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BBC Master on Steroids

retrohax.net

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Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#12

Post by andybak »

valesco wrote: post #10
matthewmorgan wrote: post #2

very cute, would be interesting to see something like https://collapseos.org/ running on it

It's an interesting idea. The funny thing is that in the event of a civilization collapse, it might be way easier to find quad cores CPUs and 8 GB RAM modules than antic pieces.

But when supplies run out the idea is to restore manufacturing ability. It's hard to bootstrap 7nm fabs in a Mad Max wasteland but we might conceivably be able to get back to 1980s tech.

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#13

Post by 72deluxe »

Very interesting, I did not know you could use a RPi as a second processor. My dad has a 6502 second processor and we were wowed by the hidden line removal and colour on Elite at the time.

Didn't make me play any better though.

I just used to enjoy Chuckie Egg, Mr. EE, Dare Devil Dennis, Exile, Mission Impossible and Firetrack. Brilliant music on Firetrack.

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#14

Post by tom_ »

taneq wrote: post #6

That's super cool! I have an old BBC Micro in a box under a desk somewhere which I want to get back on its feet someday - last time I powered it up I think it was working (made the right boop-BEEP noise!) but I didn't have a screen to test it with. I also have a box of 5.25" floppies that I want try and read any data off - they've been untouched for decades, is there anything I should/shouldn't do before plugging in…

For connecting to a TV, easiest thing might be to buy an RGB to SCART cable from eBay. Less than £15, good picture quality.

Good summary of potential disk/drive issues and cleaning options: http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/clean_disks.html. Spatula-shaped cotton wool buds are handy for cleaning drives, as there might not be much room inside.

As per the article, http://stardot.org.uk/ is a good resource for all things BBC Micro in general.

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#15

Post by the_af »

jedimastert wrote: post #9

For those looking for more retro computer restoration, check out the 8-bit guy https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8uT9cgJorJPWu7ITLGo9Ww

The 8BitGuy is like a gateway drug to retrocomputers. Thanks to his channel I learned some things I didn't know back in the day, like that the CGA graphics card was capable of better colors in composite mode.

He also convinced me of getting RetroGames' TheC64 maxi: a C64 lookalike running a variant of VICE inside, with full working keyboard, petscii codes and all!

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#16

Post by JdeBP »

72deluxe wrote: post #13

Very interesting, I did not know you could use a RPi as a second processor. My dad has a 6502 second processor and we were wowed by the hidden line removal and colour on Elite at the time. Didn't make me play any better though. I just used to enjoy Chuckie Egg, Mr. EE, Dare Devil Dennis, Exile, Mission Impossible and Firetrack. Brilliant music on Firetrack.

The headlined article lead me to find https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP7fiaync5E . I quite enjoyed watching GEM, running on top of DR-DOS, on a 80286, emulated by a Rasberry Pi, connected via the Tube to a BBC Master doing all of the I/O.

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#17

Post by tyingq »

72deluxe wrote: post #13

Very interesting, I did not know you could use a RPi as a second processor. My dad has a 6502 second processor and we were wowed by the hidden line removal and colour on Elite at the time. Didn't make me play any better though. I just used to enjoy Chuckie Egg, Mr. EE, Dare Devil Dennis, Exile, Mission Impossible and Firetrack. Brilliant music on Firetrack.

There's a cool project that uses an FPGA to allow several implementations of BBC Micro Co Processors (65C02, Z80, 6809, 68000, x86, ARM2, PDP-11, 32016).

And not just vanilla ones. They have a "monster Z80" that does more per clock cycle and a very fast clock, for example.

https://github.com/hoglet67/CoPro6502

Re: BBC Master on Steroids

#19

Post by JdeBP »

tyingq wrote: post #17
72deluxe wrote: post #13

Very interesting, I did not know you could use a RPi as a second processor. My dad has a 6502 second processor and we were wowed by the hidden line removal and colour on Elite at the time. Didn't make me play any better though. I just used to enjoy Chuckie Egg, Mr. EE, Dare Devil Dennis, Exile, Mission Impossible and Firetrack. Brilliant music on Firetrack.

There's a cool project that uses an FPGA to allow several implementations of BBC Micro Co Processors (65C02, Z80, 6809, 68000, x86, ARM2, PDP-11, 32016). And not just vanilla ones. They have a "monster Z80" that does more per clock cycle and a very fast clock, for example. https://github.com/hoglet67/CoPro6502

I wonder whether anyone has since thought of adding the KimKlone to that list.

* https://laughtonelectronics.com/Arcana/KimKlone/Kimklone_sho... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16564257 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3070169)

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