ZX-WESPI - add a cheap wifi-enabled fileserver to your Zeddy!

[luwii]

Ignore my post above about finding some pcb's. After I gave it some thought I decided I don't really need the VGA. And it's much easier to just build the simpler one and install into the Zx81. Mine is up and running.

Have to hand it to the guys who did this. It's the most elegant open source retro project I've ever come across. The design concept of using just the ear/mic is absolute genius. The circuitry is super simple, no screens or buttons needed and the cost negligible given what it does. I like the fact that it will save as well, most of these systems never implement that part.

Thanks!

[mrtinb]

Thank mr. Oliver. He is the genius behind the software and hardware: https://forum.tlienhard.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3360

[BeaglzNZ]

Just wondering if anyone has designed up an external case for the ZX Wespi to housed in that can be 3D printed?

Have been searching for a STL linked to the ZX Wespi but come up empty so far. Will need a cutout for the VGA port.

Thanks!

[mrtinb]

I have not heard of an external housing for a Wespi.

Most people who have the original version without LCD/VGA, just has it taped to the inside of the ZX81 housing.

I believe other people with the LCD have made a custom case for their ZX81 with an LCD screen.

I have not seen anyone using it with a VGA monitor.

[mikeh_nz]

Just wondering if anyone has designed up an external case for the ZX Wespi to housed in that can be 3D printed?

Maybe PM bgrier?

And put it in a case to keep things nice and tidy.

(Click the up arrow to jump to his post)

I guess there are a lot of esp32 cases on thingyverse that you could download and modify.

[bgrier]

Yep, I did design one, but it's a custom job for the non-video Wespi PCB I drafted. It's the black and yellow box with the wires coming out of it at the top right, under above the TS-1000 badge.

The PCB is a work-in-progress, a winter-time project that I'll likely dust off again come October...



https://stuff.bradgrier.com/docs/zx-wespi-hat/

[msknight]

This is going to sound a little far fetched... but I've been reading this thread and one person... when a "tape" is plugged in, their Wespi stands down, while for someone else, this doesn't happen and the Wespi jumps in.

I was thinking... and I'm probably wrong in this... but the audio jacks usually have two sides and when you plug in, one side is broken. If the Wespi was cabled into the disconnected side... then even if it did trap the LOAD "" command and send the fast loader... because it's wired into the off-side of the jack socket... because there's a jack in the socket... it goes nowhere because it doesn't reach the side that's being sent to the system.

I'm probably way off the money on this... but thought I'd put it forward.

[1024MAK]

You mean on (some designs/types of) 3.5mm jack sockets, the "switch" contact?

Mark

[msknight]

I don't know the technical name for it, but here's a picture... Jack goes in, contact gets lifted and looses contact with one side of the jack. If the Wespi was connected there, then the insertion of the jack would stop the ZX81 from listening to whatever the Wespi was transmitting.

[1024MAK]

Yes, on this type of socket, the contact is moved by the plug being inserted in it. However, have a look at the top side of an unpopulated issue one board:


Can you see that both tip contacts on each of the sockets is linked via PCB tracks?

On the issue three board you can see the PCB tracks linking them on the underside:



Mark