The alpha and omega of 16-bit sequencers: KCS Omega + Tiger

I got the Atari ST sequencer KCS Omega from ST Format magazine's January 1994 issue 54 coverdisk. Little did I know it would be my only commercial-level sequencer until mid-2000s. Also, I didn't know I would be ignorant about some of its more interesting features until recently.

Many go vintage, modular or just any DAWless setup. But others are also digging up their old Atari STs and Amigas to relive a workflow from the mid-1990s, or to engage with a distraction-free environment. 

Although it can take some effort to have an Atari ST set up and working these days, I guarantee a session won't start with downloading updates.

KCS Omega was the brainchild of one Emile Tobenfeld, who under the moniker Dr. T had already conceived MIDI products for Commodore 64 in the 1980s. In a way KCS Omega repackaged some of the same ideas and functionalities for the 16-bit range of computers, and put a graphic editor, Tiger, on top of it.

According to his FAQ, Tobenfeld had left the company in 1993. In a couple of years all the platforms on which KCS products had proved popular (C64, Atari ST, Amiga), had fallen out of favor, and Windows/Mac platforms eventually emerged as the victors in the productivity arms race.

Diverting opinions will arise. "Wasn't Cubase the thing on Atari?" anyone even modestly informed will ask. KCS Omega is comprehensive, quite fast and supports a number of workflows, and there are often multiple ways to achieve the same outcome. I'll maybe compare them later but at this moment KCS feels better than Cubase 3.1. To me, knowing the idiosyncrasies of KCS is like belonging to some arcane secret society. I don't even know enough to tell everything.


Tiger

In the mid-1990s, I mostly used the Tiger graphic editor, thinking this was the only way to use KCS for song building. Coupled with a Yamaha DX11, with its multitimbral, velocity-controlled FM operators, I could create quirky digital soundscapes by adding and duplicating note clusters and fiddling with their velocity stems. Add a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks and rudimentary rhythmic electronic music could be made. And that was that for a long time.

I did note that Tiger was an add-on to the "real" KCS Omega, but I didn't pay much attention to the central sequencer. I felt it was only a multi-tracker for recording MIDI live, and wasn't entirely wrong.

(The screenshots are from Hatari ST emulator for clarity)

Tiger: Fast editing of the velocity stems

First things first: I've noticed that at some occasion MIDI doesn't clearly output on channel 1, unless I switch the track channel to something else and then back at 1. Top where it says C< 1A>. So, trying to test gear and connection, this is a thing that can happen.

Tiger is a quite versatile piano roll editor even now, and certainly the most friendly way in into the intricacies of KCS. I can set quantize/snap on with that icon at the bottom right corner, then add notes with the pencil tool (2nd bottom left) and just kick Play.

With Add/Drop Tracks dialog, multiple tracks can be viewed and edited in parallel, and zoomed horizontally. The multiview likely works better on a high resolution monitor. The relative size of the areas can be adjusted by dragging the symbol at the top right of the track window, but this isn't visualized, it just happens. Clicking it switches between full view and the multi-view. Right-clicking the corner removes the sub-view. The combined views can also be stored and recalled.

Tiger makes use of a 2-button mouse. The four icons at the bottom left are for Left Mousebutton, and generally affect, or select, a bunch of notes or larger areas. They are: Erase selected notes, Draw Note, Paste, Set Range. If none are highlighted, it's possible to select individual notes or drag a selection rectangle.

Repeat Time from Repeats menu

The seven icons at the right side are for Right Mousebutton, and apart from the Play icon, they affect an individual note. So, if Play is selected on the the right, the right button always plays from the cursor position. The others are Draw note (again), Erase Note, Alter Note Position, Alter Note Pitch, Alter Note Velocity, Alter Note Duration.

It's a pity these only affect a single note, but I also understand the need for simplicity. I suppose the purpose with these right button tools is to nudge individual notes that result from a recorded live play.

So there are two Draw Note tools assigned to the left/right buttons, and the properties can be changed from a menu item.

A clone repeat time can be set from the Repeats menu. (960 units = 1 bar by default). I can then select a number of notes and use Control+Arrow keys to duplicate them around the track. Another option is to fill the track with the selection, so making a metronome track is very quick. 

Pressing keys on the numeric keypad, I can instantly loop a number of bars starting from the one under the mouse cursor. This is very useful.

Selected notes and a range. Double cursor? It's an emulator screenshot.

There are menu functions for selecting all notes, notes of a certain pitch, notes above or below a certain pitch, and all these selections can be filtered with the selected range. Handily, the selected notes can be moved around with cursor keys, and most of the keyboard is dedicated for altering position (QWERTY row, esp. Q/W-O/P are useful), duration (- and +) and velocity (ASDFGH row).

Various reversals can be made to the selected notes. Reverse the entire order, or only pitches, durations or velocities. One more way to tease out small creative discoveries.

Quantization is a normal sequencer function, it's fairly straightforward here. Recording and quantizing naively, I often end up notes in crassly wrong positions. I found it better to first fix things as much as possible by hand, then quantize if still necessary. 

