Ken Shirriff's Blog

• The Yamaha DX7 synthesizer's clever exponential circuit, reverse-engineered

  1 day ago Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 234

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer was released in 1983...

• Reverse-engineering the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer's sound chip from die photos

  2 weeks ago Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 303

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer was released in 1983...

• Reverse-engineering an unusual IBM modem board from 1965

  1-10-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 375

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} The vintage IBM circuit board below has a large metal...

• Reverse-engineering a vintage power supply chip from die photos

  18-8-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 296

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} I recently did a PC power supply teardown so I figured...

• Inside a 20-Watt Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier from Apollo

  8-7-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 377

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} How did the Apollo astronauts communicate on their trip...

• "Space age electronics": Inside a GE thin-film paperweight from the 1960s

  2-7-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 511

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} In the early 1960s, General Electric developed a...

• Deep dive into how the Teensy microcontroller interacts with the Arduino library

  18-6-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 339

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} pre.code {font-family: courier, fixed; font-size:...

• Inside a transistorized shift register box, built in 1965 for Apollo testing

  16-6-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 632

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} One of the under-appreciated aspects of the Apollo...

• Teardown of a PC power supply

  24-5-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 280

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} Have you ever wondered what's inside your computer's...

• Reverse-engineering a vintage OR/NOR chip

  24-4-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 641

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} span.wm {text-decoration: underline;...

• Reverse-engineering a vintage comparator chip

  17-4-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 747

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} span.wm {text-decoration: underline;...

• Logic chip teardown from a vintage IBM mainframe

  31-3-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 411

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} span.wm {text-decoration: underline;...

• Two dies in one package: Teardown of a vintage ROM with double the storage

  24-3-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 443

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} span.wm {text-decoration: underline;...

• Reverse-engineering the standard-cell logic inside a vintage IBM chip

  9-3-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 433

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} Integrated circuits are often built from standard-cell...

• Germanium transistors: logic circuits in the IBM 1401 computer

  3-3-2021 Crypto Technology Ken Shirriff's Blog 499

  .hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} How did computers implement logic gates in the 1950s?...