Commodore News Page - News: Hardware

Commodore 128 Bass guitar

Stegi 3178 started a project to make a bass guitar from a Commodore C128.

2018-08-10 - 13:02:00 - Week: 32 - Item number: 6437 - Category: C128(D), Hardware

Steampunk C64 Laptop

Bad Dog Designs made a steampunk version of the Commodore C64. The features are: An oak case with a Commodore C64, 12" LCD colour screen, 4 loudspeakers and a SD2IEC.

2018-08-03 - 13:09:00 - Week: 31 - Item number: 6431 - Category: C64, Hardware

With the use of MDF and 3D printed parts Jan has converted his Stack light rifle into a very realistic looking Tommygun. To carry this lightgun in style, he also made a suitcase. In the appropriate 1920's style.

2018-07-27 - 13:12:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6421 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

The Andy Warhol Museum Amiga Exhibit

Iontank made a museum exhibit to show the original Andy Warhol art that was made on an Amiga 1000 computer. The inside of the Amiga 1000 has been replaced with a new solid state PC, but the Amiga can be used by the museum visitors.

2018-07-27 - 13:11:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6420 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Commodore Pet Tape Recovery

Galb2x2 made a video about recovering a cassette tape for the Commodore PET computer. He uses a C2N Datasette and an Arduino.

2018-07-27 - 13:08:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6417 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

C64 / Drive controller

Oe7Twj developed three projects for the Commodore C64 and disk drive. The projects are all made with the help of an Arduino: Track display, Floppy controller and a C64 controller.

2018-07-27 - 13:07:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6416 - Category: C64, Hardware

Vampire / Apollo - Gold 2.10

The Vampire turbo card uses the Apollo FPGA-core to emulate the 68000 CPU and the SAGA graphics chip. The changes for Apollo are: Improvements for IDE speeds, SBCD, ChipRAM, CIA, VControl, VampireSN, SDNet and V2ExpEth.

2018-07-27 - 13:04:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6413 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

SID emulation - Teensy 3.6

Petros Kokotis developed a SID replacement using a Teensy 3.6. This emulator uses the Frank Boesing ReSID library to do emulation of the SID.

2018-07-27 - 13:00:00 - Week: 30 - Item number: 6409 - Category: C64, Hardware

ZZ9000 - Amiga

The ZZ9000 is the successor to the VA2000 Amiga graphics card. The features are: 1920x1080 pixels, Dual 666MHz ARM Cortex A9 coprocessors (jpeg / MP3), 1GB DDR3 RAM, Ethernet and a SD Card.

2018-07-20 - 13:15:00 - Week: 29 - Item number: 6407 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

C128 forum is a forum for Commodore C128 users with the following sections: Games, General info, Herdware, Wheel and deal, Programming, .D?? Depo, Cross platform, Emulation, Demo scene, Useful Links, Alternate OS's and Go64.

Cengomania X - Amiga 3000 - Gotek

Cengomania X made a video about adding a Oled Gotek drive to his Amiga 3000.

2018-07-20 - 13:13:00 - Week: 29 - Item number: 6405 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

SID XMC + MIDI

SID XMC + MIDI is a new hardware project for the Commodore C64. The features are: 3 channel 12bit 64MHz PDM, 4bit master volume and support for paddles and MIDI.

2018-07-20 - 13:10:00 - Week: 29 - Item number: 6402 - Category: C64, Hardware

KA 21 - Gayle reset

The KA 21 is a hardware solution for Gayle PCMCIA reset bug. With a standard Amiga 1200 the PCMCIA does not get a reset signal if a system reset is active. The KA 21 solves this problem.

2018-07-20 - 13:07:00 - Week: 29 - Item number: 6399 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Daniel Renner - Greisi power supply

Daniel Renner made a video about building a Greisi power supply for the Commodore C64.

