A low-cost Commodore 64's compatible motherboard emulated in a microcontroller.
Due to personal reasons, I needed to stop working in this project. I believe I will back to work on it in some day. I will update this file as soon as I can continue working.
A few years ago, when I started diving deep into digital electronics, I really wanted to create my own 8-bit computer, so I started dreaming about what it would be like.
I decided to make my dream computer compatible with the Commodore 64, because of some reasons: 1) I already had some experience with its processors machine code, and with the IEEE-488 (the serial port to connect floppy drives, printers and other accessories); 2) It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, that makes possible that today there are hundreds of tools that makes my job easier; 3) There is an active community where I can ask for help; 4) last but not least, it was my first computer so I carry it in my heart.
Building my dream computer by The 8 bit guy and Building an 8-bit breadboard computer! by Ben Eater inspired me to start this project. By watching their videos I realised that some people might find entertaining to build their own 8-bit computers, but probably they don't have the time, the knowledge or the money (or any combination of that three).
Finally, after after analyzing some DIY Commodore 64 projects I found this one challenging enough to prevent me from rusting. So I got down to work and defined the:
As any of my projects:
- All software must to be Free Software, under GPL-3.0 for all the other components. So that I get help for bug fixing and new features.
- All hardware (schematics, documentation, etc) under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Spain CC-BY-3.0. So that the project is announced.
For this specific one:
- It must not use any old components that cannot be purchased anymore, missing pieces is a nightmare for any hobby.
- It must be modular, so that it can be acquired by parts, having incremental functionality from the beginning.
- Keep it cheap must be a goal, so that makes it possible to build it by anyone who is really interested.
- It must be build in breadboards (soldering iron and tin are not required), so that makes it easier to be build.
Captain 64 uses a STM32 Nucleo-144 board for emulating the PLA, the CIA, the VIC II. Also for translating the address for the Kernal, Charset and Basic ROMs.
The three internal ROMs from the Commodore 64 are stored in a single chip: AT28C256 Atmel EEPROM
The SRAM (AS6C1008) 128KBytes
BTW, if you're thinking "Oh my God, I have to support this guy!", please buy me a coffee here :)
If you like my project, but you can not or do not want to pay money, please "Star", that does not give me money, but it raises morale a lot ;)
Thank you!