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PXL_20230909_133235490
General Programming Reverse-engineer Windows Tips 

Fixing corrupted Code Integrity Policies (CIP) causing Windows 11 slowness on recently downloaded EXE files

October 3, 2023January 16, 2024 ToughDev 0 Comment code integrity policy, windows 11, windows defender

Windows Defender is the first thing that I disable on a new Windows 10 or Windows 11 installations. Despite its

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tecsun radio lcd
Hardware Radio/TV Reverse-engineer 

Repairing a failed Tecsun S-8800 radio due to damaged charging board

September 2, 2023November 19, 2024 ToughDev 6 Comments s-8800, tecsun

In June, my Tecsun S-8800 which was purchased in Feb 2020 stopped working totally. It had started 2 months earlier

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info2
Networking Popular Articles Software Development Vintage Computing Win32 API Windows Tips 

Super 8086 Box, my home-built PC XT emulator with Adlib, MPU-401, joystick and NE2000 support

August 15, 2023January 6, 2026 ToughDev 5 Comments 8086tiny, c++, dosbox, msdos

In 2019 I played with 8086 Tiny Plus v1.34, developed by Jaybert Software and improved from the original 8086 Tiny

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dsPIC memory organization
General Programming Hardware Microcontroller Popular Articles Radio/TV Software Development 

dsMP3, my LW/MW/FM/SW radio with MP3 recording/playback [Part 2 – Firmware Design]

July 19, 2023May 25, 2025 ToughDev 1 Comment ch375, ch376, dspic

UPDATE (May 2025) – Check out Hackaday’s write-up of the dsMP3 project here In my previous post I described how

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Screenshot 2023-09-01 102747
iOS Mac OS Software Development Xcode 

Getting xCode to run on unsupported versions of macOS

June 7, 2023May 29, 2024 ToughDev 13 Comments Info.plist, iOS, Monterey, SystemVersion.plist, Ventura, xCode

My MacBook Air 2017 has been running macOS Monterey (12.6.5), the last version to support my MacBook model, which in

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imageonline-co-straightend-image(1)
Hardware Microcontroller Popular Articles Radio/TV 

dsMP3, my LW/MW/FM/SW radio with MP3 recording/playback [Part 1 – Hardware Design]

May 15, 2023May 16, 2025 ToughDev 1 Comment ch375, ch376, dspic, rtc, si4735, tda1308

UPDATE (May 2025) – Check out Hackaday’s write-up of the dsMP3 project here Wondering why even high-end multiband radios such

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Screenshot 2023-04-30 234653
Product Reviews VoIP 

Receive unlimited incoming VoIP calls with FlyNumber’s virtual phone numbers and SIP2SIP

May 1, 2023September 15, 2023 ToughDev 1 Comment flynumber, sip2sip, zoiper

Recently I was introduced to FlyNumber, an easy-to-use cloud VoIP provider which offers PBX services as well as virtual phone

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ch376_pinout
CodeProject Hardware Microcontroller 

Integrating FatFs FAT filesystem module with CH375/CH376 USB controller

April 25, 2023May 9, 2023 ToughDev 0 Comment ch375, ch376, dspic, fatfs, spi

In a recent embedded project, I need to access data stored on a USB thumb drive using a dsPIC33EP512MC502. As

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DS0007 - Copy
Hardware Oscilloscope Reverse-engineer 

Rigol DS1054Z, GW-INSTEK GDS1054B and Hantek DSO4084C digital oscilloscopes

March 12, 2023September 10, 2023 ToughDev 1 Comment DS1054Z, DSO4084C, GDS1054B, hantek, instek, rigol

Over a period of five years I have bought myself three low-end modern digital oscilloscopes, the Rigol DS1054Z, GW-INSTEK GDS1054B

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PXL_20230328_032504608
Hardware Radio/TV 

Grundig GV509M, Panasonic NV-FJ625 and Phillips VR 330 VCR/VHS Player/Recorder

February 28, 2023January 28, 2024 ToughDev 0 Comment grundig, panasonic, phillips, vcr, vhs

In my store room I have a collection of three VCRs, Panasonic NV-FJ625, Phillips VR 330 and Grundig GV509M. The

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24c64
CodeProject General Programming Hardware Microcontroller 

Emulating EEPROM using flash memory on dsPIC33EP512MC502

January 17, 2023May 9, 2023 ToughDev 0 Comment dspic, eeprom, flash, mplab, pickit4, xc16

One thing I don’t like about the dsPICEE3P (and the PIC32MX) lines is that these devices do not have EEPROM

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fsc_futro_s210_thinclient_up_t_1679241853_0985fc93_progressive
General Programming Hardware Networking Vintage Computing Windows Tips 

Fujitsu Siemens FSC Futro S210 thin client

December 27, 2022February 28, 2026 ToughDev 1 Comment fujitsu, Futro, ms dos, thin client, windows 3.11, windows 98

I got from eBay a FSC Futro S210 thin client, which can support up to 512MB RAM, 32GB CompactFlash card

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g2b7h
CodeProject General Programming Hardware Software Development Vintage Computing Windows Tips 

Powering off a computer using ACPI from DOS

November 30, 2022April 4, 2023 ToughDev 0 Comment a86, acpi, ms dos

By default, DOS does not come with a command to shut down or power off the computer. Back in the

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ubu10
CodeProject General Programming Microsoft Visual Studio Software Development Windows Tips 

Compiling WinQEMU v0.10.2 using Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2012

October 15, 2022December 23, 2023 ToughDev 10 Comments c++, dosbox, qemu, winqemu

Earlier this year I managed to get DOSBox-X to boot Ubuntu 9.10, as least as far as dropping into the

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vs4
CodeProject General Programming Microsoft Visual Studio Software Development Windows Tips 

Troubleshooting slow C++ debugging with Visual Studio 2022

September 27, 2022April 4, 2023 ToughDev 0 Comment c++, visual studio

One day I was debugging my C++ application on Visual Studio 2022 when the computer suddenly froze. Upon reboot, IntelliSense

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About ToughDev

Since 2008, ToughDev has explored embedded systems, software development, reverse engineering, and retro computing, bridging legacy hardware with modern software.

Recent projects include the Super 8086 Box PC XT emulator, the dsMP3 embedded radio, and detailed teardowns of vintage PCs such as the Tandy 2500RSX.

Beyond publishing technical research, ToughDev also provides consulting and custom development services in embedded systems, mobile applications, VoIP, microcontroller firmware, and integration with vintage or undocumented hardware platforms.

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Recent Comments

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  • ToughDev on Internet access from Pocket 386 retro laptop using Wemos D1 ESP8266 serial Wifi adapter
  • Jan de Lange on Compaq Contura 3/25C 80386 Laptop
  • Jan de Lange on Internet access from Pocket 386 retro laptop using Wemos D1 ESP8266 serial Wifi adapter
  • ToughDev on Internet access from Pocket 386 retro laptop using Wemos D1 ESP8266 serial Wifi adapter
  • Jan de Lange on Internet access from Pocket 386 retro laptop using Wemos D1 ESP8266 serial Wifi adapter
  • SafeeDeen on dsMP3, my LW/MW/FM/SW radio with MP3 recording/playback [Part 1 – Hardware Design]
  • Dr. Sanjeev Saxena on dsMP3, my LW/MW/FM/SW radio with MP3 recording/playback [Part 2 – Firmware Design]
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  • ToughDev on Super 8086 Box, my home-built PC XT emulator with Adlib, MPU-401, joystick and NE2000 support
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