How to hook up a Sega Genesis to a TV

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming
How to hook up a Sega Genesis to a TV

The Sega Genesis connects to a TV in much the same way as other consoles of similar vintage. But there are some dangers unique to the Genesis that give you an opportunity to damage either the console or your TV. We certainly don’t want that. Here’s how to hook up a Sega Genesis to a modern TV without damaging either.

Some Sega Genesis parts are interchangeable with other systems, but not universally. That means it’s very important to verify the AC adapter you plan to use, as well as the AV cable you want to use, to avoid damage to your console, your TV, or both.

Read more

Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis

Dave Farquhar St. Louis
Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis

Homer G. Phillips hospital in St. Louis was a public hospital owned and operated by the city of St. Louis from 1937 to 1979. Between 1937 and 1955, when its hospitals were segregated, it was the only hospital for Blacks in St. Louis. It holds the distinction of being the first teaching hospital to serve Blacks west of the Mississippi River.

Homer G. Phillips hospital was named for a prominent lawyer who recognized the inadequacy of the existing Black hospital in St. Louis and led a campaign for a larger facility. It had 685 beds, stands at 2601 N. Whittier Street, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was largely vacant for 23 years but reopened as senior living apartments in 2003.

Read more

Dell Optiplex case swap: A How-to guide

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Dell Optiplex case swap: A How-to guide

Rebuilding old Dell Optiplexes for home use is common, because Dell Optiplexes are so easy to get and cheap. But there’s a problem if you want to put an Optiplex board in a standard ATX case, whether it’s to make the computer look less corporate, or because you got the board really inexpensively without a Dell case. Dell uses proprietary connectors. Not only that, the connectors aren’t even consistent across different models, even in the same generation. Here’s how to deal with that so you can do a Dell Optiplex case swap, and put a Dell motherboard in a new ATX case.

While Dell uses the standard ATX mounting holes in its minitowers and even its desktops, the front panel connectors are completely nonstandard, and sometimes the power supply connectors are too. Fortunately you can get adapters.

Read more

The secret history of the F-14’s flight computer

Dave Farquhar Hardware

If you’re Gen X, you know the F-14. You may have even known about it before the movie Top Gun. The story of its flight computer, and the man who designed the hardware, Ray Holt, is intense. I don’t share a ton of links, but this is one you’ve gotta read. It’s the best piece of tech journalism I’ve read in years. Every possible box they taught me to check in journalism school, this story checks. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a technology piece do that.

I’ve heard of Ray Holt before. He’s almost the Gary Kildall of computer chips. This story tells the story of his triumph, tragedy, and how he carried on, reinvented himself, and is still helping people today. It makes him human.