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Today's Topics:
1. Re: This is my plan (Dave Everett)
2. Re: This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
3. Re: This is my plan (Stephen Adolph)
4. Re: This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
5. Re: This is my plan (Andrew Ayers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2025 08:07:13 +1000
From: Dave Everett <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID:
<cag61pbcbyqyif5kxfq8y357a84vhmfakvhp0fmz9fwoaaaw...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Certainly more expensive, they used to be $11 each and they were rock
solid. I will need to order a set of the ones from Amazon and give them a
go.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 5:32 pm, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
They look like expensive versions of the HC-12 modules.
https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM
On 9/30/2025 9:08 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use transceiver
modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from memory that can be
changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt
stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
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------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 18:18:28 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
The ebay listing says they are 2.4GHZ. The HC-12 is 433mhz. I missed
that initially because they look pretty much identical physically.
The HC-12 is supposedly transparent and can operate at the much lower
baudrates. Most bluetooth modules can only go down to 9600 baud. You
might recall from our other group discussions that I ended up making an
ESP32 bluetooth serial relay for the Hero and RB5X because of the 7 bit
data width and the lower baudrates. The old roving networks bluetooth
modules supported 7 bits, but the firmware was later changed when
Microchip bought RN and that support was dropped.
Others have used this HC-12 module with our robots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVCrRt5IkiI
On 10/1/2025 6:07 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Certainly more expensive, they used to be $11 each and they were rock
solid. I will need to order a set of the ones from Amazon and give
them a go.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 5:32 pm, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
They look like expensive versions of the HC-12 modules.
https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM
On 9/30/2025 9:08 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible,
though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use
transceiver modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but
from memory that can be changed. I just don?t recall if it
can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a
controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com
<http://oldnet.com>)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have
no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I
am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That
would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not
drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a
switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment,
I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that
I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino
project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be
appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the
robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There
could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR
hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use
bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I
can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V
output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in
the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to
ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino,
then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for
using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the
keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose.
Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been
thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit
anywhere inside, though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products
that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also
doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D
printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use
a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also
act as a tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach
to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy
with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much
of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here,
it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is
probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts
into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20251001/6622e47e/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 18:23:50 -0400
From: Stephen Adolph <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID:
<camcmnv5scetvrgrc2actvmefsod1yfzuzxhnpnnzg8joxyo...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I'll add a comment.
I would make sure the modules support hardware handshaking fornlocal flow
control.
These Bluetooth dongles don't at all actually emulate a wire. The flow of
bytes is very different and you might find applications like tsdos suffer
from timeouts and other problems arising from buffer overflows.
Another good feature would be to have the dongle obey software flow control.
Good luck. I've played around with Bluetooth in the past with mixed
results. I wanted to have wireless connectivity to a nadsbox or online
laddiealpha folder. Never got it to work well.
Cheers
Steve
On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Dave Everett <[email protected]> wrote:
Certainly more expensive, they used to be $11 each and they were rock
solid. I will need to order a set of the ones from Amazon and give them a
go.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 5:32 pm, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
They look like expensive versions of the HC-12 modules.
https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-
Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM
On 9/30/2025 9:08 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use transceiver
modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from memory that can be
changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the
serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25
of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for
adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of
installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as
tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt
stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR
port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the light.
I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably
outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20251001/e56faa68/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 18:29:48 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
Yeah, I am not aware of any modules that actually pass the handshaking
beyond high-end industrial converters. That would likely need to be
serial over wifi as the bluetooth serial protocol just doesn't have this
built in. I also have a pair of those, but they are around $95 a piece
and not small. You might be able to do it with ESP32s.
Thankfully I don't need handshaking for the robots. They only have TX
and RX.
Scott
On 10/1/2025 6:23 PM, Stephen Adolph wrote:
I'll add a comment.
I would make sure the modules support hardware handshaking fornlocal
flow control.
These Bluetooth dongles don't at all actually emulate a wire.? The
flow of bytes is very different and you might find applications like
tsdos suffer from timeouts and other problems arising from buffer
overflows.
Another good feature would be to have the dongle obey software flow
control.
Good luck.? I've played around with Bluetooth in the past with mixed
results.? I wanted to have wireless connectivity to a nadsbox or
online laddiealpha folder.? Never got it to work well.
Cheers
Steve
On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Dave Everett <[email protected]>
wrote:
Certainly more expensive, they used to be $11 each and they were
rock solid. I will need to order a set of the ones from Amazon and
give them a go.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 5:32 pm, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
They look like expensive versions of the HC-12 modules.
https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM
<https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM>
On 9/30/2025 9:08 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is
possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use
transceiver modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600
but from memory that can be changed. I just don?t recall
if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a
controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com
<http://oldnet.com>)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I
have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I
did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal.