On occasions I de-quantize parts of materials by moving them ever so slightly, just to avoid snapping everything to rigid 16/16 precision. Adding notes without the quantize is a fun exercise too. Doing this to multiple tracks can easily make a techno/dance/electro song very, very wonky, so use with care.

"Paste at Selection" menu item was confusing at first, as I naturally expected it to paste my previously copied material at a particular point. But this function pastes the copied notes on every selected note, using them as starting point for any pitch difference the original notes might have had. Use the paste icon at bottom left to do a normal paste.

If I drag a number of notes around, they will auto-play (optionally). I used to think this as a distraction, but it becomes a friend eventually, and ideas may come out of it. When playing with a sampler, drum kit or phrase set that triggers different sounds from different note pitches, moving the selection up and down can lead to serendipitous discoveries.

A CC track, and the menu item for adding one

Admittedly, dragging a number of notes around in the graphic editor will reveal the slow speed of an Atari ST GEM and this software. There are also ways to avoid dragging notes around, it's such a post-2000s way of thinking anyway.

Tracks have controller tracks for Program Change, Velocity, Aftertouch, Breath Control, Foot Pedal and Volume, which can be easily invoked. Note velocities are very smooth to change on the VE track, by just holding the mouse key and dragging over the stems in that window.

A CC controller track can also be added, for making Control Change messages. For example, Cutoff and Frequency are some typical CCs to send via MIDI. 

I had to use 2nd mouse button to draw on the CC track. Holding control and clicking, an interpolated slide can be created between two points in time. A segment can be erased by first dragging it over then using the "eraser" icon. (The first at bottom left). This style of editing doesn't work on the velocity stems, they are tied to the notes.

Finding out which CC values are present in a track seems to be impossible from Tiger, once the CC track view is closed. But the KCS Track Editor will list CCs among events, and from there it's also possible to delete all CCs or particular CCs with a filter. Or, indeed, adjust the CC values.

Track Edit, Sequences and the Open Mode

The main screen of KCS Omega is a 48-track MIDI event and note recorder, which functions much like a physical tape recorder might work. If the record button is on, you can auto-record just by pressing a key on the MIDI keyboard. After the recording has reached the end of the track length, a new track is created the recording continues on that, until the process is stopped or the tracks run out.

It can be handy to turn on "Mute new tracks" if the intent is to record the same melodies again and again. It's also possible to undo and re-record the currend (failed) recording.

After a bunch of material has been created this way, it can be edited in the KCS event editor or in the Tiger.

Only recently I've understood what the Open mode and the associated Play Screen could do for me. I didn't likely even see the Play Screen many times in the 1990s, so well it is hidden.

The Main screen

Firstly, I have to click EDIT or press F1 in the main screen to get to the Track Edit screen. From there, I can click on Open Mode. There, again clicking on Play Screen the modest-looking black screen opens, and the pull-down menus disappear.

But how do I add a new track in the first place, if I'm not using the live recording? This was always a little mysterious. Well, in a Track Edit screen, it's possible to click on one of those empty boxes in the grid at the bottom right of the screen. This provisionally creates a track, but I need to manually give some TIME to the only event on the list, otherwise the track won't really exist.

After this, I can again go to Tiger via the main screen and start adding notes there.

Looking at Sequence #2 events, and calculating its end point.

But anyway. If I have a number of tracks, I need to convert the tracks into sequences, and only afterwards I can trigger these sequences live in the Play Screen, aligned into the next measure.

Tracks can be sent from Tiger to become sequences. There it's wise to use the range selector and send that range.

In the case I've accidentally sent a track that only has 2 bars of material, but the track has the length of 8 bars. I can either delete that and use the range-select method, or fix the end point. In the Sequence screen I can go to the last event, which is DE. If I intend the sequence to have 4 bars, I make sure the DE lands at 5:1:1. There's actually a calculator that can help do this computation. 

This rather unimpressive screen is at the heart of KCS.

But wait, there's more.

When the tracks are converted into sequences, they can be turned on by pressing their corresponding key, starting from 1-9 and continuing on to A-Z. After these have been exhausted, 00-99 can be invoked from the numeric keypad, but these may be considered more like secondary material.

And this is actually the reason it's called a Keyboard Controlled Sequencer. D'oh.

And it doesn't end there. Sequences can contain events that trigger other sequences according to various logics, all of which I have not yet even discovered. The simplest way is to add a sequence launch value into the sequence event list (1-9, A-Z etc). The column where it usually says "ON" for a note (TYP), the number or letter of the sequence can be inserted. It can be transposed (NOTE) and played in a different relative velocity (VEL) and repeated a number of times (DUR).

If a W is added to the duration, this means the play waits until the sequence has finished, before playing the next one. If non-waiting sequence is triggered at the same time, it also plays alongside. The W option makes song construction clearer, but honestly a paper plan might help.

If a sequence containing these events is launched from the Play Screen in Open Mode, the sequence itself will trigger the other sequences, relative to its start. In theory, the sequences can produce a cascade of further sequences, but it may be wiser to keep these commands inside one sequence.

Also, the direct launching of sequences is still possible, even if the song is centrally automated.

