[HN Gopher] My MEGA65 is finally here
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My MEGA65 is finally here
Author : harel
Score : 100 points
Date : 2024-09-27 14:13 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (lyonsden.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (lyonsden.net)
| IronWolve wrote:
| Thats pretty cool, expensive but nice features and so expandable.
| Looks like a large community too.
| the_af wrote:
| Interesting. How many MEGA65 units exist out there?
| layer8 wrote:
| The three batches produced so far are 400 + 400 + 1000 = 1800
| units.
| mass_and_energy wrote:
| Didn't one-byte man do a good review on this product?
| unwind wrote:
| Yes, here is the MEGA65 video from The 8-Bit Guy:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qHdTKjPXww.
| PaulHoule wrote:
| My favorite modern retrocomputer these days is
| https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/o...
| which is orders of magnitude more powerful than the computers it
| is modeled on but affordable.
| NikkiA wrote:
| The ez80 is nice, but it's not 'orders of magnitude' more
| powerful than a regular z80, especially clocked at 20Mhz (the
| CMOS Z80C was available up to 20MHz).
|
| (The ez80 is capable of 50MHz, I'm not entirely sure why they
| limited it to 20Mhz in the Agon Light).
| Lerc wrote:
| A just had a quick look at the ez80 it and it seems like it's
| pipelined, so the instructions per clock will be a lot better
| than the z80. A 20MHz ez80 is probably one order of magnitude
| improvement than the oftentimes 4MHz z80.
|
| Wikipedia says three times faster at the same clock speed. So
| 20*3/4=15 give or take.
|
| As an aside, last time I did napkin math estimation on the
| 8-bit AVR it was faster than a 68000 at the same clock speed.
| The 68k took 4 clocks to do register to register, AVR is
| mostly one clock so could do most 32 bit operations as fast
| or faster using multiple instructions.
| PaulHoule wrote:
| I love AVR8 assembly so much and how AVR8 is so much better
| than any of the 8-bit micros in so many ways except for the
| small RAM size (though it does make it up in ROM)
| Lerc wrote:
| Me too, I made a silly fantasy console using it
|
| https://k8.fingswotidun.com/static/ide/?gist=78d170a65bc6
| c9d...
|
| In hindsight, it's not the best for emulation, I think
| most of the emulator time goes into extracting the bits
| from instructions. I really should make a translator that
| turns it instruction by instruction into something easier
| to decode.
| wk_end wrote:
| On a CPU with 8- or even 16-bit instructions, if at all
| possible (I don't know much about AVR8) it's probably
| better to use jump tables than to try to decode bit-wise
| when emulating I think.
| PaulHoule wrote:
| I've thought about making an AVR-8 emulator in AVR-8
| assembly language that would let me run tiny programs out
| of RAM where the emulator (host) would use some of the
| registers and the others would be be available to the
| guest. This way you could upload a function over the
| serial port and run it. I figured it would be a good way
| to really master AVR-8 assembly.
|
| The ESP32 has a huge amount of potential for emulating
| other things, see
|
| https://github.com/breakintoprogram/agon-vdp
|
| For a display controller implemented for ESP32.
| talideon wrote:
| Look, if you're going to get picky, it literally is at least
| an order of magnitude faster. And in addition, Hz for Hz, the
| eZ80 is much faster than the Z80A, which is what people would
| actually be comparing it to.
| the_af wrote:
| Is that just a board or a full computer with a case, keyboard,
| etc?
|
| I find the all-in-one kind of retrocomputers more appealing
| than the DIY projects (knowing nothing of electronics or of
| sourcing parts, cases, etc, DIY is not for me).
| lastdong wrote:
| Great job! Anyone knows of similar projects but for the Amiga?
| icedchai wrote:
| Have you seen the Vampire? https://www.apollo-
| computer.com/v4standalone.php
| jandrese wrote:
| According to other sources on the internet that 12 pin header by
| the removable access cover connects to GPIO pins on the FPGA.
|
| https://shop.trenz-electronic.de/media/pdf/ca/ca/31/Mega65-P...
| jsheard wrote:
| It looks like the standard-ish PMOD expansion connector found
| on a lot of FPGA development boards. Maybe it's compatible with
| those.
| unwind wrote:
| Links for the lazy: PMOD at Digilent [1] and Wikipedia [2].
| There are a lot of modules using it!
|
| [1]: https://digilent.com/reference/pmod/start [2]:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pmod_Interface
| stonethrowaway wrote:
| A fully assembled computer? Get out of here with your fancy X2
| safety caps and shock proof solder joints.
|
| Now where'd I leave those Galaksija resistors...
| bezkom wrote:
| Doesn't that name risks to be confused with Atmel Mega CPUs used
| in Arduinos?
|
| https://www.microchip.com/en-us/product/atmega64
| ziddoap wrote:
| I don't think there is much risk of confusion between a
| microcontroller and an all-in-one retro computer. They also
| have different numbers (64/64A vs. 65) and the Mega65 isn't
| prefixed with an 'AT'.