That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did
not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out
to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the
moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna
that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino
project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod
would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for
the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however.
There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the
BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use
bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that
I can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V
output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back
in the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to
ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the
TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread
for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the
keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this
purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been
thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit
anywhere inside, though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen
products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that
also doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up
3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to
use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to
also act as a tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to
attach to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially
happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too
much of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement
here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This
is probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and
efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20251001/41ece378/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2025 10:45:09 -0700
From: Andrew Ayers <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
In regards to the battery thing, probably the safest thing might be to
use some AA lithium rechargeable cells; get the highest Ah you can
find...you would then need to build some kind of balance charging/BMS
setup...but there are boards for that.
Or, maybe go with a decent 3.7v prismatic or folded lithium device (like
tablets and phones use) with a decent Ah, then use a boost converter to
5 volts?
As far as the hardware goes:
1. Does the BCR route provide for 2-way (TX/RX) serial? I only ask
because IIRC, wasn't the pen one-way only?
2. If you plan on using an ESP8266 - why not instead an ESP32-CS mini
board? You could get bluetooth that way without needing a secondary
module...
3. If there isn't any real need for bluetooth, you could stick with
using wifi...?
4. That Sparkfun OpenLog hardware looks interesting; a very tiny Arduino
with microSD seems perfect for what you want to do.
Now - all of that aside, is there any reason you couldn't consolidate
all of this onto a single small embedded board (like the ESP32-C3),
hooked up to the serial port?
I'm sure it would take some extra programming effort, but I'm wondering
if maybe you could extend the way the TPDDuino firmware works to add in
the extra communication needs (if I'm understanding you right, the
wireless comms you want are to communicate with/control your robots?)...
Andrew L. Ayers
Glendale, Arizona
phoenixgarage.org
github.com/andrew-ayers
On 10/1/25 1:02 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Send M100 mailing list submissions to
[email protected]
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://lists.bitchin100.com/listinfo.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
[email protected]
You can reach the person managing the list at
[email protected]
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of M100 digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
2. Re: This is my plan (Dave Everett)
3. Re: This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
4. Re: This is my plan (Dave Everett)
5. Re: This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
6. Re: This is my plan (Justin Poirier)
7. Re: This is my plan (Scott McDonnell)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2025 18:49:47 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside, though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 10:50:52 +1000
From: Dave Everett <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID:
<CAG61pbdUm=2o+CR31yAFdeNKpXpMmYRXML8YKhHxTWASXm=u...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use transceiver
modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from memory that can be
changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:59:06 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use transceiver
modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from memory that can
be changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com <http://oldnet.com>)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am
thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also
allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the
battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't
really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will
attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot
control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could
could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an
HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the
serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin
25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for
adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the
M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will
end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of
installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere
inside, though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled
as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe
with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a
tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the
BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as
the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the
light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would
need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably
outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20250930/bdd37a1a/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 11:08:32 +1000
From: Dave Everett <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID:
<CAG61pbed2Za1mtux27b=z3x37hqa6nhlndmycd8df5rwf3z...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use transceiver
modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from memory that can be
changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt
stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20251001/4fc51a02/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 03:10:05 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
They look like expensive versions of the HC-12 modules.
https://www.amazon.com/433Mhz-Wireless-Replace-Bluetooth-Antenna/dp/B0C7M99BQM
On 9/30/2025 9:08 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
Check out the description for these:
https://ebay.us/m/drkr36
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 11:04, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
1200 baud seems to be the most reliable. 9600 is possible, though.
On 9/30/2025 8:50 PM, Dave Everett wrote:
What was the max baud rate for the m100? I regularly use
transceiver modules that do ttl rs-232. They run at 9600 but from
memory that can be changed. I just don?t recall if it can go lower.
Dave
On Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 08:50, Scott McDonnell
<[email protected]> wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a
controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com <http://oldnet.com>)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no
plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am
thinking I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would
also allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain
the battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a
switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I
can't really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I
will attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project
to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be
appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot
control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could
could be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or
an HC-12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use
the serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output
to pin 25 of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day
for adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground
in the M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I
will end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard
matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still
weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of
installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere
inside, though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that
were
available at the time which were battery packs that also
doubled as tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC
pipe with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as
a tilt stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to
the BCR port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with
it as the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of
the light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it
would need to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is
probably outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into
trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
-------------- next part --------------
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URL:
<http://lists.bitchin100.com/private.cgi/m100-bitchin100.com/attachments/20251001/5511426f/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:33:26 -0400
From: Justin Poirier <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
No comment on the other hardware, but I will comment on the battery
possibilities. These machines will gladly run on the 5V that a portable
USB battery bank puts out. I have made many USB-to-DC barrel connectors
to run my 102 and 200s on the go. Not only do you get the power density
of lithium chemistry, but you also get the pack's built-in charge
controller so you can just plug it in and recharge it like anything
else that charges via USB. Some battery backs support pass-through
charging as well so they can supply power while being charged. (This is
not always the case, and not often advertised as a feature so you may
have to test a few different battery packs to find one that supports
this.)
