Makers have hacked collectively some superb cyberdecks over time — however whether or not or not they rival the pocket computer systems of the Nineteen Eighties is debatable. With out query, the fashionable creations have much more computational energy. However relating to design — properly… in the present day’s 3D prints simply don’t have the type of a 40-year-old machine developed at a time when everybody was nonetheless making an attempt to determine what a pocket PC even was, not to mention what you’d do with it.
To get the very best of each worlds, electronics hobbyist shiura hacked trendy {hardware} into a stupendous Sharp PC-G801 pocket pc from 1988. Sure, that does imply the unique {hardware} was gutted in order that shiura might reuse the case. In remembrance of this fallen pocket PC, let’s have a second of silence earlier than we proceed.
The brand new inner {hardware} (📷: shiura)
As initially constructed, the PC-G801 got here outfitted with a Z80-compatible processor and 8KB of RAM. That’s not very helpful in in the present day’s world, so hacking this little machine is sort of comprehensible. With new elements, it might truly be used once more, slightly than spending the remainder of its life sitting on a shelf.
To carry it updated, shiura designed a customized PCB to exchange the unique. Slightly than a Z80 CPU, this one is powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W single-board pc. This serves as the primary computing unit. The Pi interacts with an ESP32-S3 improvement board by way of a serial connection. The ESP32 handles interfacing with the {hardware} that is still from the unique pc, such because the keyboard. It additionally powers the brand new show — a 256×64 OLED show that matches neatly within the case.
The circuit diagram (📷: shiura)
With these upgrades, the PC-G801 now not must boot into BASIC the place in the present day’s customers are unlikely to do greater than sort in a number of “10 PRINT” applications every so often. The Pi makes it doable to run a full Linux working system on the machine, which is simply what shiura did.
Some individuals could also be upset about eradicating the unique {hardware}, however there’s little doubt that the outcome was price it. You received’t discover a cooler Linux pocket pc anyplace.
