[HN Gopher] ZX81 Goes Nuclear - Game for Controlling a Nuclear P...
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ZX81 Goes Nuclear - Game for Controlling a Nuclear Power Plant
[video]
Author : edu
Score : 76 points
Date : 2022-12-16 11:20 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
| rwmj wrote:
| Be cool to see the source - I assume he wrote it in assembler?
| gus_massa wrote:
| Quoting one comment of the author:
|
| > _I wrote the model in Go first and once that was working I
| converted it to C which very straight forward. Once in C I used
| Z88DK as the compiler, this comes with tools to create a zx81
| application. The IDE was VSCode running on a Mac with a few
| scripts to build and launch the Clock Signal ZX81 Emulator for
| testing before creating a tzxduino file. I think I detailed it
| onhttps://glasstty.com ._
|
| > _I use the same environment for writing nascom stuff. Its
| more straight forward than it sounds._
| rwmj wrote:
| [I wrote a comment about my half-remembered experiences
| writing C code for Z80 back in the 1980s, and how compilers
| didn't do very well, but deleted it because these links
| summarise the situation much better. In particular it looks
| like Z88DK solves the problems I was having (if only it
| existed back then ...)]
|
| https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/6095/why-.
| ..
|
| https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/a/4924
| Angostura wrote:
| His small smile near the end where he says 'in this simulation we
| can turn off all the safety features'.
| acidburnNSA wrote:
| I've been wanting to get a modern web based reactor simulator
| going for years. I have noodled on it a bit but not made much
| progress beyond a bad-UI core neutronic simulator. It just hasn't
| bubbled to the top of my stack yet. Someday.
|
| https://github.com/whatisnuclear/simulator
| rzzzt wrote:
| I wanted to resurrect SIMULA-C, a PWR simulator made by Ralph
| Reuhl in the early noughties. Its source code was also
| available at that time, but it was impermeable for a semi-young
| mind with minimal understanding of (but lots of appreciation
| for) nuclear power plants.
|
| This article mentions the software at the very end:
| http://www.nucleartourist.com/operation/operation.htm
| dukoid wrote:
| I think the printer connector is a bit loose -- let me push it in
| firmly!
|
| Oh no!
| lambic wrote:
| Loved the comment about using extra blu-tack to reduce ram
| wobble, classic hack.
| el_chamo wrote:
| I'm impressed about how sharp the video output of the ZX-81 is
| here. Original is so wobbly and fuzzy. I suppose he is using some
| video output converter. That character set, bring back some good
| childhood memories of learning BASIC with 1Kb of RAM.
| empressplay wrote:
| You can get a composite output board for the ZX81 eg
| https://www.ebay.ca/itm/124844441452 which makes it a lot
| clearer
| arethuza wrote:
| I used to know a chap who liked to tell about how he took one of
| the worst support calls ever.
|
| He worked for a company that did industrial control systems and
| he was in the office by himself one weekend and the phone kept
| ringing - apparently they had strict instructions _not_ to answer
| the phone but he did it anyway.
|
| On the other end of the line was an irate operator at the
| Hunsterson nuclear power plant who said something like "I'm
| standing on top of Reactor B and all your systems have gone down
| and we can't see what the f*ck is going on and what are you going
| to do to fix it".
|
| Apparently there was a standard support line but the operator had
| decided to pick on the name of the company displayed somewhere in
| the software and look them up in the phone book (this was about
| 1990) and shout at someone.
|
| It turned out to be nothing to do with the systems this chaps
| employer was responsible for - they just got the call because
| their name was visible!
| squigg wrote:
| It's Hunterston in case anyone wants to read-up - just down the
| road from me and sadly the AGR is now being de-fuelled as it
| heads for the big pile in the sky .... such a feature on the
| local coastline
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunterston_B_nuclear_power_sta...
| arethuza wrote:
| Recommended reading on AGR plants - a blog entry by Charlie
| Stross about Torness, the other AGR plant in Scotland:
|
| https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-
| static/rants/nothing-l...
| squigg wrote:
| Loved that thanks - my dad worked there for a year as a
| pipe fitter. Brings a lot of it to life!
| dmd wrote:
| Daniel Stenberg (curl) knows the feeling.
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12949114
| lb1lf wrote:
| One of my first field service calls was similar - show up at a
| vessel in a godforsaken port way outside civilization, after a
| curt greeting from the C/E I head for our deck machinery to get
| to work, only to be told in no uncertain terms I am an effing
| greenhorn idiot - THOSE are not the winches with a problem,
| THOSE OVER THERE ARE.
|
| I have a look at them, find they are not delivered by my then
| employer, and tell the chief as much.
|
| "The fck do I care who made that piece of crap, you going to
| fix it or not?"
|
| Turned out we had some electrical cabinets with our logo
| prominently displayed installed onto a bulkhead near the
| offending units. C/E had simply seen those, assumed they were
| the ones controlling the malfunctioning equipment, and had me
| flown halfway around the globe to fix them.
|
| Luckily it was a rather simple problem to figure out, so I got
| it going again and somewhat snarkily stamped the service log
| with my employer's stamp.
|
| As soon as it all worked again, the chief was all smiles and
| got me thoroughly sloshed on some liquor of dubious origins.
|
| Good times.
| chasd00 wrote:
| Heh and I think you voided the support contract for those
| winches you fixed to boot.
| lb1lf wrote:
| That was kind of what I hoped for, yes. (We did get a
| rather confused call from the manufacturer a couple of
| years later, they had spotted my stamp and were curious,
| but not hostile in any way.
|
| If nothing else, they were probably grateful it hadn't been
| one of them working his way to Rabaul. It is hardly a world
| metropolis.
| forinti wrote:
| Brilliant video and software.
|
| I remember using something very similar on a BBC Micro. I don't
| think it was so detailed (but it did have colours!).
| mysterydip wrote:
| When I saw his simulation on the display it reminded me of a nuke
| plant simulator I had on the Atari way back in the day. I believe
| it's this one here:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scram_(video_game) which had its
| source code released here:
| http://www.erasmatazz.com/library/source-code/index.html
| anonymousiam wrote:
| Cute simulation and good commentary. Obviously nobody would
| seriously consider using non-redundant commercial hardware like
| this in an environment with great risk to humanity and the
| environment. I do recall being amused when (in 1982) I learned
| that NASA had begun using Tandy Radio Shack Color Computers for
| telemetry displays. I think Tandy missed out on a marketing (or
| at least an advertising) opportunity. It could be that they never
| found out about it.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer
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(page generated 2022-12-16 23:01 UTC)