2018-07-20 - 13:06:00 - Week: 29 - Item number: 6398 - Category: C64, Hardware

TFW8b Value - VIC20 MAX RAM Cartridge

Tynemouth Software has developed a new RAM cartridge for the Commodore VIC20. The configuration is possible via a menu with 3, 8, 16, 24, 27, 32 or 35 KByte of RAM.

2018-07-13 - 13:07:00 - Week: 28 - Item number: 6383 - Category: VIC-20, Hardware

Retr-O-Mat - Amiga 2500

Retr-O-Mat made a video about a Amiga 2500 with many additions, and one of them is a Vampire turbo-card.

2018-07-13 - 13:00:00 - Week: 28 - Item number: 6376 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Dan Wood - Amiga CD32 & Terrible Fire 328

Dan Wood talks about the Terrible Fire 328 expansion for the Commodore Amiga CD32 console which adds extra RAM and an IDE interface.

2018-07-06 - 13:14:00 - Week: 27 - Item number: 6370 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

RetroManCave - Checkmate A1500

RetroManCave made a video about the Checkmate A1500.

And an interview with Stephen Jones of Checkmate Digital.

2018-07-06 - 13:12:00 - Week: 27 - Item number: 6368 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

KC64WIFI

KC64WIFI is a C64 user-port modem up to 9600 baud based on a NodeMCU module with custom code to support Hayes commands. The KC64WIFI also has a reset switch for the modem and the C64.

2018-06-29 - 13:14:00 - Week: 26 - Item number: 6351 - Category: C64, Hardware

Lemon64.com is a webpage for Commodore users with news, games, reviews, forum, music, museum, help and links.

VectrexRoli - C128D

VectrexRoli made a video about the Commodore C128D. He show his modifications and how to connect the 1541 Ultimate II.

2018-06-29 - 13:09:00 - Week: 26 - Item number: 6346 - Category: C128(D), Hardware

Bwack - C64 Power-supply

Bwack made a video about building an power-supply for the Commodore C64. This power-supply also has a digital readout for the voltage and the current.

2018-06-22 - 13:16:00 - Week: 25 - Item number: 6336 - Category: C64, Hardware

That 3D Print Guy - C64 Joystick

That 3D Print Guy made a video about the joystick he is building for the Commodore C64. The plans will be available soon.

2018-06-22 - 13:11:00 - Week: 25 - Item number: 6331 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Daniel Renner - SD2IEC remote display

Daniel Renner made a video about a SD2IEC device with a remote display modification.

2018-06-22 - 13:00:00 - Week: 25 - Item number: 6320 - Category: C64, Hardware

C256 Foenix

Stefany Allaire is working on a successor for the Commodore C64/128. The specifications are: CPU: 65C816 @ 14Mhz, 512 KBytes (code), 1 MByte (video), 640 x 480 / 256 colours, DVI, Sprites, Blitter, Sound (6581 / YM3812), Midi, Joystick, RS-232, Serial, 3.5" Disk drive, Cartridge and PS2 mouse & keyboard.

2018-06-15 - 13:14:00 - Week: 24 - Item number: 6319 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Bwack - C64 Saver

Bwack made a video about developing the Commodore C64 Saver as an open source project.

2018-06-15 - 13:12:00 - Week: 24 - Item number: 6317 - Category: C64, Hardware

Obscura

Obscura is an Arduino compatible 8-bit synthesizer that allows you to create NES, C64 and Amiga-style chiptune music by simply connecting a MIDI device.

2018-06-15 - 13:02:00 - Week: 24 - Item number: 6307 - Category: Hardware, Music

HxC floppy emulator - v2.1.11.1

For the HxC floppy emulator is new firmware available. The HxC floppy emulator is a replacement of a 3.5 inch disk-drive in for example an Amiga or a Atari ST. Recent changes in the firmware: Improvements for H8D Heathkit, Kryoflux Stream Loader & Stream analyzer, NSI Northstar, Flux Stream and ADF Writer.

2018-06-08 - 13:02:00 - Week: 23 - Item number: 6292 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Tynemouth Software - PET replacement keyboards

Tynemouth Software has developed a replacement keyboard for the Commodore PET computers. The replacement keyboards are available for the "graphics" keyboard and the "chicklet" keyboard.