All content from this range, from all tracks, can be dumped onto a new sequence

I now consider the tracks as more like sketches and snippets, and the Sequences are the real thing, a material from which a song can be constructed either by meticulously chaining them together using command sequences, or by playing them live on the Play Screen. In turn the outcome can be recorded elsewhere, or the MIDI output can be fed back into the Atari and recorded on a new track.

If each sequence only contains a particular instrument, then it's not much different to mixing, muting and soloing the tracks on the main screen. It can make sense to combine multiple tracks into one sequence, which is best done from the Tiger. For example, these could be intro, verse, chorus, bridge and outro. Then the sequences are more comparable to patterns in Soundtracker-type software.

Even though it clearly says "All Tracks", it still confused me that the function sends also the non-visible tracks to the sequence. A defined range from all tracks can be sent to a single sequence, and they get a proper end point for looping automatically. I clarified this to myself using the diagram below:

So, the resulting sequence has elements from all three tracks. I can chop the Tiger-created multitracks into components that have different instrumentation, or traditional song structures. This way, entire song components can be triggered by a single key, and not just mix channels in and out. Other single-track sequences could be launched in order to add nuance or variety. 

Importantly, currently muted tracks are not incorporated into the "All Tracks to Sequence", which can be helpful when building combinations.

Thought needs to go into what would work as a playable sequence. It's easy to paint oneself in the corner by creating tracks, combining them into sequences, and then find out later that for example a bassline needs adjusting. If this is done in the Tiger, the tracks need to be translated into sequences where ever the bassline was used. It may be better to wipe out the sequences and start again.

But if the bassline was kept as a separate sequence, then only the source track for it needs to be changed and translated. Or, using the event editor directly the sequence contents can be changed, closest thing to that instancing of notes I discussed prior.

Using randomized sequence play is an interesting feature, and it can be combined with non-random elements. However, in my experience the randomizer can generate tiny delays between sequences. It's still possible I made some mistake, but if it's a lag in the program I perhaps wouldn't record the audio output, but record the MIDI somehow and then adjust any problems in it.


Is it perfect?

I've now made it sound KCS Omega is some kind of hidden ultimate sequencer, with no flaws in sight. No mistake, it is a clever piece of software, but some aspects do show its age.

As I'm working with a limited package, there's no way to arrange tracks and elements visually in a song scale. The KCS can be expanded with the MPE, Multi Program Environment. The Tiger editor in fact is one MPE, Mixer and Programmable Variation Generator are also not included.

As a remedy, learning to trigger sequences as KCS events can be helpful, or the song can be created ad hoc in the Open Mode play screen.

Partly because of the MPE model, the overall UI is made from separate screens, and while producing focus, it can also create confusion as one key makes something in one screen and something else in a different context. Some commands invoke dialogues, messages and alert windows, some remain silent.

Although the Tiger is quite good graphic editor, it is a little rough at the edges. I can't drag the select box to up and left, I always need to create it from top left to bottom right direction.

Much of this can be avoided by adopting the keyboard shortcuts, which are numerous. 

Copying notes as an instance cannot be done, what I mean that note changes would affect all similar instances. Technically, it is possible to get around this by planning ahead and reusing short note tracks in a KCS event list, triggering them as sequences.

However I'd still need to translate a sequence back into a track before it can be edited in Tiger. Of course a sequence event list can be directly altered manually, technically enabling instances.

The overall structure of tracks and sequences as separate entities does bring some leverage, but it can also produce these situations where I can see "I ought to have" done things differently at a previous stage.

What seems missing is any notion of an "instrument", as events brutally address a MIDI channel and that's it. This can be exactly the kind of simplicity one goes looking after in an old sequencer, but it also means there's no meta-level for making sweeping changes to the instruments.

Don't expect the MIDI to play seamlessly while operating the drop down menus, only the Open Mode play screen is free from menus. There's a setting to make the menus dependent on mouse press, but that can be also annoying. Tiger does decently while adjusting notes, which is enough.

Apart from all this, KCS Omega can be slow at times, especially if Tiger has many notes to draw. A faster ST helps, it won't hurt the tempo/MIDI timings.

Working in 2026

I tried KCS Omega on Atari Falcon, where the legacy video modes would give me med/mono resolution via VGA, and some speed boost. However the Tiger seemed to trash the screen memory in uncomfortable ways, making icons and UI invisible, otherwise it looked very nice. 

Turning the blitter off did not help. The glitching could be due to the Multi-Program Environment memory allocation scheme, as the main KCS works.

Also, the fan inside Falcon is so loud it would annoy me. An Atari ST is silent.

Just to show how the mono resolution looks like

I have an Atari STE with ACSI2STM, a tiny board that helps plug a Micro-SD card into the hard drive socket of the Atari. (This is not compatible with the Falcon.)

KCS Omega does not have an installer. The folder and containing sub-folders and files can be copied directly to the SD card filesystem, and run from there. 

If the files are inside a .msa or .st disk image type image, then Hatari ST emulator can be helpful, as it can open these images as disks. 

In Hatari, a folder in the Linux filesystem can be designated as a simulated hard drive, and when the files are copied in the Atari GEM in the emulator to that virtual hard drive, the files will appear on the Linux filesystem instantly. It's a clumsy way to move the KCS files out of the disk images, but it only needs to be done once. Then they can be copied over to the ACSI2STM SD card.

