2020-11-08: Building Sustainable Electronics xkp ================================================================================ I've noticed quite a few sundogs here are, like me, minidisc fans. I originally bought mine because I was interested in a semi-analogue medium for recording shortwave dxing sessions. I also noticed the sync-record function would work well on the timer with my ICF-9600GR radio's programming function. Unfortunately for me, Sony implemented the world's arsiest DRM to stop people copying from Minidisc to PC and I can't be bothered ruining my one player to try and crack it. But I still use the Minidisc recorder/player for listening to music. Music has always been important to me. It's a big part of my life. I've been working on a dork web mix disc to go out at some point and playing the mixes on my mini- disc player. For me, using minidisc instead of buying an ipod is an important personal commitment to sustainable electronics. If I buy new stuff I'm actively contributing to the negative outcomes associated with that stuff, namely waste, climate change and in the case of many electronic devices, child exploitation as the raw materials are often (but not always) obtained through child labour in conflict zones like the Congo. Likewise I build and design a lot of hardware. This in turn creates waste and honestly I don't know how to deal with that. That's not what I'm writing about. I'm working on a new computer designed to be sustainable over the next 50-100 years. It's through-hole but uses modern tech like the ESP32 at it's core. It supports things like Micro-SD cards through breakout boards that can be bought second hand, and will support expansions that can be produced from recycled kit. The device uses older relatively patent-free standards like VGA, PS/2 and 9-pin peripheral connectors. Again, these can be obtained through scavenging as well as from modern suppliers. After seeing what happened to the state of Amiga chips I'm confident that people will still be able to maintain, repair and build this system 50 years from now, with the possibility of maintaining it up to 100 years from now. It's also a device a single person can understand, and doesn't require a degree in electrical engineering to build. At the moment it's in the prototype stage. I posted some pics of a newly built prototype that I'm doing for a friend based on the main design. The prototype has a surface mount SD card slot but that's because this particular version is being built for a friend who's happy with surface mount components on the board. The final version will be fully Open Source Hardware and Software. It won't be as fast as a big boy computer but you'll certainly be able to do almost anything you could do on a big boy computer with it.Congo. Likewise I build and design a lot of hardware. This in turn creates waste and honestly I don't know how to deal with that. That's not what I'm writing about. I'm working on a new computer designed to be sustainable over the next 50-100 years. It's through-hole but uses modern tech like the ESP32 at it's core. It supports things like Micro-SD cards through breakout boards that can be bought second hand, and will support expansions that can be produced from recycled kit. The device uses older relatively patent-free standards like VGA, PS/2 and 9-pin peripheral connectors. Again, these can be obtained through scavenging as well as from modern suppliers. After seeing what happened to the state of Amiga chips I'm confident that people will still be able to maintain, repair and build this system 50 years from now, with the possibility of maintaining it up to 100 years from now. It's also a device a single person can understand, and doesn't require a degree in electrical engineering to build. At the moment it's in the prototype stage. I posted some pics of a newly built prototype that I'm doing for a friend based on the main design. The prototype has a surface mount SD card slot but that's because this particular version is being built for a friend who's happy with surface mount components on the board. The final version will be fully Open Source Hardware and Software. It won't be as fast as a big boy computer but you'll certainly be able to do almost anything you could do on a big boy computer with it. If you want to see pics, I'll post them at https://mastodon.social/@stevelord using the #zx20 hashtag.