Retrocomputing

1218 Articles

A Birthday Cake For A Retrocomputer Designer

October 25, 2024 by 6 Comments

When making a birthday cake a bit more personal, one can create a novelty themed confection appropriate for the lucky recipient. In the case of [Spencer Owen], who you may know as the creator of the RC2014 retrocomputing ecosystem, it was appropriate to have one of the little machines at work somewhere, so [peahen] did just that. The result is a cake in the shape of an IMSAI 8080 microcomputer, but it does more than just look the part. This is a working replica of the classic machine, powered as you might expect by an RC2014 sitting next to it.

The lights are a set of addressable LEDs, and the switches are made from appropriately colored sweets. Sadly the plan to make these capacitive touch switched failed as the wiring became buried in the icing, but the LEDs deserve a second look. They’re encased in translucent heatshrink sleeving which is embedded under a layer of white icing, which is translucent enough, but on top for the classic panel light look are a set of edible cake-maker’s jewels. Best of all while all except the electronics is edible, the front panel is robust enough to have been removed from the cake in one and thus will live on.

We rather like the idea of electronics meeting sugarcraft, because fondant is a surprisingly versatile medium that deserves attention much further than just confectionery. We remember it being a popular cheap way to experiment with 3D printing back at the dawn of open source printers, and it still has some potential. Meanwhile if you’ve not seen the RC2014 we reviewed its original version back in 2016, and since then it’s evolved to become an ecosystem in its own right.

Signal Processing Shenanigans: The Createc SC 01 Pocket Oscilloscope

October 23, 2024 by 4 Comments

If you’re passionate about signal processing and retro tech, you’ll want to check out the Createc SC 01, a quirky handheld oscilloscope that recently caught the eye of [Thomas Scherrer] from OZ2CPU Teardown. This device, cheekily dubbed a “signal computer,” promises to be both intriguing and, perhaps, frustrating. You can view [Thomas]’ original teardown video here.

This device is packed with buttons and a surprisingly retro aesthetic that can make even the most seasoned hacker feel nostalgic. With a sample rate of 20 MHz and a bandwidth of up to 10 MHz, it’s a digital oscilloscope with a twist. Users may find its setup challenging, thanks to a somewhat convoluted manual that boasts numerous errors. However, beneath the confusion lies the potential for creative exploration: this signal computer can analyse analog signals, perform calculations, and even store data.

Despite its quirks, the SC 01 is sure the experience. Imagine troubleshooting a circuit while grappling with its unpredictable user interface—an adventure in itself for those who like a techy challenge.

The Createc SC 01 is not just another tool; it’s an invitation to embrace the imperfections of vintage tech. If you enjoy the hands-on learning process and don’t shy away from a few hiccups, this device might be something you’ll enjoy. Hackaday featured an article on similar devices last year.

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A Modern PC With A Retro OS

October 22, 2024 by 24 Comments

Despite the rise of ARM processors in more and more computers from embedded systems to daily driver PCs, the x86 architecture maintains a stronghold in the computing space that won’t be going away anytime soon. One of the main drivers of this is its beachhead in industrial systems; the x86 architecture is backwards-compatible farther back than many of us have been alive and in situations where machines need to run for years with minimum downtime it’s good to know you can grab any x86 system off the shelf and it’ll largely work. This is also true for gaming, so if you’re like [Yeo Kheng Meng] and want to run games like DOOM natively on modern hardware it’s certainly possible, although there are a few catches.

This build goes into the design of a modern AMD Ryzen 5 desktop computer, with all of the components selected specifically for their use running software more than three decades old now. [Yeo Kheng Meng] is targeting DOS 6.22 as his operating system of choice, meaning that modern EFI motherboards won’t necessarily work. He’s turned to business class products as a solution for many of these issues, as motherboards targeting business and industrial customers often contain more support for antiquated hardware like PS/2 and parallel ports while still having modern amenities like DDR5 memory slots. PS/2 ports additionally are an indicator that the motherboard will supports older non-EFI boot modes (BIOS) and can potentially run DOS natively. Everything here can also run modern operating systems, since he isn’t building this system only to run DOS and retro games.

