Intro
This is the first blog in the Upcycle IoT Design Challenge. My project will explore some unique ways to upcycle, recycle, reuse, upgrade, modify, hack, recreate and reimagine a 24 year old PC. The parts kit for the challenge have not arrived, but there are lots of things I can do before the kit arrives.
Here is a quick video intro...
Reuse the Peripherals
Before I even get into disassembly, I want to explore reusing the peripherals that are still perfectly functional and in fact still have merit.
The first reuse application is to recreate a CP/M computer - because I always wanted one but could not afford $2,000 back in 1978 (equivalent to $10,000 today)
CP/M Computer
Commodore VIC 20 Emulator
The next retro computer I want to explore is a Commodore VIC 20 from around 1981...
The final retro application for this blog will be a Space Invaders game...
Space Invaders
ESP32 Enclosure
Here is a video showing the 3D printed enclosure...
FabGL
These emulations use FabGL - here is a brief explanation of how to load FabGL onto an ESP32...
FabGL Schematic
Here is a link to the generic FabGL schematic in case you want to roll your own ESP32 VGA module:
http://www.fabglib.org/schema.png
Conclusions & Discussion
So Far this project is already a blast exploring some nostalgic computer systems and software. These particular emulations have special meaning to me and I am thrilled to be able to implement them all with a $20 module. If any readers out there are also nostalgic for the old VIC20 days, they can also enjoy exploring the old software with this inexpensive platform.
I have ordered some more parts for other aspects of this project, but some have not arrived, and of course the Microchip SAM E51 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit has not arrived either. It will be used to augment my Rockwell AIM65 computer.
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