MEGA65 – highly advanced C64 and C65 compatible 8-bit computer
shop.trenz-electronic.de
shop.trenz-electronic.de
What you won't get is an already set-up system, a nice case, or simple to attach peripherals, but I haven't had too much trouble with it, except trying to get a formatted hard disk for an Amiga into an SD card with files on it, but I figured it out :)
If you're into this, that's the hardware to get. A massive ecosystem of cores with good software to choose, configure and keep them all up to date.
I just wish the target devboard was among those supported by the open synth/place/route stack. Maybe in the future, somebody will make an OSHW custom board for the purpose, using a well-supported FPGA that could also hopefully be fatter than the one the DE-10 Nano has.
But, right now, MiSTer is the way to go.
I love the form factor and the cases! Thanks for sharing this.
Not that I am complaining: this scratches my itch. I just wish it were even easier to obtain software.
I think the reason the pi and this are accepted over an emulator is because I don't want to run strange software on my main machine(s).
I understand the reasons. Quality parts, small run, etc. But then I wonder: suppose I am so crazy to buy one. Extremely cool, certainly.
But then?
I stopped writing C64 software 27 years ago. Fondly remembering POKE 53280 is one thing, but doing that again...?
But then probably real vintage hardware is more appealing.
I mean, I'm not seriously expecting this to be the next big computing platform but I do think that a lower barrier to entry would help adoption.
The Ultimate 64 is the computer and the Ultimate II+ acts as a memory card reader for a Commodore 64 so you can mount different .d64 images to it.
They also have issues sourcing functional refurbished 3.5" drives, apparently the idea is to potentially move away from the built-in drive entirely after those 1400 units they're building right now.
Also I find the presence of the floppy drive in 2021 ridiculous. Yes the C65 had one - but that was a prototype machine from 1990 that was never produced. There’s no c65 software available on floppy disk, so no reason this couldn’t have used sdcards instead.
* dual SDHC™ card slots
I'd consider buying one at 300€. I'm not even contemplating it at the current price.
>floppy ridiculous.
I disagree. Floppies are very adequate to this sort of hardware, and an important component of the classic feel.
I just wish the drive faced the right side (like a keyboard Amiga) instead. It's not like they have any ports in there.
Inserting floppies from the front seems extremely uncomfortable to even think about.
Anybody who could afford it did get a floppy drive. I got an Amiga 500 at some point, instead.
I still have the hardware and the tapes, so I intend to get everything operational again at some point. It's just in the back of the queue, as I am busy dealing with a lot of "retro" platforms already.
Using a hard drive for a c64 isn't uncommon.
I can get a RPi4 for much less and install an emulator.
I understand that this is (should?) be better, but still, 800 euros!
This one instead reminds me of those Vampire FPGA’s with SAGA graphics mode running on a so called Motorola 68080, that is so niche on a niche system that nothing is developed for it other than tech demos and software compatibility suffers to boot.
Then again, I don’t like to complain about these passionate projects! They’re clearly 80’s “dream machines” of sorts. I just think that from a financial/success perspective this may not be where most profit is at.
I can imagine a version based on an emulation using a small ARM with the same physical keyboard and box, minus (or maybe not) floppy. The board is costly, and they expect to sell a finite number of units, so they need to recover the cost of the plastic injection tooling within that batch.
Having future versions based on emulated hardware would open up a market and drive down unit costs to more THEC64 Maxi levels, which would be extremely beneficial.
I'm looking forward to more retro machines, even if based on emulators, but with accurate physical reproductions of vintage hardware.
For lots of platforms, the physical object is not that important - We have 102/104-key with layouts that replicate most post PC-AT Unix workstations - it's the same layout we use, that the Archimedes and its descendants used, that most SGI's, most HP's and most other post-AT computers used. For those, the most important physical aspects are easy to replicate. If you really want, even a Trinitron tube can be replicated with a flexible OLED display and some bent plastic.
For computers like the C-64, 128, 65, Amigas, 8-bit Ataris, ST's, Apple II's, ///s, and earlier Macs, Sun workstations, Lisp machines, Alto's, Lilith's, DECs and others, the illusion will break if you use a PC keyboard and mouse. It'll feel strange.
For the C64 at least what you describe exists: TheC64 remake by RetroGames. It's exactly that, an ARM chip running VICE inside a case that looks and acts like a C64, complete with working keyboard. I own one and it's pretty cool.
Why not a real C64 I hear you ask? Well, real C64 are brittle, require swapping components, and outputting to modern TVs and pen drives requires expensive specialized hardware gadgets and addons anyway. Some hardcore fans do it, but it's not for me -- I just wanted it to work out of the box.
The emulator has been used to develop software for it and most stuff is open source or free.
Plus C64 software runs on it like the 128 does in a C64 mode.
But don't worry. The C65 core is already being ported to MiSTer from what I've heard. So a small metal box with a USB keyboard experience isn't far away for many others to enjoy.
It's a stand alone, one piece computer, like the old days.
I mean, you don't restore a Chevy Bel-Air and put bucket seats in the front, right?
Even down to the floppy. You get to thumb through the floppy case to find a copy of "Burgertime", shove it in the slot, plug in your joystick, hear the "whirr tick tick tick" of the floppy, and then MUSIC! CRESCENDO! ATTRACT MODE! AWAY WE GO! In all it's one channel, 8 bit splendor.
Pretty sure the market isn't folks looking for a bare board with cables strewn about. There is a lot of effort out there, and many folks, trying to replicate this "retro" experience. And others willing to support it.
Otherwise, yea, run a simulator on...well, anything. "Whee".
It's not my cup of tea, mind, but I'm not the one buying it either.
FOUR SID devices? A new lot of actual 6581 or 8580 chips (which would justify the price, BTW), FPGA approximations (likely), or emulated in software?
In other way, the hobby became unreasonably expensive for me. So I decided to move my interests into FPGA. The fun is almost the same, but the cost is way lower (you only need to buy a good board and a book, and you are set up). I started with this extremely simple IDE: https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio
As for this build, I have mixed feelings about using FPGAs to revive old computers. Can't we create something new out of it? It would be fun to have a _modern_ FPGA based SBC with easy to program graphics (memory mapped) and with simple device interface (I think USB is way too complicated for hobbyists). Just something powerful enough to create games, yet simple enough so that teenager can write a simple OS in his spare time.
This C65 remake... way too expensive, plus I didn't own one back when I was a kid (and I guess nobody really did, since it never got past the prototype stage), so it has no nostalgic appeal. If I wanted a powerful computer that I didn't own as a child, I'd stick to my laptop.