| mcejp wrote:
| I am mildly impressed that the floppy drive is not a supply chain
| liability nowadays.
| reaperducer wrote:
| I've never understood why retro computer enthusiasts go through
| such effort to replace their floppy drives with CF cards, when
| Sony had a solution almost 25 years ago.
|
| My DSC-30 came with a metal floppy disk that has no moving
| parts. But you could insert a Memory Stick into it, and then
| stick it in any 3.5" floppy drive and read the stick as FAT.
|
| Every time I see someone on the VCF forums struggling with the
| latest floppy drive replacement board I wonder what ever
| happened to that technology.
| tines wrote:
| I love this project.
|
| I've been feeling lately that as computers have become more
| advanced and software has become more inscrutable, our
| relationship with our computers has changed, for the worse. This
| essay hit home for me:
| https://explaining.software/archive/transparent-like-frosted...
|
| These old-school computers viewed their users as creators, as
| developers. Modern computers (read: smartphones) _are_ the users,
| and the "used" are just ad-watching revenue cows. I passionately
| hate this arrangement.
|
| When I have children, I want them to know what computing should
| feel like---empowering, creative and stimulating, not controlled,
| consumptive, compulsive and mindless. I want to give them a
| computer that builds up their spirit, rather than grinding it
| down.
|
| I think this computer should have several qualities:
|
| 0. The computer should be about _creation_ and not consumption.
|
| 1. The computer should be _local_, not global. Intranet should be
| prioritized over Internet.
|
| 1.5 A corollary, the computer should be _personal_. It should
| encourage and reward in-person interaction, physical sharing of
| information and programs, and short-range connection between
| computers.
|
| 2. The computer should be _limited_. Because the medium is the
| message, we have to restrict the capabilities of our media to
| better promote the messages we value.
|
| 2.5. A corollary, the computer should be _text-oriented_.
| Graphics shouldn't be impossible, but text should be primary. The
| computer should cultivate a typographic mind, not a graphic mind
| (in Marshall McLuhan's terminology).
|
| 3. The computer should be _focused_. It should never distract you
| from what you want to work on.
|
| 4. The computer should be _reactive_, not proactive. It should
| never give you a notification. You should be in charge of
| retrieving all information yourself, like a library, not a call
| center.
|
| 5. The computer should be _physical_. It should be oriented
| around physical media.
|
| 6. The computer should be _modifiable_. It should encourage and
| reward inspection into its internals, and be easy to change.
|
| 7. The computer should be _simple_, understandable by a single
| person in its entirety with time and study.
|
| The Mega65 is amazing and checks these boxes, but unfortunately
| it's a tad expensive for me. What other machines are out there
| like this?
| GenericDev wrote:
| I agree with you a million percent, so you're not alone in
| this. But we are very much the minority :(
|
| It feels like people aren't interested in being creators. Just
| consumers. And that shows in how media and companies refer to
| people as consumers.
|
| I wish there was a way to reverse this trend. It feels in many
| ways like a Plato's cave kind of situation.
| sfjailbird wrote:
| Even back when all the kids had C64s, most only knew enough
| about it to load up games from the tape drive. Personally I
| was intrigued by the built-in basic, and that got me started
| programming (and I absolutely loathed the mindless consoles
| like the Nintendo Entertainment System), but I was very much
| in the minority.
| andai wrote:
| I've wanted an e-paper laptop ever since I saw a Kindle ad in
| 2008. I'm also interested in ultra low power computing (solar
| charging, daylight readable, months of battery life, offline-
| first, mostly text...). So your list has a lot of overlap with
| mine!
|
| Such a thing doesn't seem to have been invented yet. The
| remarkable might come close (or that weird typewriter like
| thing?) but I haven't been able to justify any of those
| purchases yet...
|
| I'm not 100% sure about e-paper (the lag may actually be a
| feature reducing addictiveness), I'm also amenable to those
| transflective Sharp LCDs! (Though I think they're a bit too
| small for a daily driver.)
| wvenable wrote:
| I grew up before the Internet and we still craved connectivity
| with our computers. I remember dialing into BBSes and playing
| turn-based text games and it was amazing. It was also the best
| way to get software; my computer would be pretty boring if the
| only software I had was what I created myself or purchased in a
| box.
|
| I also could have done so much more with all my computers, from
| my Commodore 64 to my 286, if had I had the vast information
| resources that are available now.
| tines wrote:
| I think the difference is that in the days of the nascent
| internet, connecting with people meant much more than it does
| now. You dial into a BBS or log into a MUD and you have a
| small-ish community of real people that you can develop
| relationships with. Modern internet connectivity almost means
| the opposite: all the major services are oriented toward
| moneymaking, nothing is genuine, there is no sincerity, most
| behavior is motivated by accumulation of worthless social
| capital.
