Last Week

There's one week left.  If you don't like your picture, summary, the link is broken, or I somehow missed your entry, please let me know.  Good luck everyone!

Send any missing entries or comments to m at mwsherman dot com

Third Quarter Report

There are about two weeks left, so I wanted to say a few things about the projects I've been watching.  I've broken them up in to a few categories.

Homebrew Computers

Building your own computer... starting with chips.

Eric Smith (COSMAC ELF) (blog) (photo album)
His website is still not working, but there is a photo gallery.  It seems he has constructed several COSMAC ELF front panels.  I hope he gets his site running soon, as I have built an ELF before, and want to see what he does with it.

Paul Robson: (Eris computer)  https://projecteris.blogspot.com/
An amazing entry.  This is writing games for a homemade computer system called Eris based off an ESP32.  The amount of work needed to create your own platform, and then make use of it is not to be trivialized.

Scott Baker: (z80 FPGA)A Z80 in an FPGA. Scott Baker (forum blog)  (Github)  It seems to be working great, its even running Conways Game of Life.  (On a sad note, John Conway has recently passed away from COVID-19... The world has lost an interesting mind.)

Just4Fun (V20/8088 SBC) (link) They are building a single board computer that works either with in 8088 or a V20 CPU.  Best as I can tell, the V20 is a faster 8088 that also has a build in 8080 emulation mode.  This is interesting, as it is essentially two computers in one.

Retro Coding

Writing programs for old platforms.

Jim Gerrie (MC-10 gaming) (link):
Jim never dissapoints... His devotion and dedication to the MC-10... a system most prople ignore is incredible.  This system is seriously lacking in power compared to its big brother, the CoCo, but the creativity involved to make working adventure games on this platform is something to see.

Mark Wickens (VAX Projects):(link) Successfully porter lunar lander to an emulated VAX.  This is pretty cool.

Matteo Trevisan (Chatbot): (link)  A chatbot loosely based on ELIZA for early Apple computers.  This is double-retro... A 1960's program adapted for a 1980's computer.

Pim van Tend:  (Forth on HP) (link)
Pim had a previous project where he got Forth working on an HP simulator.  This time around, he is expanding it from a limited Forth to Forth-77.

Decle : Accessing hidden debugger built into World Championship Baseball for Intellivision.  (https://rotldrc.blogspot.com/)

Retro Platform

Getting to know an older system, setup and possible repair.

Beniamino Cenci Goga:  (playing with old Apple computers) http://www.ispezioneperugia.it/mac/start/
This one is interesting to me because its around old Macs.  I never did much with Apple computers, but we had them in school when I was a kid, so it is a bit nostalgic for me.  Reading thru his progress, it makes we want to pick up an old Mac and play around.


Raphael Assenat (First time MSX User) (https://www.raphnet.net/divers/retro_challenge_2020_04/index_en.php)
 An impressive demo of what the MSX can do.  I picked up a MSX on ebay about a year ago, but never did much with it.  Included are hacks on getting TAP images into real hardware without a real tape... I'll need to do this soon.

Richard Loxley (Osborne 1 repair) (https://www.richardloxley.com/2020/04/05/retro-challenge-2020-04/)
Richard is making a second attempt at fixing a pair of broken Osborne computers.  Not much progess has been written yet, but I hope there is an update soon to read.  Interestingly, the Osbourne computers were build in my hometown of Hayward, CA.

Raw SBC

Taking a premade single board computer, and building it into a working system.

Abraham Vreugdenhil (Z80 SBC Program Loader) (https://avretro.wordpress.com/)
He is building a little hardware necessary to load programs onto an old Z80 single board computer, the MPF-1b. 


Eric Pooch (CMS 9619A SBC running OS9) (https://apple-crapple.blogspot.com/search/label/RetroChallenge_2020%2F04)
Another program-a-raw-SBC-board project.  Eric has gotten the OS9 shell running on a  9619.

Emulators

Simulating old hardware the best we can.


Tobias Langhoff (Dream 6800 Emulator) (https://tobiasvl.github.io/tags/#dream-6800)

Latest update... He is learning 6800 assembly language.  Earlier, he already had some games running in the emulator.


Jeff Salzman (MOBIDIC  simulator) (http://www.vintagevolts.com/retrochallenge-rc201809/)
Jeff is continuing a previous project to emulate a MOBIDIC computer.  The MOBIDIC is an early "portable" computer, from when portable meant a whole truck trailer.

Unstarted

Please update your blogs... I want to see what you are doing.

Mark Overholser  (Apple ][ Projects)


Niels Mosele (Unknown Project)

Two weeks left!

There are still 2 weeks in the retrochallenge!  I have updated the entries page with everything I have seen so far... If there is a broken link, you don't like the picture, or I somehow missed your entry, please let me know.  It's also not too late to enter...  Happy coding / soldering!