One more Hatari screenshot

This version of KCS Omega and Tiger fit into one floppy, so a HxC floppy emulator can also work.

A little bird tells that holding SHIFT when starting the KCS, will load the Tiger automatically. One of those little masonic rituals.

Atari STE resuscitation

Atari 520STE

I thought that because of the Atari Falcon, I wouldn't need the Atari STE so much. After all, Falcon can be connected to a VGA and it has more processor power and features. Yet, this split focus resulted in not using either of them much.

Recently I got hold of an ACSI2STM, a tiny board that goes into the hard drive port of the Atari ST and the SD card contents show up as a number of hard drives. It cannot even be used with the Falcon as it doesn't have a similar port.

ACSI2STM

ACSI2STM is mainly what this blog post was supposed to be about. But it turned out the Atari STE needed some care. Before attaching the new drive, I wanted to see if the computer works at all. This led to various tiny fixes and upgrades.

I don't treat the STE as a museum piece, the case and various metal parts inside are already damaged, screws are lost and so on. But I'd like it to work and preferably without too much hassle.

RAM/ROM and boot-up

The STE already had 4MB SIMMs on board, but one of them was giving grief so I had to downgrade to 2MB, removing two of them.

For a 2MB configuration, the first and third socket from back to front, needs to be occupied with 1MB SIMMs (30pin, 70ns ideally).

Not the cleanest sight. 2MB of SIMMs in correct position. Case damage at top left.

I first thought the computer was more thoroughly knackered: 4 bombs appeared no matter what happened during the memory test. But it turns out the boot doesn't continue after the test if there is no boot drive.

The image below shows what can happen in a memory test: The test is nominally passed, but the screen memory was garbled at one time so the Atari logo and the test bar are no longer fully visible. The four bombs have also arrived, but this isn't really because of the test itself.

Memory test complete, failed completely.

This was confusing until I connected a Lotharek HxC floppy emulator as a dummy drive, which helped the computer go past that stage. If the ACSI2STM is online, a floppy drive is no longer needed. But it was good to learn this.

I could configure the HxC to run a disk image properly, but I ignored it for now. If it can help achieve a faster boot time, I could look into it.

How a happy memory test looks like, 2MB

I have previously upgraded to TOS 2.06 ROM, which goes against that idea of compatibility I mentioned above. Even software that looks like it plays nice with the OS, might be broken with 2.06.

But I like that I can finally select all files, or switch between text/icons view using keyboard shortcuts. Files can be viewed using a mask, and other small additions are in place. The memory check, although not infallible, is also included. The glitches with loading the DESKTOP.INF are gone and I don't need any kind of STE_FIX.PRG inside the AUTO folder.

Working 4MB of SIMMs

2MB is quite enough. Even if HD-modified and patched games and software are rather needy compared to the original requirements, none don't seem to require 4MB. Still, I ordered 4 x 1MB SIMMs to complete the picture.

Display

I've connected the STE to a Commodore 1084S monitor. The composite video cable picture is ok-ish for many low resolution games, but quite atrocious for the 640x200 mode, and the tiniest system font is almost unreadable even as black-on-white.

ST-to-1084S monitor 6-pin DIN plug is not a common thing. Scart cables are numerous so I ordered one of them instead and a Female Scart-to-DIN6 to complete it, because this 1084 doesn't have a Scart in.

Then it turned out it doesn't quite work that way. It was ok for an MSX2 Scart RGB cable I have made, but the Atari ST Scart cable I received wouldn't work this way.

Working!

So I ended up soldering my own cable after all, using the DIN13 part from the composite cable and a Six-pin DIN for the RGB end. It's a minimal version, with Atari STE the audio can be left out, but soldering the DIN13 is still annoying.

I struggled multiple times with supposedly fool-proof diagrams, yet still mirroring and mis-matching cables. So I do not even dare to supply my own diagram, as I could end up messing it up anyway.

I left out the 120Ohm resistors, as the brightness and contrast can be adjusted on a 1084. The resulting image is very crisp on the 1084S.

A VGA-cable for mono mode is a possibility, but I don't currently have a display that could do the required 70Hz. For displaying colour in VGA, the requirements are even more stringent, 15KHz horizontal and 50/60 horizontal.

Mouse and keyboard

I have a couple of working Amiga/ST compatible mice and an original Atari mouse in a bad condition. The two non-Atari mice didn't give problems, and I was actually surprised how smooth the Wizard mouse is.

Quite good mouse, but I couldn't get it to open.

I can also use the Micromys adapter I have lying around (C64/Amiga/Atari ST), but it looks like I've misplaced my best PS/2 mouse. Fortunately I have a couple of USB Logitechs (M-BJ58) that work with a further PS/2 adapter, but the wheel will be useless.

The mouse and the additional adapters dangle uncomfortably from under the computer, and I felt the 2nd mousebutton failed occasionally, and some times even the entire Micromys went offline.

Then I remembered the ST ports can become loose, and sure enough the port was wiggly.

