Comments on: Hackaday Links: October 19, 2025

By: ziew

ziew — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:57:57 +0000

On paper, the video interface on the TRS-80 Color Computer was only capable of generating a monochrome signal.

Now read that aloud. Doesn’t it sound odd? I guess you meant monochrome high resolution graphics?

By: WTF

WTF — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:27:50 +0000

The Apple II (and IIe) generated color in precisely the same way. It’s also why the later models, which added double-hi-res mode, were able to bump the palette from 4 to 16: Instead of generating a 280×192 frame of monochrome pixels, it would generate a 560×192 frame, thus packing 4 monochrome pixels into the same time domain as what was previously 2.

I was just explaining this to a friend the other day. TL;DR: High-frequency luma transitions end up decoding as chroma data due to how NTSC “compatible color” worked. If you get the timing just right, the chroma decoder in the monitor or TV will pick those sharp luma transitions up in either the in-phase or quadrature part of the band.

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 04:38:11 +0000

Hold on. Wasn’t there backlash a while back about Amazon(Ring) selling access to their camera network, and that resulted in Amazon promising to stop selling access to law enforcement?

And from the other direction, law enforcement groups being reprimanded for buying this access because it was considered outside their pervue? As in, they can get access through other channels while investigating a specific crime, but they can’t pre-purchase private camera footage of private property simply because a crime MIGHT happen because it is a waste of resources?

Is this just a new loophole that skirts all that or am I remembering completely wrong? Or both?

By: echodelta

echodelta — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 01:25:02 +0000

In reply to Paul. I believe that frequency is the garbage band of shortwave and has been since early days for that reason. Legally able to experiment probably.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:56:08 +0000

“The 40-MHz frequency was selected in part because it offers head-to-toe coverage, but also because it’s too high to cause potentially painful “muscle activation” or local heating. ”

Hmmm. Shortwave diathermy uses the 40.68 MHz ISM frequency specifically for heating body tissues for treatment.