Beyond the motherboard choice, he’s also using a Soundblaster card for audio which is a design choice generally relegated to history, but still used in modern gaming by a dedicated group. There’s also a floppy drive running via a USB header adapter cable. Of course, there are a few problems running DOS and other era-appropriate software natively on such incomprehensibly fast hardware (by early 90s standards). Some video games were hard coded to the processor clock of the x86 process of the era, so increasing the clock speed orders of magnitude results in several playability issues. In emulators it’s easier to provide an artificially slow clock speed, but on real hardware this isn’t always possible. But [Yeo Kheng Meng] has done a lot to get this modern computer running older software like this. Another take we’ve seen for retro gaming on original hardware is this system which uses a brand-new 486 processor meant for use in industrial settings as well.

Strange English Teaching Computer Might Have Been Big In Japan

October 21, 2024 by 9 Comments

[Ctrl-Alt-Rees] bought something strange on an auction site: a Japanese Cefucom-21 from 1983. No? Didn’t ring a bell for us either. The legend on the front boldly proclaims: “CCI Multipurpose SLAP Computer,” so maybe it is some kind of computer, but it is definitely strange. For one thing, the “screen” isn’t a screen at all. [Rees] has found that it has something to do with teaching English. You can see the odd beast in the video below.

We don’t know how common these were in Japan, but they appear to be virtually unknown everywhere else. Inside is a Z80 computer based on a  Sanyo PHC-25, which is a little better known.

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Feeling A Pong Of Nostalgia: Does It Hold Up In 2024?

October 20, 2024 by 8 Comments

We have probably all been there: that sudden memory of playing a (video) game and the good memories associated with said memory. Yet how advisable is it to try and re-experience those nostalgic moments? That’s what [Matt] of the Techmoan YouTube channel decided to give a whirl when he ordered the Arcade1Up Pong 2 Player Countercade game system. This comes loaded with multiple variants of the Pong game, including Pong Doubles and Pong Sports, in addition to Warlords, Super Breakout and Tempest. This unit as the name suggests allows for head-to-head two-player gaming.

This kind of ‘countercade’ system is of course much smaller than arcade versions, but you would expect it to give the Pong clones which [Matt] played as a youngster a run for their money at least. Ultimately [Matt] – after some multiplayer games with the Ms. – concluded that this particular nostalgia itch was one that didn’t have to be scratched any more. While the small screen of this countercade system and clumsy interface didn’t help much, maybe Pong just isn’t the kind of game that has a place in 2024?

From our own point of view of having played Pong (and many other ‘old’ games) on a variety of old consoles at retro events & museums, it can still be a blast to play even just Pong against a random stranger at these places. Maybe the issue here is that nostalgia is more about the circumstances of the memory and less of the particular game or product in question. Much like playing Mario Kart 64 on that 20″ CRT TV with three buddies versus an online match in a modern Mario Kart. It’s just not the same vibe.

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Behold A First-Person 3D Maze, Vintage Atari Style

October 20, 2024 by 15 Comments

[Joe Musashi] was inspired by discussions about 3D engines and decided to create a first-person 3D maze of his own. The really neat part? It could have been done on vintage Atari hardware. Well, mostly.

He does admit he had to do a little cheating to make this work; he relies on code for the ARM processor in the modern Atari VCS do the ray casting work, and the 6507 chip just handles the display kernel. Still, running his demo on a vintage Atari 2600 console could be possible, but would definitely require a Melody or Harmony cartridge, which are special reprogrammable cartridges popular for development and homebrew.

Ray casting is a conceptually simple method of generating a 3D view from given perspective, and here’s a tutorial that will tell you all you need to know about how it works, and how to implement your own.

[Joe]’s demo is just a navigable 3D maze rather than a game, but it’s pretty wild to see what could in theory have run on such an old platform, even if a few modern cheats are needed to pull it off. And if you agree that it’s neat, then hold onto your hats because a full 3D ray casting game — complete with a micro physics engine — was perfectly doable on the Commodore PET, which even had the additional limitation of a monochrome character-based display.

Inside The RLL Hard Drive Protocol

October 19, 2024 by 19 Comments

If you are younger than a certain age, RLL probably doesn’t mean much to you. Old consumer-grade hard drives used MFM (modified frequency modulation like a floppy disk uses) and soon went to IDE (integrated drive electronics). There was a brief period when RLL (run length limited) drives were the way to get a little more life out of the MFM technology. [W1ngsfly] has an RLL drive on his bench and uses his scope and some other gear to put it through its paces. You can watch over his shoulder in the video below.

The hardware interface and drive are the same for an MFM and an RLL drive. However, an RLL-aware controller can pack more bits on the same platter by using the newer modulation scheme. Some older disks were good enough for MFM but too sloppy to successfully take an RLL format, but — in theory — any MFM drive could be an RLL drive and vice versa.

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