The underside of the keyboard circuit board

The keyboard comes off easily enough. I've sometimes thought of modding it into a separate keyboard, but the mouse and joystick port position makes this less practical. Besides I believe it's better off integrated anyway, less loose parts the better for storage.

For the purposes of inspecting and fixing the ports, the arrangement is really annoying. I have to open the whole keyboard case, and only after that the mouse port can be resoldered. There are like 30 tiny screws to remove and to be put back together again.

And the topside

While at it, I removed any dust that might affect the key bubbles, and as I had to take them loose anyway (they drop off) their positions are swapped and I also got to wipe the entire board.

As a result the numpad 2 key, which was slightly unresponsive, now works better.

Zooming into the broken solders

The above picture shows the damaged solder in the mouse port, compared to the game port which is intact. I ought to have taken a more precise picture, but the cracks are already visible here.

If I read this correctly, it is indeed the right mouse button pin which is most loose, and losing the 5V/GND might easily disturb the Micromys adapter.

I did consider wiring the mouse port entirely to the back of the case, but after drilling in a DB9 to the corner I chose not to do this now, because it's better to plan it more. I may come back to this.

After the resoldering the mouse worked fine. I'll use the 9-pin Wizard mouse at least until problems arise.

Keep those rubber bubbles carefully in place when reassembling

For a while, I had swapped the keyboards between the Falcon and the STE. Not sure why, I suppose the STE keyboard worked better and I wanted to benefit from that when the Falcon was timely. Neither have Scandinavian keys. I put the keyboards back into their correct homes.

Power Supply Unit

One more thing, a PSU replacement. I have no reason to think the old PSU is giving up, but I felt better doing this as a clean-looking replacement was available and they might disappear eventually.

The Atari ST PSU replacement from 16-32bit.eu

This should produce less heat than the old one. I was also persuaded by the included USB port, which can power the ACSI2STM – yes it needs that current to work. I guess the 5V could have been taken from the board, but this is a straightforward solution.

The old PSU

The PSU replacement needed some soldering, but nothing too difficult.

Four screws are removed, the connector to the motherboard (with the 5V/12V/GND wires) is removed, then the board can be pulled up and the two mains leads can be soldered off. I didn't even use a pump, just gently pulled the wires out one by one while heating the other side.

PSU removed

After the whole board is loose, the motherboard connector wires are soldered off. All cables are soldered back to the new board, one by one starting again from the 5V/12V/GND wires. 

Obviously refer to the instructions from the seller.

Replaced!

The result looks cleaner, whatever magic may be inside those boxes.

So, off to the world of Single Tasking.

Hedgren Next SCRIPT bag

Next SCRIPT

Nearly five years after getting the Samsonite Vectura bag, its zippers started blowing up. This was likely accelerated by stuffing in things that didn't fit properly.

Instead of going to the camping direction with the new bag, I bought something that looked like a modest upgrade from the Samsonite, yet knowing also that certain equipment will fit better inside.

Hedgren Next SCRIPT 15,6" (HNXT05-003) is more rectangular than the Samsonite was, the inside totaling to about 29 x 42 x 17 cm. The nominal volume is actually less (20,7 vs 22 liters), but the longer inside height already means the light collapsible chair fits much better. It looks like the bag has a better posture than the Samsonite.

Weight should be 1kg, I didn't measure it myself. It's not extremely lightweight, but I have the Black Diamond BBEE 11 for very minimalist packing.

I adore my 64

Funnily enough, I had a hunch a breadbox Commodore 64 would fit inside comfortably, and it did. It would go in the old Samsonite, but uncomfortably.

There's an RFID-protected container as a bonus, not that I'd like to keep my cards there, but it's nice to know.

It was by no means required for sealing the deal, but the Hedgren also has the USB outlet for a power bank, just like the Samsonite did. I almost never used this feature, to be honest. The functionality has been thought out better, the cable goes to a clearly separated compartment instead of just to the bottom of the bag.

The rubbery bottom of the bag protects it from water (or spilt drinks from seeping through the bag), but overall I don't think it's especially water-protected. All in all it's more of a flight bag than an outdoors bag.

The USB is still of the A-variety

There's many, many more zippered containers, pockets upon pockets, a laptop and a tablet compartment, a holder for a bottle outside, and a system for setting the bag up with the long handle of an airport roller bag, though I don't think I will need that. I only now realized the Samsonite also had this "smart sleeve".

Pencil holders are missing, but to be honest it would be better to have a separate box for them anyway.

The large number of compartments is not always a positive thing, as it takes some time getting used to. It can take time to find an item, and if one slot has been filled then the one on top of it may no longer be as usable. This points to a solution where some pockets would be better left for card-thin items.

Light collapsible chair+Trangia 27 set+gas+1,5l bottle of water+utensils+cups, all fit rather nicely, leaving space for food and additional bottles.

Keychron K2 HE SE Wood Black

Keychron K2 HE

I'm surprised to find out it's been nearly six years since I've changed my main keyboard, as can be seen in this old blog post. Perhaps it's time to reflect on keyboard choices.

The HyperX Alloy Origins Core was by no means a bad keyboard, the HyperX Red switches seem to have a good reputation and it was not showing signs of breaking up.

