A new Commodore C128 cartridge in 2023? That’s what [idun-projects] set out to do and, as you can see in the video below, did. I did the original C128 hardware design and worked with the amazing team that turned this home computer out in 1985. Honestly, I am amazed that any of them are still working 38 years later, let alone that someone is making new cartridges for it.
I also never thought I would hear about someone’s in-depth experience designing for the ‘128. The post takes us through [idun-project’s] decision to use the ‘128 and how modern expectations apply to all computers, even the old ones. Hot on the list was connectivity and reasonable storage (looking at you, floppy disks).
With newer expectations comes newer tools and, yes, operating systems. The project draws inspiration from the ACE “Advanced Computer Environment” created by [Craig Bruce] in the 1990s, a mere 20 years ago.
Tackling 6502 assembler programming in the new environment, [idun-project] set about the goal of making the C128 talk to a Raspberry Pi without burdening the Pi down too much, hence a cartridge based on the Parallax Propeller 1. Even overclocked, though, it was a challenge to match the 6502 bus.
Frankly, when I hear about a piece of C128 hardware surfacing, I expect it to look more like the one [Drygol] restored. Of course, if you have the Propeller, you could just emulate the whole computer.
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