retrocomputing

400 Articles

2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Custom RISC-V Processor For Retro System

October 28, 2026 by 4 Comments

Although once little more than an academic endeavor, the RISC-V architecture is slowly supplanting applications that would have normally gone to ARM. Even a few microcontrollers have chips running this open-source instruction set now, and we expect it to grow in the future since it doesn’t require the licensing of an ARM or x86 chip. [M_Jagadeesh97] is getting ahead of the curve with this retro gaming system built on a custom-designed RISC-V system.

Most of us, presumably including [M_Jagadeesh97], don’t have access to chip fabrication tools, but what we can get is any of various FPGAs. This RISC-V CPU is built on a Terasic DE0-Nano board with 32 MB of RAM available to it, and boots to a launcher with 32 games available. There are a few limitations with this low-power system which was largely solved by limiting the display to 64×32, which lets it maintain the same aspect ratio as the original DOOM as well as the same aspect ratio for many of the older games, while still maintaining 45 FPS.

The project writeup goes deep into the design of a system like this, from the bare metal, the CPU design, the timing of the video signals, and how to implement a Wolfenstein-like raycaster. After adding a small display it looks to be fairly portable as well and is an excellent demonstration of how powerful inexpensive boards like this  FPGA can be with the proper amount of effort.

2026 Hackaday Retrocomputing Contest

Arduino Engine Runs Many Games

October 26, 2026 by 4 Comments

A few years ago, [Smashcat] ported a ZX Spectrum game called Manic Miner to the Arduino Uno. The Arduino has less memory than the original Spectrum did, so doing all this on an 8-bit microcontroller was no easy lift. Since then, parts of this original port have been adapted to produce a game engine, allowing [Smashcat] to port several other games to the Arduino Uno as well.

The engine is able to host a 2D map with the ability to scroll, at a resolution of 256×256, as well as up to nine sprites at the same time. The graphics are locked to 50 FPS, but only with a real Arduino Uno that has a crystal oscillator. Some replica boards do not have a timekeeping chip accurate enough to replicate the video signal, which is done without a framebuffer. That signal, as well as two PWM audio channels, are still generated directly as well, with only a few resistors needed to hook everything up to a monitor and a controller, including the option of using an NES controller.

With all of that running on the Arduino and it hooked up to the daughterboard that provides the controller interface as well as the resistors for the video signal to function and a driver for a speaker, the system now runs the original Manic Miner as well as three other games: Scramble, Space Invaders, and Pac Man.

The engine and the rest of the code are available on a GitHub page as well, and there’s even a WebAssembly version available to run various pieces of the software without the specific hardware. The original ZX Spectrum was an interesting machine too that still inspires builds like this, despite it being well over 40 years old now.

Commodore 128 Becomes Marine Vessel Tracker

September 25, 2026 by 6 Comments

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a maritime radio communications tool used to allow different vessels to identify each other and communicate their movements and other telemetry. You can readily view a variety of AIS trackers online. Alternatively, you could build your own, and display the data on a retrocomputer from 40-plus years ago.

The concept is straightforward enough—it’s a Commodore 128 displaying vessel tracks from AIS data. The team behind AIS4CBM implemented this with assembly code to receive data over serial, parse and decode the AIS reports, and manage vessel data. Meanwhile, the front end is coded in BASIC 8, which provides useful graphic routines for plotting vessels on a map. There’s also a BASIC 7 text interface if you prefer to view the vessel data that way.

It’s worth noting that you can’t just run this on a barebones C128. AIS4CBM requires a 512 KiB REU RAM expansion, as well as 64 KiB VDC memory. You also need a SwiftLink compatible serial interface to get the data into the machine in the first place from your AIS receiver or other source. The project website notes that an Ultimate-II+ unit is a great way to fulfill most of these requirements with a single piece of hardware.

If you dig the project, you can check out a live stream from the C128 doing its thing below. We wouldn’t recommend a Commodore 128 if you’re a harbor master or otherwise commanding ships on the water. Still, it’s a fun project, and much like the NES that was set up to track planes with ADS-B data. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Commodore 128 Becomes Marine Vessel Tracker” →

COSMAC Elf Turns 50

September 4, 2026 by 28 Comments

If you were interested in computers in the early 1970s, you struggled to get time on real computers since owning your own was all but impossible. In the middle of the decade, though, you could get a few computers: the Mark VIII, the Altair, the Apple I, and several others. Those were still pretty expensive, though. But in late 1976, an article in Popular Electronics said you could build a “powerful, expandable” computer for $80. The article in question was by [Joseph Weisbecker], who, unknown to most of us at the time, was actually the RCA employee behind the CPU — an RCA 1802. [Tech Time Traveler] takes a close look at the spunky little computer’s history in the video you can see below.