Find a good battery bank and then 3-D print the supports and legs to
make it a good fit for tilting the machine (maybe velco would be fine
to make it easily removable) and you're done from an electrical
perspective.
--Justin
On Tue, 2025-09-30 at 18:49 -0400, Scott McDonnell wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking
I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also
allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the
battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't
really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will
attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot
control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could
be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-
12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the
serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25
of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for
adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the
M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will
end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of
installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as
tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe
with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt
stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR
port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as
the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the
light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need
to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably
outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2025 07:51:41 -0400
From: Scott McDonnell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M100] This is my plan
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Of course! Total mental blackout on my part.
There are even DIY kits that could be fitted into a custom 3D printed stand.
On 10/1/2025 7:33 AM, Justin Poirier wrote:
No comment on the other hardware, but I will comment on the battery
possibilities. These machines will gladly run on the 5V that a portable
USB battery bank puts out. I have made many USB-to-DC barrel connectors
to run my 102 and 200s on the go. Not only do you get the power density
of lithium chemistry, but you also get the pack's built-in charge
controller so you can just plug it in and recharge it like anything
else that charges via USB. Some battery backs support pass-through
charging as well so they can supply power while being charged. (This is
not always the case, and not often advertised as a feature so you may
have to test a few different battery packs to find one that supports
this.)
Find a good battery bank and then 3-D print the supports and legs to
make it a good fit for tilting the machine (maybe velco would be fine
to make it easily removable) and you're done from an electrical
perspective.
--Justin
On Tue, 2025-09-30 at 18:49 -0400, Scott McDonnell wrote:
I plan to dedicate one of my Model 100s to use as a controller for my
80s robots.
These are my planned mods to implement this:
1. Internal retro wifi modem (oldnet.com)
?? ? ?I plan to make hack onto the MC14412 chip. I have no plan to
retain the original modem functionality, but if I did, I am thinking
I
could implement this via the modem enable signal. That would also
allow
me to control power to the ESP8266 so that it did not drain the
battery
when not in use. I could bring the enable line out to a switch to
reconnect the enable line to the MC14412. At the moment, I can't
really
think of why I might ever want the original modem.
I will use a Wemos D1 mini with an external antenna that I will
attach
to the M100 body.
2. Complete my originally idea to port the TPDDuino project to the
sparkfun openlog hardware and make this internal
?? ? Here, I am thinking the BCR TTL serial mod would be appropriate.
This frees up the serial port which I will need for the robot
control.
Not sure if TSDOS already supports this, however. There could could
be
some benefits to the faster speed possible with the BCR hack.
3. Wireless serial
?? ? For this, I have not decided whether to use bluetooth or an HC-
12
module. This will be in an external modules so that I can use the
serial
port for other purposes. I do plan to add a fused 5V output to pin 25
of
the serial port. This was a common pin to use back in the day for
adding
a power output. It doesn't appear to be connected to ground in the
M100
per the schematics, but I will need to double-check.
4. Joystick mod mentioned previously
?? ? If I will be using the BCR port for the TPPDuino, then I will
end
up implementing the ideas discussed in that thread for using the
parallel port. But I also might just hack into the keyboard matrix
arrows since this will be dedicated for this purpose. Still weighing
this while I work on the other mods.
-----------------------
Interested in internal battery hacks. I have been thinking of
installing
a 7.2V nimh pack. I am not really sure it could fit anywhere inside,
though.
While looking through old magazines, I had seen products that were
available at the time which were battery packs that also doubled as
tilt
stands. I liked the look of those and might end up 3-D printing
something like that. There was a simpler project to use a PVC pipe
with
D cell batteries and the author fashioned that to also act as a tilt
stand.
For my first M100, I had modified a book light to attach to the BCR
port
to provide light for the LCD. I wasn't especially happy with it as
the
clear plastic bezel is too glossy and reflected too much of the
light. I
feel like if there were any possible enhancement here, it would need
to
be some sort of front light mounted internally. This is probably
outside
of how much effort I want to put into this.
Interested in hearing about any experience and efforts into trying to
improve the readability of the LCD.
------------------------------
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------------------------------
End of M100 Digest, Vol 178, Issue 1
************************************
------------------------------
Subject: Digest Footer
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End of M100 Digest, Vol 178, Issue 2
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