This is LogicSays

The site came about in 2006 as I needed to get one set up, and memorable domain names were getting more and more difficult to find.  My name is Alison by the way.  That's how it ended up as logicsays, nothing more.  This is a personal site where I present what I do.  The site is written in Perl/C on a Debian Etch local staging server and the content which you see here is generated prior to upload.


Microchip PIC MicroControllers

The bulk of the 'thinking' projects here are written in RISC assembly language for the 16F 8-bit PIC range.  It is a processor which I have become used to over the years despite it's bank switching and memory map, which is somewhat confusing for beginners.  I do not program in C' with any of the Microchip range as I prefer the control that assembly language gives you.  I also work with the dsPIC 30F 16-bit processors, particularly when emulating hard drives, as the 8-bit processors neither have the speed, instructions, or available I/O.  The 8-bit processors operate at about 1MIPs in their standard 4Mhz configuration, with the 16-bit processors running at about 30MIPs in their 120Mhz configuration.  A quirk of the Microchip range is that an instruction cycle takes Mhz/4.  However, most instrctions only take 1 cycle when compared to the competition.  Bang for the buck the PICs are faster and more capable, but are quite obscure to program for.


The Retro Computer Scene, Atari, Commodore, Sinclair

The main attraction here is the computers of the 1980's.  They're relatively easy to repair and restore, and I like having nice things.  The other attraction is that with the availability of microcontrollers and development tools, that it's possible to develop new products that just wouldn't have been practical to develop before.  It really is fun to play around with the computers of yesteryear.  Admittedly today's computers are incredible in comparison, but they almost have no soul.  The games of yesteryear just have a certain feeling to them, where the absolute dedication and imagination of the programmer shines through.  That would be the attraction of it all, something that we can all realistically do ourselves.  I personally like the hardware side.


What can I do?

With the tools and equipment that I have, I can do most things that were possible in the 1980's.  Provided of course that I have the information, most of which is now in the public domain.  The other thing is that the necessary test equipment, be it Logic Analysers and alike, I have slowly acquired over the years.  The equipment cost in the 1980's was astronomical, just as the necessary development equipment for today's computers is out of the reach of a tinkerer.  When you consider that a single piece of 1980's hardware was probably designed by a single person, where today's computers are developed by hundreds. 


Can you build for me...

Yes.  Simply put.  I can build anything for you.  Now this is something that confuses me about shops and businesses.  You see, I want a vertical glass bubble etch tank, which essentially is a fish tank with a couple of holes in it.  And I'm prepared to pay for it, well a reasonable price anyway.  No one wants to do it!  You approach businesses and their response before you've even finished is "No."  So how does that work then, I might be a multi-millionaire on a spending spree.  And in answer to your question, "Can you build for me..." The answer is Yes.  If it's beyond my capability or impractical then I'll say so.  The tank I'm eventually going to make myself, it's just about keeping your eye out when you go near somewhere that can cut toughened glass.