|
| So, the society that you craved connection with no longer
| exists now that you are able to connect. This is another
| thing that, seemingly, has to be rebuilt from the ground up
| locally.
| icedchai wrote:
| I got started with a 1200 baud modem, back in the late
| 80's. I miss the local community found on BBSes and the
| early, text-oriented Internet providers. There seems to be
| no replacement for that at all. Any "local" oriented sub-
| reddit, Discord, etc. is full of bots and spammers.
| bluescrn wrote:
| So much of the effort and expense has gone into creating a
| large plastic shell and custom keyboard, though, resulting in a
| costly product targeting a very small niche of the already
| fairly niche hobby that is retro computing/gaming (or even
| retro Commodore enthusiasts)
|
| And that large plastic shell of the C65 was always an ugly
| design, and I can't imagine it's comfortable to type on with
| that floppy drive protrusion so close to the arrow keys?
| ruk_booze wrote:
| Sounds like you may want a Commodore 64? Preferably equipped
| with an Ultimate 1541.
|
| Or if that it is too limited, go for the Amiga. It is more
| modifiable.
|
| As a sidenote, I got my Mega65 just the other day. Been waiting
| almost a year for it :)
| tines wrote:
| Real Commodore hardware is going to break down eventually,
| I'd love to have something that uses modern parts so we
| aren't dependent on rare parts that are going to disappear or
| become super expensive.
| DowagerDave wrote:
| vintage hardware is too expensive. I'm not sure why, or who's
| buying it, but if you want to actually run & program on it
| you're better off with emulators
| hajile wrote:
| Mega65 is a nostalgia project aimed at targeting a specific
| kind of older computer system.
|
| If practical and simple were the goals, it wouldn't be using an
| 8-bit chip nor would it be focused on things like BASIC as
| these kinds of things make things harder rather than easier.
|
| Mega65 is about working within constraints, but (to me), the
| bend of the complexity curve where things are simple enough to
| understand, but powerful enough to do necessary tasks requires
| much larger software and hardware resources than what a system
| like Mega65 offers.
|
| At a bare minimum, I believe you'd want a much more powerful
| single-core machine with the ability to do floating point and
| vector calculations while having access to at least a couple
| hundred megabytes of RAM and a few gigabytes of storage.
| Something more along the lines of a Pi Zero, but based on open
| hardware and open chip designs seems to be around the point
| where it is powerful enough to do all the common, non-connected
| tasks a user might need to do while still being simple enough
| that you could understand most of the moving parts if you
| wanted to take the time.
| tines wrote:
| I agree completely. I've looked at designing a system around
| the Pi Zero, but it's so much work for someone with the time
| and skills that I (don't) have. And the Pi Zero doesn't seem
| to have the kind of I/O capability that I'm looking for.
| simonswain wrote:
| Consider the RC2014 https://rc2014.co.uk I think it hits a
| bunch of these points. Also don't overlook the SpecNext
| https://www.specnext.com -- both have very active communities.
| DowagerDave wrote:
| Interesting that the hackers in the book of the same name (by
| Steven Levy) were looking to change the public's perception of
| computers from something very different from what we see today
| to something very similar to what you describe. You both
| describe an end state that is very tactile, emotional and
| human.
|
| I struggle to get my kids to experience computers with the same
| sense of wonder and amazement that I had. This could be
| inevitable (I've always taken flipping a light switch or
| refrigerated food for granted) but it still makes me sad.
| tines wrote:
| This is an interesting point of view, thinking about it I
| agree that instilling the "hacker ethic" into kids is very
| valuable. But how does one do that?
|
| For myself, I fell into video game hacking (and related
| hijinks) because I loved a particular game, and happened to
| hang out with some smart people on some forums online, and
| that set the course of my life to a large degree. But it
| seems like accidentally having these experiences is harder
| and harder these days.
|
| How do we set our kids up, or set the world up for our kids,
| to have these experiences organically?
| vunderba wrote:
| I've been following this project pretty closely and even though
| it is based on the prototype Commodore 65, I kind of wish they
| had just gone with the superior aesthetics of the classic c64 for
| the outer shell even if that would have been less accurate. And
| the extra long spacebar, just ugh.
| snozolli wrote:
| That box design is giving me huge nostalgia waves.
|
| _A program most nerds (including me) used to run on every
| computer we came across in department stores back in the 80's.
| The salesmen must have been sick to death of kids doing this all
| day every day - some of the messages weren't always so polite
| either!_
|
| As a diehard Amiga fan, I would always stop at the Macs on
| display at office supply stores and switch the color setting from
| "thousands of colors" to grayscale. Just doing my part.
|
| In programming class at school, we'd be taught for a bit, then go
| to the computers to practice what we'd learned in BASIC. When
| class was over, we'd write programs to loop for maybe 15 minutes,
| then emit an obnoxious sound to interrupt the next class.
| Ideally, the chosen frequency would be high enough that the
| teacher couldn't hear it, but the class could. Truly madlads.
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