retro News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

PicoIDE – An open-source hardware IDE/ATAPI drive emulator for vintage computers (Crowdfunding)

PicoIDE is an open-source hardware IDE/ATAPI drive emulator based on a Raspberry Pi RP2350 board and designed to replace hard drives and CD-ROM drives in vintage computers with microSD card storage. Users don’t need to burn optical discs or deal with old IDE hard drives with bad blocks, and instead, they can simply put their disk images on a microSD card and swap between them as needed. Two versions are offered, namely the PicoIDE Base featuring full IDE/ATAPI emulation in a standard 3.5-inch enclosure with a microSD card slot, and CD audio output, and the PicoIDE Deluxe, adding an ESP32-C3-based front panel with WiFi connectivity, an OLED, and navigation buttons. PicoIDE specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller CPU 2x Arm Cortex-M33 cores @ 150 MHz 2x Hazard3 RISC-V cores @ 150 MHz Up to two cores can be used at any time (configured at boot) Memory – 520KB SRAM […]

January 25, 2026January 25, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Mecha Comet is an open-source hardware, modular Linux handheld computer (Crowdfunding)

Mecha Comet open-source hardware modular Linux handheld computer can be used as a gaming console, a Linux terminal, an electronic measurement tool, and more, thanks to a 40-pin magnetic expansion connector for modules such as a gamepad, a QWERTY keyboard, a 40-pin GPIO header, and more. The Mecha Comet is powered by an NXP i.MX 8M Plus or i.MX 95 Arm SoC, ships with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB flash, but also supports MicroSD and NVMe storage. It also features a 3.91-inch touchscreen display, a mini HDMI 2.1 port, an 8MP camera, a dual-mic array and a speaker, a 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi 5 and optional 4G LTE/5G cellular connectivity, as well as a few USB-C ports and built-in sensors. Mecha Comet specifications: SoC (one or the other) NXP i.MX8M Plus CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz Real-time MCU – Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to […]

November 22, 2025November 22, 2025 by Debashis Das - 8 Comments

Pocket8086 – An handheld x86 retro computer with an XT-class 8086/V30 CPU running DOS 6.22 or Windows 3.0

The Pocket8086 is a handheld retro computer built around classic 8086, 8088, NEC V20, or NEC V30 processors, giving it the performance and behavior of an 8086-class retro computer while still offering the convenience of a compact handheld form factor. Designed for vintage-computing enthusiasts, DOS gamers, and makers, it delivers a handheld retro computing experience suitable for DOS 6.22 as well as Windows 3.0/3.1, effectively packing an XT-class machine into a portable device. The device integrates a 4.77–10 MHz CPU, 768 KB RAM, a replaceable TVGA9000i-based VGA card with 512 KB VRAM, OPL3 (YMF262) audio, a built-in mouse, PS/2 support, VGA output, CH375B-based USB mass-storage (U-disk) support, and a 512 MB CF card for IDE-mode storage. It features an IPS LCD with 4:3 and 16:9 modes (640×480 / 800×480), and includes OSD/SOSD menus for display tuning and system status. A 4,000 mAh lithium battery, open hardware documentation, and expansion options […]

August 27, 2025August 30, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Adafruit Fruit Jam – An RP2350 mini computer running classic Macintosh

The Adafruit Fruit Jam is a credit card-sized RP2350-powered mini computer that is designed to run classic Macintosh through the uMac emulator. It supports System 2.0 up to System 7.5.5, 720p video via DVI, audio, and USB keyboard and mouse. Built around the Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU, the Fruit Jam board also features an ESP32-C6 wireless module and offers DVI output via the RP2350’s HSTX interface, USB-C for bootloading, a microSD card slot for storage, and an onboard TLV320DAC3100 I2S audio DAC for stereo headphones and a mono speaker. There’s also a 16-pin GPIO header, NeoPixels LEDs, tactile switches, and STEMMA QT and JST connectors for expansion. These features make this board suitable for retro emulation, educational projects, and lightweight standalone computing. Adafruit Fruit Jam specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone, Secure boot OR Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz […]