RetroChallenge 2020/04

Hi everyone!  I've like to thank John and Michael for running previous Retrochallenge events.  I started this on unofficially as the RetroChallengeRetry, and much to my surprise, I have been welcomed to make it official!  I started under a different set of rules, but similar to this retrochallenge.  You can conform to either the traditional retrochallenge rules in the top link above, OR the rules listed on http://mwsherman.com/RCR/2020/04/



-Mark Sherman

Extended thru the end of May 2020!

 

Entries

Send entries to m at mwsherman dot com. Subject line: ( RC2020)
 
The intention is a friendly competition where everyone can follow each other's blogs and watch progress. Don't wait until the last minute to send your link... or we will all be bored.


Entries

RC2019/10 - Greetings and Welcome

Hello to all past contestants, visitors, and others.  Firstly I'd like to thank John for all the hard work that he has done for the Retro Challenge, and I'd like the officially declare RC2019/10 is open for entries.

If you plan to join us in the RC2019/10 competition, now is the time to make yourself known. Feel free to refer to our "RetroChallenge Rules" page for reminders, but the basics are "do something interesting with an old computer, and blog about it for month". As announced for RC2019/03  micro-controllers now qualify under similar conditions to video game consoles (i.e. made in the previous century).

Whatever you are going to do, please send me an email describing:

1. Your name (or alias);
2. Your picture (or I'll find something online);
3. Your Twitter handle (if applicable);
4. Your blog location (for project updates); and
5. A brief synopsis of your project.

I will produce an entrants list that looks a bit like the one from RC2019/03, so use that as a guide for the level of information needed. Please send the information requested above to me via email to michael at jongleur dot co dot uk -- figuring-out how to decode that address is your first test  ;)

Get Things Rolling!

Well, then, that's all for now -- just about 3 weeks until the start of the competition! Currently I do not have any prize donations to announce, but I am hopeful as always that our retro-oriented friends will come through with some great prize offerings. Don't worry! Remember, the competition is it's own reward... :-)

Anyway, get your entry to me, order your parts, and make any necessary preparations. October will soon be upon us!

Cheers,

Michael Mulhern

RC2019/03 -- Results & Transitions...

I've been doing a 'less than stellar' job on the last few RetroChallenge events. I could make excuses involving aging teenagers, demanding work schedules, etc. But in any case, I just have not been able to make RetroChallenge a priority for a while...

RC2019/03

But first things first -- let's screw the cap on the last event, before we officially move on to whatever is next.

As is customary, I would like to acknowledge a few "winners" (in no particular order):

• Tom Raidna
• Abraham Vreugdenhil
• Raphaël Assenat

And also, a few "honorable mentions":

• Richard Loxley
• Mark Sherman
• Brandon Blodget

I would also like to offer "special recognition" to 'qguv and utz' and to Marcel van Kervinck. I'm pretty sure that these are two great projects, but I'm not sure that I ever could really wrap my head around them -- that is probably "just me". Nevertheless...good work, and thanks for sharing your projects with us!

I apologize to the "winners", as I have no prizes lined-up for them. I'll owe you a beer (or similar beverage or other tasty treat), should we ever meet in person. I'm not _that_ hard to find, if you are desperate to claim your prize... :-)

Moving On

So with that, I officially proclaim RC2019/03 closed. The next event had been christened as RC2019/09 and scheduled for September. Whether or not that plan remains intact will depend on someone else, as I have decided to withdraw from my role as an organizer of this event. September or not, I'm fairly certain that RetroChallenge events will continue -- so watch this space, and monitor the @RetroChallenge Twitter feed!

I have asked Michael Mulhern to take the reigns, and he has agreed to do so. Whether or not Michael accepts some help from the VCF folks or anyone else will be up to him. I definitely wish him (and/or his successors) well, and I will offer whatever aide and support that seems appropriate. Anyway, hopefully we will be hearing more soon...

RetroChallenge Forever

Until then, get to cleaning your soldering tools, organizing your parts bins, and planning your code. How else will you make a good showing at the next RetroChallenge?

RC2019/03 -- Judging Begins

March has passed and April is here. Our month of retro-frivolity is over! Once again, real-life intruded on me enough to keep my project from flourishing. However, many of our competitors saw much more success than I did...

Still A Bit Longer

Even though I sometimes need some help with judging, I always try to ensure that someone comments appropriately on every entry. Competitors are sharing a bit of themselves and of their time by participating, and everyone deserves some attention and a bit of feedback. I hope that everyone can appreciate that this takes time and consideration over a few days. The half-time report came quicker than usual this time, so let's all hope to see that streak continue!

End Of Summer

I know that some of you will drift away after reading this, so let me go ahead and remind everyone that the next scheduled RetroChallenge event will happen in September of this year. I know that the schedule has moved around a bit over the past few events, but I think that we are all settled-in to the April-September groove well enough for now. So if you can't be bothered to wait for the RC2019/03 results, then check back here in time for the September event. We should be collecting entries for RC2019/09 starting in August!

As for the final results from RC2019/03 -- stay tuned!