The 1802 was actually the second generation of the CPU, but the first that was all-in-one chip. [Weisbecker] started building the CPU as a personal project. He’d been a hacker even in high school, building relay-based tic-tac-toe games, among other things.

The first incarnation in his lab was “Fred,” with 100 TTL chips, and his idea was to have the computer be at least partially used as a video game — an interesting point, with Pong being very popular at the time.

Continue reading “COSMAC Elf Turns 50” →

Artificial Intelligence As It Once Was

August 25, 2026 by 26 Comments

One day, people will look back at what we call Artificial Intelligence and laugh. We do the same thing today, as chat bots totally outstrip what the computer industry called AI up until pretty recently. This didn’t escape curators at the Internet Archive, apparently, and [Jason Scott] tells us about a recent collection, “Vintage Artificial Intelligence.”

These are old software titles that will run for you in emulated machines right in your browser, ranging from somewhere in the 1970s to the 1990s. There’s Eliza, of course. Actually, there are several copies of Eliza. Given how simple it was to write Eliza, it did a pretty good job. Then there are adventure games that are pretty conversational, Lisp, Prolog, which was going to spawn expert systems to replace us all, and Racter, which tried to write fiction.

There was even Alter Ego that was supposed to help you explore life decisions, maybe? There are a couple different versions of even a few versions of Conway’s Game of Life. We aren’t sure that’s ever really been AI, but perhaps it depends on your definition. We’re happy to see Sargon, the chess program, represented.

We didn’t see Hexapawn, which is a shame. We also didn’t see Parry (the paranoid counterpart to Eliza) or that elusive software we remember but can never find that built word chains from text called George.

We’ve written about Eliza before. If you want to experiment with Prolog and you like Pokémon, you’ll appreciate this tutorial.

Announcing The 2026 Hackaday Retrocomputing Challenge

August 18, 2026 by 30 Comments

What is it about retrocomputing? For some people, it’s nostalgia. For others, it’s the appeal of simplicity. For still others, it’s the chance to save old machines from the graveyard. Whatever your motivation, there’s no denying that we’ve seen a metric ton of retrocomputer projects here at Hackaday. And we’d like to see more!

We’re happy to announce the 2026 Hackaday Retrocomputing Challenge!

Now’s the chance to put your retrocomputer project up for all to see. Open up a Hackaday.io project that features your retrocomputer project, and we’ll pick our three favorites for a $150 gift certificate courtesy of this contest’s sponsor, DigiKey. You have until Tuesday, October 27th. So get hacking!

Continue reading “Announcing The 2026 Hackaday Retrocomputing Challenge” →

Rare IBM PC Brought Back To Life

August 13, 2026 by 24 Comments

[Epictronics] happens to have a rather special machine in his possession. It’s a rare IBM PC prototype or concept machine from the late 1980s known as the IBM 7496 Executive Workstation. It’s a striking thing, with a rather enticing case design that has the monitor permanently attached on a nifty swivel mount. Only… the machine wasn’t working, so some repairs were in order!

The video is essentially teardown that gives a wonderful look at the internals of this oddball machine, which differs rather a bit from more mainstream IBM product of the era. The video is also about repairs and upgrades, too. The real work begins with pulling out the 720K double-density floppy drive, which has a number of faults preventing it from working reliably. Running a machine off floppies alone is as frustrating today as it was back then, so [Epictronics] goes further by adding in an XT-IDE card to allow the machine to interface with a hard drive. An AdLib clone soundcard completes the upgrades to make this unique unit as capable as you’d want it to be given those industrially good looks. The machine has the obscure, shortlived MCGA graphics subsystem, which really fits its oddball nature, but it will nevertheless play a fair few games of its era if such is demanded of it.

If you’re a fan of the early days of the IBM PC, or you just like watching retro computers pulled apart and delicately put back together, this is a great video to watch over lunch or dinner. If your tastes are more Commoderian, we’ve got some content more to your tastes as well. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Rare IBM PC Brought Back To Life” →