August 21, 2025August 28, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Icepi Zero – A Lattice ECP5 FPGA board in Raspberry Pi Zero form factor (Crowdfunding)

Icepi Zero Lattice LFE5U FPGA board Raspberry Pi Zero form factor

The Icepi Zero is a compact Lattice ECP5 FPGA open-source hardware development board following the Raspberry Pi Zero form factor, and equipped with a microSD card slot, three USB-C ports, a GPDI mini connector for video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header. I was confused at first, since Debashis wrote about the Pico2-ice board a few days ago, but it’s a different design with an RP2350B MCU and a Lattice ICE40U5K FPGA with 5.3K LUTs. Made by Icy Electronics, the Icepi Zero is a pure FPGA board with 24K LUTs, 32MB SRAM, and 16MB QSPI flash that can be used for retro gaming/computer and general FPGA gateware experimentation. Icepi Zero specifications: FPGA – Lattice Semi ECP5U 24k LUTs 112 KiB of RAM 28x 18 x 18 Multipliers Memory – 256 Mbit (32 MB) of 166 MHz SDRAM Storage 128 Mbit (16 MB) of QSPI Flash microSD card slot Video Output […]

July 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

FPGA-based Commodore 64 Ultimate keyboard PC is compatible with original C64 games

The last original Commodore 64 keyboard computer was sold in 1994, and since then, the Commodore brand and assets have been owned by various companies over the years, until YouTuber Christian Simpson (Perifractic) bought all assets earlier this year to revive the brand and launch the Commodore 64 Ultimate. The Commodore 64 Ultimate is based on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA coupled with 128MB RAM and 16MB NOR flash, and can emulate the original computer, giving access to over 10,000 games and programs made for the original C64 computer. The new computer is a mix of old interfaces with analog outputs for CRT TVs, cartridges, SID sockets, and disk drives, and more recent ones, such as HDMI, WiFi, USB, and more. Commodore 64 Ultimate specifications: FPGA – AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA System Memory – 128MB DDR2 RAM Storage 16MB NOR flash Internal microSD card slot Support for USB flash drives […]

July 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

GamerCard is a gift card-sized, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-powered handheld console with a 4-inch color display

GameCard Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W gift card handheld console

Grant Sinclair’s GamerCard is a handheld console based on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and a 4-inch color IPS display offered in an ultrathin design that’s about the size of a typical retail gift card. It joins other Raspberry Pi-based handheld terminals like the BeepBerry, ShaRPiKeebo, or DevTerm, but it’s more of a consumer device and offers by far the slimmest design at just 6mm thick. Being described as a “Grab & Go Raspberry Pi Gaming” platform, it’s mainly designed as a portable gaming console, but since it’s based on Raspberry Pi hardware, you could also use it as a battery-powered Linux terminal connected to a USB keyboard and mouse, and it also offers expansion capabilities through a Qwiic connector. GamerCard specifications: SBC – Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (soldered on mainboard) – Based on Raspberry Pi RP3A0 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 SiP with 512 MB SDRAM, Bluetooth 4.2 and […]

July 1, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Olimex RP2350pc computer board features Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU, HDMI/DVI video output, 4x USB ports

Olimex has launched an update to its RP2040pc computer board with the RP2350pc board powered by a Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU coupled with 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, and offering HDMI/DVI video output, four USB 2.0 ports, and an audio Codec for retro computer emulation and education. Other changes include a microSD card slot for additional storage and an on-board stereo audio codec and amplifier for Line-in and headphone audio jacks, and left and right speakers. That also means the two buzzers from the RP2040 board are gone. The design is now closer to a proper retro computer board. RP2350pc computer board specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone, Secure boot OR Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Either two cores can be used. Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-80 Memory – 8MB SPRAM Storage 16MB SPI Flash MicroSD […]