For those who’re studying this HotHardware, chances are high good that you just’re somebody who enjoys getting info from written articles versus simply movies. It is also doubtless which have loved computing as a subject generally for a few years. If these two issues are true, you would possibly simply be within the target market for Celso Martinho’s article about constructing his “Frankenstein 64.”
The pre-fab motherboard, naked of any components.
As you might in all probability guess from the identify, the Frankenstein 64 is a Commodore 64 constructed from the stays of damaged items. Properly, that is not solely true; the motherboard is newly-made, and most of the parts are brand-new, too. Nonetheless, there are a bunch of basic Commodore components in there, salvaged from a number of damaged machines that Celso had laying round.
It is a fairly slick system that he constructed. It is functionally a Commodore 64 from 1982, so do not anticipate to see it operating Home windows, or something. Nonetheless, should you’re a fan of the basic 8-bit laptop, there’s quite a bit to like with the Frankenstein 64. From its authentic brown keycaps to the clear copy casing (created from the unique Commodore molds), it is a labor of affection from the bottom up.
It took lots of troubleshooting to get a clear video sign.
A labor it was, too. The venture took months as a result of Celso bumped into a difficulty with the timing that he finally solved by changing just a few tiny discrete electronics. The TTL circuit ended up being the issue, which is type of darkly comical contemplating that the entire immense soldering workload to connect the entire parts to the motherboard went by with out a hitch.
Clearly, we’re not going to re-tell the entire story right here. If you would like to learn concerning the technique of custom-building your personal C64 for enjoyable, you’ll be able to head over to Celso’s weblog and skim the entire detailed report on his splendidly painstaking course of.
