4 votes

Any retro computer kits with 10 Mbit ethernet?

I've always been enticed by 8 bit computer projects like this but I've never bought any because I can't think of anything I'd do with them given their self-contained nature. Even a really primitive ethernet controller would explode the project possibilities. Does anything like that exist?

3 comments

  1. [3]
    Akir
    Link
    Why not go for real retro computers? There are some that had Ethernet adaptors for them when they were new and others have new ways to network them with. For a slightly cheaper way you can get a...

    Why not go for real retro computers? There are some that had Ethernet adaptors for them when they were new and others have new ways to network them with.

    For a slightly cheaper way you can get a MiSTer; I know that both the Amiga and AO486 cores officially support networking.

    For all of those newer designs you can easily add networking through them by adding an ESP8266 module to connect to Wi-Fi; you just need the ability to communicate through a serial port or UART.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      Hmm, slapping an ESP8266 onto an overclocked 6502 might be a good option here. I'm avoiding real retro computers because it's not nearly as interesting to bring those online compared to a...

      Hmm, slapping an ESP8266 onto an overclocked 6502 might be a good option here. I'm avoiding real retro computers because it's not nearly as interesting to bring those online compared to a breadboard computer.

      2 votes
      1. Greg
        Link Parent
        If you wanted to go full inception, it looks like someone's emulated a 6502 directly on the ESP8266's processor! There's a TCP/IP stack for real 6502 systems out there, and it links to a few...

        If you wanted to go full inception, it looks like someone's emulated a 6502 directly on the ESP8266's processor!

        There's a TCP/IP stack for real 6502 systems out there, and it links to a few hardware options too, but they seem to be (a) primarily targeted at actual retro systems, and (b) mostly defunct. One of them did, however, lead me to find the Wiznet W5100 and W5500 chips, which are dirt cheap and give you ethernet via SPI - could be what you're looking for?

        Also spotted this very slick 6502 build with 32 GPIO pins along the way, and this Commodore PET clone using a different SPI ethernet module. And I'm going to take the excuse to post by far my favourite Game Boy mod that I've ever seen, even though it's really barely relevant at all and mostly about the intricacies of the GB's memory bus, because it does technically use modern networking on an 8-bit CPU and I think it's cool.

        1 vote