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System Information
micro-KIM features: 6502 CPU running at 1Mhz The I/O of the 6 digit display and keyboard are memory mapped exactly like the KIM-1 for full program compatibility.
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None yet, it's just being announced.
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The story of the KIM-1 The KIM-1 was created in 1975 by Chuck Peddle as a development board for the new MOS 6502 microprocessor. The targeted users were engineers, but it turned out that hobbyist users were buying the KIM-1, not engineers. What made the KIM-1 so appealing to average hobbyists? At first glance, it has only 6 digit display, a mere 23 button keypad, and only 1K of RAM. By todays standards, most MP3 players are 100 times more powerful. But back in 1976, it was a feature packed board for on $245. It also included a TTY interface to attach a terminal or papertape. A cassette interface was also included when connectors were attached to the expansion connector giving mass storage to this powerful board. The other feature the KIM-1 had was expansion connectors to connect real world devices such as switches, lights and speakers. With all of these features built into a board selling for half the price of most computer system, it quickly became a very popular computer system.
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See the Micro-KIM on display for the first time ever at the Vintage Computer Festival East in Wall Township, NJ. The show is June 9th and 10th. For more information visit the Vinage Computer Festival. |
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Here is a picture showing a Micro-KIM with Hyper Terminal on boot. Most people don't know that the KIM-1 also has a built in terminal interface!
The picture above shows the Micro-KIM downloading process. Using the built in feature of the paper-tape of the KIM monitor, you can dump programs to the Micro-KIM. This is a text file that was loaded from the Micro-KIM earlier using the paper-tape write function.
Above picture shows Tiny BASIC loaded and running a small "HELLO WORLD" program. |
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9-21-2007 There is a board fix requried for a second 6532 to be added to the Micro-KIM. Please see the BUGFIX page for more information on how to solve this issue. 9-15-2007 The first add-on board is now available for sale. The 32K RAM board gives you 32K of RAM from $2000-$9FFF without giving up your onboard RAM. With this board you should now be able to run almost all programs made for the KIM-1, even those that required more memory such as a full floating point BASIC. 8-5-2007 The last of the Micro-KIM orders have shipped and after the initial rush it gives me a chance to relax and focus on things. A few of the people who received the serial-USB converter for free with the promotion report cable failure. This is unfortunate as I was trying to give a little something extra to those who helped with preordering and getting the project started. Unfortunately I don't have any more cables to exchange and I won't be selling the converter any longer. However, if you need to convert the serial port to USB to connect to your PC, I recommend checking Ebay. 8-2-2007 About 2/3 of the orders are shipped and the remaining orders should be ready to ship by this weekend. After this weekend order time will be about 1 week. 7-24-2007 Orders are being packed and shipped out. It will take a little time to get all of the orders shipped but if you have placed an order, you will receive an email notice when your order ships. 7-20-2007 The first run of boards are due in today and I will be inspecting them for defects. After that I will begin putting kits togther this weekend and should be shipping the first set of kits next week. 6-27-2007 The final prototype is in and looks great! Click here to see the prototype image. Production is ready to begin and the boards are being ordered. 6-13-2007 Last minute changes required another prototype. I added a header option for the row and column of the keypad to make the Micro-KIM more compatible with the original KIM-1. Schematics are now available for download! The final prototype is being tested before pre-orders begin. Before production can start on a new project like this, we need a minimum of 10 pre-orders. Soon an email will go out explaining this and the expected wait time. If you want to help get this project off the ground help by being one of the first 10 pre-orders. Once there are 10 preorders, the order will go into the board house to make the blank boards and that takes about 4 weeks. Once the boards arrive kits will be made. The goal is to start taking pre-orders no later than the June 30th. If only 5 people pre-order, that probably won't be enough and if too much time goes by, refunds will be given. However, I don't expect that to be a problem. |
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Click on the image above to view the schematics in pdf format Download the source code listing and ROM here With the schematics and the source code, you can build your own Micro-KIM. Use of this information is for non-comercial use only. |
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This is the new 32K RAM card for the Micro-KIM. It addresses at $2000-$9FFF and allows you to run such programs as Microsoft BASIC! The kit price on this board is $25 and the assembled is $35. Visit the ordering page to get yours today! |
Introducing the micro-KIM. The micro-KIM is a clone of the KIM-1 created by MOS technologies in 1975 as a development board for the 6502 CPU. The micro-KIM uses many of the same components as the KIM-1 to give it that authentic vintage feel. No custom components are used and the micro-KIM is designed with off the shelf parts. As an improvement to the original KIM-1 then RS232 interface is included onboard to make I/O easier. Some components on the original KIM-1 are no longer available. The 6530 RRIOT included a custom programmed ROM and has been replaced by a 6532 RIOT and an exernal ROM. The custome 23 key keypad is onboard with tactile switches giving the micro-KIM a compact size. a total of 5K RAM is onboard with an expansion header for future expansion of memory or add-on boards. With a projected selling price of $99 the micro-KIM is one of the most affordable 8 bit computer kits available today. As a matter of fact, the micro-KIM was designed around the student market in an effort to offer students and schools a low-cost 8 bit CPU trainer.
There is a board error and fix for older rev 0 boards. The current rev 1 boards have the mods listed already installed. Click here for more information.
MOS KIM-1 advertisement
