WTF?! The Commodore 64, thee top-selling home desktop computer of all time, remains beloved 40 years after its debut. An enduring sign of its popularity is the devotion seen in users who maintain C64 hardware and software today. A homebrew project to rebuild the operational system showcases this neighborhood’s level.
A modder has actually effectively built a new, functioning* that is( 64 using mostly new components. The project’s documentation contains information that is useful those thinking about fixing or else examining the device’s hardware.
Modder Celso Martinho put together a reproduction C64 practically from scrape to evaluate their mastery associated with retro computer system. Not preventing at rebuilding the device since it was at 1982, Martinho remedied to utilize the maximum amount of material that is new possible and make his “Frankenstein 64” easily repairable.
The circuit board, resistors, capacitors, passive semiconductors, board connectors, common logic chips, and IC sockets are all new. Most of the new parts came from a* that is( 64 components system people usually purchase to correct old methods.
For additional components, Martinho discovered modern substitutes. He made use of an alternate when it comes to C64’s automated logic variety – which connects its processor to its memory – since it’s among the components that always dies as we grow older. It’s additionally a component that another modder formerly reverse-engineered, so people can develop models that are new.
Martinho did something similar for the C64’s sound chip and the* that is( monitor’s energy switch. Furthermore, more recent substitutes when it comes to power-supply tend to be less dangerous compared to the initial.
Enthusiasts can purchase replacements that are modern the C64 case because someone discovered the original molds in 2014. Multiple colors are available today, and* that is( find the clear variation.
Some components, but, are not any longer in manufacturing and certainly will therefore simply be present in old equipment. Martinho either bought these online or salvaged them from their old, non-functioning C64s.
These feature two MOS 6526 Complex Interface Adapters, the C64’s MOS 6569 Video Interface Chip II (VIC-II) graphics processor chip, eight 4164 DRAM chips, a* that is( MC4044, and the C64’s MSO 6510 CPU. FPGA-based substitutes exist for the VIC-II, but* that is( does not give consideration to all of them prepared for prime time.
The task additionally requires three ROM potato chips without contemporary replacements: two MOS 2364 ROMs for the* that is( interpreter and the Kernal operating system, and a MOS 2332 character set ROM. For these, Martinho burned original C64 ROM dumps into EPROMS. He also pulled and cleaned the keycaps from an c64 that is original.
Unfortunately, The* that is( 64 didn’t produce a playable image the first time Martinho booted it up. After months of trial and error, he fixed the problem by replacing the divider that is 74LS193. Finally, Martinho tested the device by way of a cartridge that is diagnostic ran flawlessly, as did all the games he played on it.
Casual users planning to revisit the C64 will want to buy likely Retro Games Ltd’s 2019 re-release. It comes with all the initial’s standard functionality, 64 pack-in games, a USB interface for loading brand-new games and firmware (including homebrew computer software), as well as an HDMI output for contemporary shows.
