The computer systems of yesteryear are in some ways rather more enjoyable to hack on than right this moment’s machines. Whether or not it was outfitted with a 6502, Z80, or different early microprocessor, the abundance of discrete through-hole chips on circuit boards with traces giant sufficient to drive a truck by made these programs fairly straightforward to grasp and modify. Strive that with a contemporary Intel Core i9-based system!
To make certain, the fog of time has made these computer systems of the early private pc revolution appear extra enticing than they are surely. In any case, they’re saddled with extreme {hardware} limitations and a few main usability issues. However whereas nobody desires to make use of them as their each day driver anymore, there isn’t a use in making an attempt to cause with a retro pc fanatic singing their praises. A phrase to the sensible: for those who come throughout a bunch of them within the wild shouting “Commodore endlessly!,” merely smile and again away slowly. No matter you do, make no effort to cause with them.
Electronics hobbyist Matt Evans is especially keen on the unique Apple Macintosh private pc, with its Motorola 68000 microprocessor, 128 KB of RAM, and monochrome show (keep in mind: make no effort to cause with them!). Evidently, it is a scant quantity of computational energy by trendy requirements. That set Evans to eager about how inexpensively and easily one may reproduce such a system right this moment. The solutions: a couple of {dollars} and numerous effort, respectively.
Evans designed and constructed a diminutive naked bones clone of the unique Macintosh, known as the MicroMac , utilizing solely trendy {hardware} and methods. It’s constructed across the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller improvement board — not too unhealthy, contemplating the true deal initially price practically half as a lot as a compact automotive. The Pico emulates the 68000 microprocessor, the Macintosh {hardware}, outputs a VGA sign (in a lovely 512 x 342 pixel monochrome), and accepts keyboard and mouse inputs.
To keep away from happening an enormous rabbit gap, Evans made use of an present 68000 CPU emulator known as the Musashi 68K interpreter. This C-based software offered a platform on prime of which to construct an emulator for the System Software program 1.0 working system. This took the type of a customized emulator named umac that was written by Evans. It’s described as having absolutely the minimal in {hardware} emulation, such that it could actually boot and run some primary apps. So it will get the job performed, however might not please hardcore retro computing lovers.
The unique system might have run at 7.8336 MHz, however emulation is much much less environment friendly than actual {hardware}, so even the rather more superior Pico processor working at as much as 133 MHz couldn’t match the velocity of the unique pc. Luckily the Pico is well-known for its capability to be closely overclocked, so Evans merely cranked it as much as 250 MHz to convey the MicroMac up to the mark.
The quantity of labor that goes into constructing a MicroMac may make you relatively simply purchase an authentic machine from EBay as an alternative of constructing a contemporary copy. However since Evans has already performed all the soiled work, and documented it intimately, it shouldn’t be too tough to make a MicroMac from that Pico that’s already in your components drawer. In case you do, make sure you submit it right here on Hackster. We might like to drool over it!The MicroMac emulates the unique Apple Macintosh (📷: Matt Evans)
Good issues are available small packages (📷: Matt Evans)
A high-level overview of the design (📷: Matt Evans)
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