2018-05-25 - 13:12:00 - Week: 21 - Item number: 6273 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

AmigaPortal.de is a German forum for the Amiga user. The sections of the forum are: Hardware, software, games, emulation, pixel, video, MorphOS, PC, tutorials, music, internet and an English section.

Iz8dwf - PET RAM/ROM board

Iz8dwf made a video of the development of his Commodore PET RAM/ROM replacement board. The specifications are: 2 x ROM (24Kbytes) and 2 x 4K ($F000 - $FFFF).

2018-05-25 - 13:09:00 - Week: 21 - Item number: 6270 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

Jan Derogee - Linear clock

After developing hardware for the Commodore computers (1541-III, Cassiopei and the Cassiopei II) he decided to develop a linear clock.

2018-05-25 - 13:07:00 - Week: 21 - Item number: 6268 - Category: Hardware, Web page

Pi1541

Steve White developed a replacement for the Commodore 1541 disk-drive. The Pi1541 emulates the 6502 and the two 6522s. The components used are: The Raspberry Pi 3, a I2C Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter and a Micro SD card.

2018-05-11 - 13:17:00 - Week: 19 - Item number: 6242 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

AmigaLove - C64 to Raspberry Pi 3

Mattsoft replaced the motherboard of a Commodore C64 with an Raspberry Pi 3. The parts he used are: Raspberry Pi 3B, Micro SD card, Keyrah v2, power supply and USB & HDMI connectors.

2018-05-11 - 13:00:00 - Week: 19 - Item number: 6225 - Category: C64, Hardware

Jan Beta - Tapuino Reloaded

Jan Beta has made a video about the Tapuino Reloaded. This Datassette replacement is developed by Edu Arana and can be used with the C64, C16, and the VIC-20.

2018-04-27 - 13:11:00 - Week: 17 - Item number: 6203 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Brian Bagnall - Commodore: The Final Years

Brian Bagnall started a Kickstarter campaign for his third book about the history of Commodore. In this book the story of the Commodore computer company and the employees who created some of the most iconic computers of the 80s and 90s.

2018-04-27 - 13:10:00 - Week: 17 - Item number: 6202 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Wicher Installer - software update

There is new software available for the Wicher. The Wicher turbo card has been designed for installation inside Amiga the A500 / A500+ computer. Changes in this version: Support for larger SD cards (> 4 GByte).

2018-04-27 - 13:06:00 - Week: 17 - Item number: 6198 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Tynemouth Software - VIC-20 diagnostic system

Tynemouth Software has developed a diagnose system to test a Commodore VIC-20. You can choose between a standard diagnostic cartridge or a combination of a diagnostic cartridge and a 27K or 32K ROM/RAM board.

2018-04-27 - 13:03:00 - Week: 17 - Item number: 6195 - Category: VIC-20, Hardware

C128 RM

TheDuckSun is working on a C128 that fits into a C64 case. The proto type has the following features: VIC/VDC switch, 8 bit colour RAM, 6-36 VDC, Dual-SID, etc. You can follow the progress on Forum64.

Official web page for the C128 RM.

2018-04-20 - 13:17:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6191 - Category: C128(D), Hardware

Forum64.de is a webpage for Commodore and Amiga users with a forum, a picture gallery, a market-place and an events-calendar.

Amiga X

Thomas Mayer Foss and Hans Henry Jegtvolden are working on a new Amiga. The concept is an Amiga 1200 style keyboard, a power supply with all the hardware inside and a modern Amiga tank mouse.

2018-04-20 - 13:16:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6190 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Daniel Renner - C64 modulator replacement

Daniel Renner made a video about a replacement for the Commodore C64 modulator. This replacement modulator is a kit and is developed on Forum64.

2018-04-20 - 13:07:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6181 - Category: C64, Hardware

Retro Tech & Electronics - ACA500+

Retro Tech & Electronics made a video about the ACA500+ for the Amiga 500 with Kickstart 3.1 and Workbench 3.1.