But it was slightly noisy, and to be really nit-picky, the accumulated dirt at the base showed easily on it, the LEDs basically highlighting the gunk.

Back then I considered TenKeyLess (TKL) as the sweet spot between keyboard minimalism and useless numeric keypads. I've since felt I could go with a more minimal layout, the 75%. There's always the Mac Mini keyboard, but it was troubling not to have proper HOME/END, PGUP/PGDN, Print Screen keys, and no separate DEL/BS keys.

So, enter Keychron K2 HE. There are various Keychron models, ranging from low to high profile, minimal to full layout, but overall the boxy shape, old fashioned keys, I just knew I wanted it. There is something vaguely 1970s about it, maybe the wood details and no-nonsense font connects it to those old Sol-20 terminal computers. It also weighs nearly one kilogram.

I hesitated when I saw it was marketed as "wireless", not something I look for in keyboards. But after I learned there is a cable data mode (it's not just for charging) I was fully sold. The USB cable was included. There are BT and 2.4GHz modes.

The wood panels are a nice touch

From a minimal experience I'm not going to comment how well it works with games. It was fine for Manic Miner on a Spectrum emulator. The magnetic switches mean there's no added tactile sensation for the key presses, but I've not given much thought about such matters. HyperX didn't do that really either, and here the feel is already nicer if only for the better sound. I guess I've simply become used to the lack of a definite "click" feel in keyboards. It was already so in Atari ST days.

There is an app that can help configure and calibrate the keyboard, but I've not looked at it, as I'd need to fire up my Mac to do it. Obviously it won't work on Linux. Supposedly each individual key can have a different sensitivity. Also, the lights options are very limited from the keyboard itself, but I was able to find a muted non-animated lighting which was fine for me.

By default, there are the Macintosh style Hannunvaakuna symbols instead of ALT and ALT GR. Just as I was about to write about this strange choice, I noticed there were extra keycaps included in the package, such as a black ESC instead of the default light brown one. A nice gesture.

Included tools, the receiver and extra keys

In that old blog post I still lamented the HyperX would not transmit as many keys at once as one Blackstorm keyboard did, possibly some kind of side effect of not using it on Windows or Mac, can't remember. I can observe the Keychron passes this arbitrary "qwertyuiop" test, meaning I can push the whole row simultaneously and all keys will be transmitted.

And yes, my 65% Blackstorm has an even smaller footprint than this Keychron, but I now consider the Blackstorm woefully noisy. I believe 65% would be too minimal for my needs.

Here the transition from TKL to 75% means there are no Scroll Lock and Pause keys. Thankfully Print Screen exists, it has a "crop" symbol on it. DEL is not as comfortably positioned, but can be learned. Positively, HOME and END are in a nice location and PGUP and PGDN are close at hand.

For my current setup, it's good to have the cable on the left side

Then to my only real gripe so far.

Insert is missing, which is concerning when using tracker music software. Instead of the dedicated light-key, I'd rather have INS. The light-key doesn't even appear to register as an event in the system, as xev indicates, so it likely cannot be customized from the system either. Wasting one key to an operation I don't really need that often, is a crime.

Also, for some older Keychron keyboards, fn+DEL functions as INS, but no such luck with this one. Reading about it, it does sound like a minor scandal. 

Whereas the included extra keys felt like a nice gesture, now I'm a little soured they didn't include an INS too. In fact Keychron doesn't appear to sell individual keys.

I was prepared to say I've learned my lessons as a keyboard buyer, but had I spotted the lack of Insert key I might even have diverted my money elsewhere.

But all is not lost. I installed input-remapper on Linux Mint and recorded the Crop key and made it into KEY_INSERT. Easy enough.

input_remapper

I usually adjust quite fast to minor changes in keyboard layouts, but I note the INS and DEL pair are somewhat far from cursor keys. Perhaps some Sinclair QL style remapping of modifier+cursor keys to perform as INS and DEL and learn a genuinely quirky practice?

I still needed Control+Crop key to function as PrintScreen, as the Crop key now performs as INS. This had to be remapped to KEY_SYSRQ which does not sound very intuitive but wasn't hard to find out. The Autoload needs to be turned on for the changes to work after reboot.

So, despite this gripe the Keychron might be the best keyboard I've ever had. Of course, time will tell if it will break apart or start misbehaving.

Primus Firestick

Primus Firestick in pristine, unused condition

Primus Firestick always looked like fun, but also expensive for what it is: fairly standard screw-on gas burner with a design gimmick.

One day I saw this for 40€, passed it, then realized it comes with a carry bag and the Primus piezo igniter (easily 16€ by itself), went back another day and picked it up.

Already when taking it out of the box, it looks flimsier than in the photographs and the tripod "flaps" don't seem to reach very far.

Box contents, there's also a manual.

The cap needs to be removed to open the flaps, which is simple enough, but putting it back together needs a tiny amount of practice. Yes, it opens hassle-free and "automatically", but is that a major draw?

The loose cap can be considered at least a minor design flaw, it might have been a better to have it hinge on one of the flaps or something.

For a first quick test, I warmed a Duossal's worth of pea soup, and the Primus did just fine.

