do it? 74LS123 has been proposed; could try a small PIC but I haven't programmed a PIC before. #electronics #RetroChallenge sidequest.
Posting without comment.
Enjoyed reading the half-time updates on #RetroChallenge and seeing the progress some of you are making. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks of #RC2024
https://www.retrochallenge.org/2024/10/rc202410-halftime-update.html
That's what this years #RetroChallenge needs... more Frankencables!
Today I reviewed the WebCard code, researched NoteCards, and planned what to do next.
I don't mean to brag or anything, but I have written a post about thinking about getting ready to prepare to start #RetroChallenge.
I know, right. It is almost like I have this in the bag already!
Link here https://rc2014.co.uk/3181/retro-challenge-2024-10-intro-post/
For my RetroChallenge project I'm looking for a black and white line art icon of a globe similar to this. Any recommendations of such icons with a MIT compatible license?
https://pngtree.com/freepng/globe-line-icon-vector_9039317.html
Sorry about the radio silence for the past few days. I went in to hospital last week for some planned surgery.
Everything went well, and the recovery is going fine. I am certainly not back to my usual self yet, but that is probably down to the medication.
I won't be shipping any #Z80kits orders for a few days at least, so apologies to those of you waiting for your kits. However, I do hope to make a start on #RetroChallenge next week. We'll see how that goes.
I have only been dipping in to Mastodon occasionally over the last few days. Have I missed anything important?
Brace yourselves... October is coming, and so is #RetroChallenge! 
We’re dusting off old floppy disks for our “Retro Software Protection Challenge,” where we recreate the days of cracking software protection (because who doesn’t love some coffee-break hacking? 
).
Check out the brave souls joining the challenge: Entrants List (https://www.retrochallenge.org/p/entrants-list-202410.html)
This RetroCTF is part of the broader Hacking Museum initiative – preserving the history of hacking and inspiring the future. (https://hacking.museum)
Join us in October! #RetroCTF #HackingMuseum
The RetroChallenge runs in October but some entrants are already doing stuff and posting updates. If one enters now is it already possible to work on the project? Asking for a friend.
#RetroChallenge side quest: So You Want To Program an AM2732 EPROM with Your TL866II+: the programming voltage Vpp is +24V and the TL866II+ can only do +18V tops. With a bench power supply, an LM339 comparator, and a 2N3904 NPN transistor, I got the Vpp boost I needed.
Some say I may have registered for the #retrochallenge.