2018-04-20 - 13:04:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6178 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Kompjut0r - SID 8580, ArmSID, SwinSID Ultimate & SwinSID Nano

StrayBoom wrote an article about the SID 8580, ArmSID, SwinSID Ultimate and the SwinSID Nano.

2018-04-20 - 13:03:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6177 - Category: C64, Hardware

GCart - VIC20

Thomas Lövskog is working on the GCart cartridge for the Commodore VIC20. The features are: 16 GB RAM, MCU, LEDs, buttons, µSD and WiFi.

2018-04-20 - 13:00:00 - Week: 16 - Item number: 6174 - Category: VIC-20, Hardware

MechBoard64

MtnBuffalo is working on a replacement keyboard for the Commodore C64, Ulimate64 and the C64 Reloaded. The new keyboard uses Cherry mx red micro switches with an adapter for the original keys.

2018-04-13 - 13:14:00 - Week: 15 - Item number: 6173 - Category: C64, Hardware

Vampire / Apollo - Gold 2.9

The Vampire turbo card uses the Apollo FPGA-core to emulate the 68000 CPU and the SAGA graphics chip. The changes for Apollo are: Improvements for fast Power-Off/On and FPU speed (Amiga). Support for Map-ROM & Memory management and EmuTOS (Atari).

2018-04-13 - 13:09:00 - Week: 15 - Item number: 6168 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Amiga 4000 motherboard

Paul Rezendes started a project to create files for producing an Amiga 4000 motherboard. This work will be accomplished by Integrated Sensor Technologies (Goleta, California). The complete files will be released publicly.

2018-04-06 - 13:16:00 - Week: 14 - Item number: 6158 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

New Amiga 500 cases

After a very successful Kickstarter campaign for the A1200 cases, Philippe Lang now started a new Indiegogo campaign for A500 / A500+ cases.

2018-04-06 - 13:14:00 - Week: 14 - Item number: 6156 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Plus/4 World is a web page for the Commodore Plus/4 (but also the C16 and the C116). On the web page: news items, manuals, articles, a forum, general info and much more.

PLAdvanced+

Freak, Brotboxfan and androSID developed a new PLA that combines up to 9 different 28 pin PLA's from Commodore machines in one: C64, SX64, 1551, CBM 6x0, CBM 7x0, C16 / plus4, CBM 8296 UE5 / UE6 and P500 U78 / U88.

2018-04-06 - 13:11:00 - Week: 14 - Item number: 6153 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Teensy64

Frank Bösing is working on a Commodore C64 emulator with the Teensy 3.6. The Features are: IEC Bus, ILI9341 SPI display, USB keyboard, reSID, Audio, a simple disk drive emulation and joystick support. The latest changes are: Added a VGA output.

2018-04-06 - 13:09:00 - Week: 14 - Item number: 6151 - Category: C64, Hardware

Raspberry Pi Zero - C64

Marco Chiappetta wrote a blog about building a Commodore C64 with the Raspberry Pi Zero. The hardware you need is a Raspberry Pi Zero, a MicroSD card and an USB keyboard. The software you will need is Combian 64.

2018-03-30 - 13:15:00 - Week: 13 - Item number: 6134 - Category: C64, Hardware

Amiga 500 Raspberry Pi

Mattsoft wrote a blog on how to build a Rasberry Pi 3 into an Amiga 500 case without destroying the original case. The hardware used for this project: Raspberry Pi 3B, 16GB Micro SD card, Tynemouth Software Amiga 500 USB keyboard adapter, HDMI cable, USB cable and 3D printed brackets.

2018-03-30 - 13:10:00 - Week: 13 - Item number: 6129 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

A500 Power supply

Inkoo Vintage Computing has built a replacement power supply for his Amiga 500. He uses an modern PC power supply with an extra DC-DC converter.

2018-03-30 - 13:08:00 - Week: 13 - Item number: 6127 - Category: Amiga, Hardware