Jalostajan Hernekeitto, mmm...

When put together, the Firestick is not only compact but the round form is quite convenient for carrying. I'm tempted to carry it as is, but because the burner component needs protection and the cap could come loose, it's better to keep it in the bag. The bag is also a good place for the piezo igniter.

If I have to compare this to "Furno 360", the Firestick is likely not as powerful, but it takes a little less space.

At first it was puzzling that I needed to turn the valve quite a lot before the gas even begins to flow. But the valve is quite generous, a quarter-turn isn't going to send the burner into a fit. This is quite pleasant, much better than in my Primus Mimer stove.

The jagged parts don't connect with a normal pot

A little wind didn't create a problem, but on more open ground the Firestick turned out to be quite sensitive to even normal wind, when attempting a low flame. But this is quite common with burners, especially the taller screw-on models. Heating water with a full-on blast is unlikely to be a problem.

Yet I'm starting to think one of those collapsible windshields might make sense. And yes, Trangia storm cookers have solved this already.

The pot holds firmly enough, even though the tripod parts don't connect in the most ideal way. It might be there is a specific Primus pot or cup that connects better into it.

Fire Maple Feast Heat Exchanger

Notably this is the second system I've bought that has some problems with the Fire Maple Feast Heat Exchanger pot. It looks like the Firestick flaps nearly fit inside the opening inside the exchanger, but it doesn't without squeezing the flaps inward a little. So it can become "locked", which depending on the situation might be a good or a bad thing. I'm inclined to think it might be a bad thing.

Boohoo, it's dirty already

If the idea of the design is that the flap outsides would retain their color better than in other models, no such luck, the burn colorization attacked it the first time. The cap obviously remains clean.

So, yet another burner that's unlikely to pull much weight in winter conditions, but hey, the Primus piezo igniter is quite good.

Vammala Party 2026

Another summer, another Vammala Party.

I made a late moment decision to not take a Commodore 64 with me, so no Rambo. But I did not even have my traditional Linux laptop. This put some constraints to what I could do at the site.

Running some kind of Spectrum emulator online

Instead, I only took a Samsung Galaxy Tab with me, and became more familiar with it. Moving files about was cumbersome, but there were ultimately some dodgy ssh solutions that helped do it. I found surprisingly few text editors for it, a topic I might explore later.

Also, the space freed by not having the C64 allowed me to take some of my accumulated MIDI gear, with no intention to contribute to the music compo at all. I rarely have time to experiment with them, so the opportunity was welcome.

Wonder of wonders, it could all be synced

So, the long weekend was filled with movies, odd compos, food, music and gear.

One minor problem was that nearly everything needed charging, sometimes multiple times: phone, Galaxy Tab, handheld gaming device, the Roland synths.

Table full of gear, just different kind

The weather was not cruel hot, in fact it started raining on Saturday.

This changed some of the competitions, no more floppy disk throwing outside.

Previously I thought that Krita on the Android is not a good idea, but as keyboard shortcuts were now possible, it's actually quite powerful. Using Pipette (P or left control) and a semi-opaque brush of nearly uniform size, I don't even need that many keys.

"Lesser Terminators", Krita drawing, here scaled down and jpg'd

My approach is to use largely the same tools for the entire image, no layers, not special effects. Just a "palimpsest" of drawing over and over again. The outcome probably has very little appeal to anyone who isn't me. It resembles some of the things I've drawn or painted in the past using physical media.

It looks like I've not released a PETSCII since the last year's Vammala Party. This PETSCII was made quickly before even traveling to the party, not my proudest moment but it ended up second after all. 

Jänis PETSCII, Commodore 64

I'm not sure what to say about the increased presence of AI in the compos. I think it's quite fair there are dedicated AI-themed compos (Prompted graphics, and "vibe code prompt") with a very low entry threshold. It's then very clear what the entries are.

But then it's also quite obvious the main demo compo has more entries because it's now possible to use AI in support of coding. So the line between a high effort "vibe code prompt" compo contribution and a low-effort main demo compo contribution was quite blurry.

Acorn Archimedes A3020

As usual, I couldn't resist making some trades. One was a Quickshot joystick, another was an Acorn Archimedes A3020.

Vammala Party 2026 at Demozoo

The Quickshot II USB Joystick

The QuickShot II

I bought this Quickshot-like USB stick because I'd heard good things about it.

I tried it instantly with Vice emulator and Buck Rogers. This game is very revealing about joysticks, because the movement is so twitchy. Lag and poorly working diagonals make themselves known. It's also a flight game of sorts, so this joystick would feel appropriate.

The short verdict: I have to say I was disappointed. The result was not comparable to the self-made Arduino 9-pin joystick adapter and a proper Tac-2 joystick.

Let's rewind a little.

Retro Games have had a reputation of making so-so joysticks. The stick bundled with The C64 was unremarkable, even if physically quite appealing. I've heard better things said about the "black" edition joystick, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it.

Good old Buck Rogers

Now that Retro Games put out a new dedicated joystick, I expected it to be based on feedback from the earlier products, and as a few reviews seemed to give it praise I took the plunge. I perhaps ought to have read a few more reviews, as they tend to be mixed.

