Homebrew 68K Micro-ATX Computer Runs Its Own OS

We’re no stranger to residence constructed Motorola 68000 computer systems right here at Hackaday, however as a rule, they are usually an experiment in retro minimalism. The venerable processor is normally joined by solely a handful of elements, and there’s a superb opportunity they’ll have taken up residence on a bit of perfboard. Then [NotArtyom] despatched in his Blitz, and launched the bar into the stratosphere.

Make no mistake, the Blitz isn’t just a few easy demo of traditional chips. The open hardware motherboard has onboard floppy, IDE, and PS/2 interfaces, with a trio of Eight-bit ISA enlargement slots for good measure. The  Motorola 68030 CPU is buzzing alongside at 50 MHz, with four MB of RAM and 512 KB of ROM alongside for the experience. Designed to suit the Micro-ATX motherboard customary, you possibly can even mount the Blitz in a recent PC case and run it on a typical ATX energy provide.

As if the hardware wasn’t spectacular sufficient, [NotArtyom] went forward and created his personal open supply DOS-like working system for it to run. Written in moveable C, G-DOS can run on varied m68ok boards in addition to ARM and PowerPC machines. It’s an unimaginable venture in its personal proper. In the event you’re in search of one thing to point out off your homebrew laptop, you may definitely do worse than flattening a duplicate of G-DOS. In the event you do port it to a brand new board, be sure that to let [NotArtyom] know.

It’s taken [NotArtyom] three years to develop Blitz and G-DOS along with his solely purpose being to higher perceive homebrew computer systems. He has no real interest in monetizing the design or turning it right into a equipment, however as a substitute hopes it is going to be a useful resource and inspiration for others with related pursuits. Oh yeah, and he did all of this earlier than he even graduated highschool. In the event you weren’t questioning your life’s accomplishments earlier than, now could be a good time to start out.

Eager about constructing your personal Motorola 68000 laptop, however haven’t but attained the wizarding degree of [NotArtyom]? You might begin with one thing a bit easier just like the 68k-nano, or in case you’re actually in a pinch, simply lifeless bug a Dragonball 68328.