The Quickshot directions feel like the non-micro switch joystick the original black Quickshot was, and I can commend it for replicating that feel. There are in fact micro switches inside, it's just they are less noisy.

The grip is good and makes me wonder why I haven't been looking for the original stick before. The suction cups work, but to me this is a secondary feature, I can hold the joystick on my lap.

The real problem is that there's very little center zone for the stick, so in Buck Rogers the ship keeps moving left or right almost automatically, or even ping-pongs when I'm trying to gain control. Diagonals tend to get confused. This also makes it difficult to see if there's lag, as a micro switch might remain on while my senses tell it ought not to be on.

Trying this on The C64 and The Spectrum, as intended, doesn't make it better. In case it doesn't work out of the box, apparently you will need to hold X,Y and L,R for three seconds to change they joystick mode, after which it will register as a kind of joystick the device accepts. With later products, like The Spectrum, it should not matter.

On sluggish sim type games, like Elite on the ZX Spectrum and Stunt Car Racer on the C64 the problems are not as pronounced and the feel is more appropriate for these games anyway.

jstest-gtk

As a bonus, there are 6 additional buttons and the two fire buttons even register as a different button, so something can be made out of these when reconfigured for emulators. For example, I could use the buttons for accelerate/decelerate, arm/unarm/fire missile in Elite, which is kind of fun.

jstest-gtk is good for checking all the buttons and axes. Other software might have different numbering scheme, for example Fuse emulator starts from 1 whereas jstest-gtk starts from 0.

Looking at the insides

Opening the cover. The plate that houses the springs, is still in place.

One saving grace might be the joystick could be easy to mod. It opens easily enough, just remove five screws from the bottom and the part comes loose. 

There's a plate that houses springs for re-centering the stick. Four screws later, the plate can be removed. This actually needs to be removed for the circuit board to come loose.

After that, six more screws and the circuit board can be detached. The internal cables can be easily disconnected, they are not glued in.

The spring plate removed

Now, there are a few things that might influence how well the stick performs.

The four light springs that help return the stick to the center could be stronger I guess. Just to do something I pulled them out a little. This is not likely to achieve much.

The board doesn't look very straight when taken out of the stick. However, there are enough screws to keep it in place so I don't think it's bent when in position. So I'd rule that out.

The circuit board is easy to remove for inspection

The micro switch boxes might not be as flush against the circuit board as well as one might hope. I tried to re-solder them some, perhaps gaining a tiny improvement, but this alone didn't do anything either.

The underside of the board had something looking like re-soldering, before I even touched anything myself. It could be an indication of fixing the placing of machine-inserted parts, or the switches are put in manually as they are not SMD parts.

The other thing is that if they are not well positioned in their surface coordinates, could also result in an inaccuracy. My opinion is that this isn't very likely.

It's not exactly flush with the circuit board

The plastic parts that actually push the micro switches, could be reduced a little. After a little surface scraping I concluded I shouldn't do this as there isn't going back.

So, I didn't see any one thing that would be very crucial, but taking them all together there could be uncertainties when coming out of the manufacture, contributing to diverse experiences the reviewers and commenters have had.

The circle highlights the part that pushes against the micro switch

My adjustments didn't seem to do much, as they were so minor. It's possible the involuntary "ping-pong" effect was slightly reduced, but as I don't have metric for that it could be just my mind working away the problems.

I believe the stick can be further improved, and I think Retro Games can be at least credited for making devices that are easy to open and tinker with.


Towards a solution?

It occurred to me that I could add washers between the circuit board and the holders. This would create some distance between the micro switches and the shaft elements. After a couple of different attempts I ended up using 0.5mm thick washers.

The washers were a little tricky to add, some temporary glue could have helped, but I only needed to add 4 washers there. Fortunately it all still came back together.

I'd already noticed the stick doesn't stay exactly in position. It kind of rotates a tiny bit along its axis. But now I saw it can also be lifted about a millimeter or two. With the washers installed, and joystick lifted, the controls improve, whereas if it lies in its lowest position, I get far more of that "ping-pong" uncertainty.

To counter this effect I added one washer (0.5mm thick) under the central spring. This did create the desired effect, the stick no longer lifts.

There isn't a better picture, after adding them there's nothing to see

This resulted in a more balanced experience. I did introduce some kind of occasional cracking sound, which isn't very welcome, but I can perhaps look into it more. 

Also, if I want to be precise the L/R directions are still too sensitive compared to the U/D directions. This is where removing some material from the micro switch pushers might achieve something, but I'll address that later.

But I'm finished with the Quickshot now, and will return if I come up with any improvements.

The Buck stops here

While my modded Quickshot doesn't still quite pass the Buck Rogers test with flying colors, it's already a fairly usable joystick. It works pretty nice with the selection of games that comes with The C64. Boulder Dash, Monty on the Run, Paradroid. Why not.

On emulation front, Saboteur and even Atic Atac were passable, but Giana Sisters, maybe not so much. Blue Max felt ok.

Like I said, Elite and Stunt Car Racer go well with this. It adds something to sim and 3D games, especially when the extra buttons can be redirected to keypresses.