Well, something happened to the web site while trying out a new wordpress forum plugin. All the pages, comments were lost. I’m looking into what happened but I think I have the posts back up. I’m having some issues but should have everything worked out soon.

To order from Briel Computers, please visit our order page here:

http://www.brielcomputers.com/store.html

After a month of intense programming, the Altair 8800 Micro is now functional. Early tests show it runs all 4K BASIC commands and 8K is now being tested. The Micro version is one of 3 planned versions of the Altair replica line. The full sized panel will also be available with a future option of the AltairPC, a complete PC Case with the look of a Altair and your latest PC inside!

As of April 3, 2010 the project is nearing production status. The final prototypes are being designed and will be tested thru May. It is looking like June we will start taking preorders.

The apple ][ super encoder is a replacement board for the apple II and II plus computer keyboards that have the seperate encoder on an attached board on the keyboard. This product is not designed to work with the apple IIe/IIc or IIgs computers. If you have an original apple II or apple II plus you can open the lid and look under the keyboard. If there is a smaller board attached to the keyboard pcb than the super encoder board will replace it. Click on the Ordering tab to the left to order yours. This is a limited edition board.

So, what is the big deal with this super encoder? Well, it makes a nice replacement for those keyboards that have bad encoders. The other advantage is that it has a ps/2 keyboard port. With this port you can have 2 keyboards, the built in apple II keyboard and a standard pc keyboard. You can use both at the same time so it will be easier for two player games. Please note that the cable is NOT included. You can use the cable that is currently on the keyboard.

To install, you must unplug your apple II. Remove the screws around the outside of the case and carefully open up until you can access the keyboard cable. Carefully unplug the cable paying attention to the orientation so you don’t plug it back in backwards. Now you can lay the lid upside down on your work area to access the keyboard encoder. To seperate the encoder from the keyboard you must squeeze the white plastic tab of the post and gently seperate the two boards until the encoder slides all the way out. Remove the cable and install it on the new super encoder board. Install the super encoder as shown in the picture above so the chip is facing toward you and the pins face into the keyboard until the spacers lock into the holes. At this time you can attach a ps/2 keyboard cable or attach one at a later time if you wish.

Things have been very busy around here. Orders have been flying off the shelf and there hasn’t been much time to work on things. However, the Altair project has received some attention and I think we are gaining traction. It is still a long ways off, and anything can go wrong to blow up the project, but there is a prototype. My idea is to have 2-3 different versions of the Altair, one as a PC that looks like an Altair, and the front panel can be programmed via the switches and run BASIC. Inside, you can have your latest Intel machine running Linux or Windows. A front panel only option will be made available for those who don’t want a full PC case.

The 3rd option is what I’m working on right now. It is code named Altair8800 Micro. It is a small (10″X7″.5X3″) case containing the Altair prototype and the PockeTerm terminal all in one case. The hardware testing phase is 95% complete and I am onto creating the Altair in firmware. This is a long and slow process, but things are moving along.

The front panel on the Micro is not exactly the same as the full size Altair. The toggle switches are replaced with small slide switches. There are also 4 less status LED’s. Programming the memory is identical to the Altair.

A custom version of the PockeTerm is incorporated onboard with VGA and composite video output choices (or both), PS/2 keyboard.

I’ve also added a SD card slot that the PockeTerm can use to send programs into the Altair. This section I have not yet tested and it will be the last thing I add in features.

So, where is the project right now. I have the LED’s and switches tested working. I have the core emulation written and can do simple instructions like JMP and NOP.

I can single step through instructions (that was not easy to do) and that appears to be working great.

I am slowly adding instructions but this will take a while. Anybody who might see this and have Atmel AVR experience that can help with the 8080 emulation, feel free to email me. I’m still many days/weeks away from adding all the instructions but right now things are looking good. Once all the instructions are in I’ll work on debugging instruction errors. Please understand that I’m a 6502 guy and the 8080 is pretty new to me. I’m looking into painting the case blue to match the Altair color scheme.

I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up, anything major can still go wrong to blow up the project but I know people have emulated 8080 machines with Atmel AVR microcontrollers so it is very possible. I’m not using their code but I use it as a reference when needed.

Specs:

Emulated 8080 run at speed or faster than original
32K RAM with BASIC loaded at power up (still in the works may have to load from SD card)
VGA or composite TV video output to a monitor
PS/2 keyboard
SD card slot to load/store software through terminal section
Battery option (not tested, may not work well with so many LED’s)
Diode circuit protection for battery/DC input.

More to come…

We are currently out of stock on the 4Meg GS RAM Card until a new source of RAM Chips can be located. We sell the card unpopulated for $49

This is the 4MB RAM card for the Apple II GS. It is a similar design to a card that was developed for Garberstreet Enterprizes a few years ago. After several requests to produce this card, the result is this new card. They are tested on ROM01 GS systems with CFFA cards. They are not tested with speed enhanced systems or systems with SCSI cards. Boards have not been tested with other cards installed. The price of the card is $49 plus shipping.

Recently Juiced.GS did a review of the card

The Test:

• Conducted by: Ewen Wannop
• Tested system setup
• Computer: Apple IIGS ROM 03
• Acceleration: 12.49MHz Transwarp card
• Storage: Apple High-Speed SCSI card, and CFFA card

“Not only does this board use SIMM modules-it comes populated with the full four megabytes, and sells at the moment for a bargain price of $49!”

The PockeTerm is a 4″ X 2.5″ single board terminal that uses a VGA monitor and a PS/2 keyboard for its input and output. Dual serial ports gives the user the option of transferring data to/from a PC while still connected to the host device. This terminal was designed to work with vintage computers but is compatible with most systems including Unix and Linux systems. A low cost color choice terminal that has VT-100 compatible commands for controlling cursor and screen functions. Want to program the propeller microcontroller or install an update to the firmware? No problem, just connect the PockeTerm to your PC, run the Propeller Tools software and you can program it from your PC, no expensive Prop Plug required.

New PockeTerm Case

Order replica 1TE Assembled: $199.00

 

Order Multi I/O Board Assembled: $99

Order Multi I/O Board kit: $79

The replica 1 is a functional clone of the apple 1 computer created by Steve Wozniak in 1976. This was the computer that Steve Jobs and Woz created to start Apple Computers in 1976. The latest version of the replica 1 is labeled TE for Third Edition. The replica 1 functions exactly like the apple 1 with many of the same components like a 6502 CPU and 6821 PIA. It comes with 32K RAM and 8K EEPROM. Addtional features like a ps/2 port, serial, ATX power connector and DC wall power supply connectors makes the replica 1 a fully functional computer system for todays collector or hobby builder. Available as a kit or assembled, the replica 1 is sure to give you hours of fun and excitement as you relive the glory days of computing. As a new feature, a full blown assembler called Krusader written by Ken Wessen was added to the EPROM space giving the user the ability to assembler 6502 programs right on the replica 1 without a PC. Write 6502 machine code programs using mnemonics instead of just programming hex code into the memory. This added programming tool makes the repica 1 not only a nostalgic computer but a great learning tool and introduction to microprocessors.

replica 1 TE improvements

• Apple 1 compatible 44 pin slot
• Apple 1 compatible 44 pin edge connector
• Bread board area for hobby experiments
• Elimination of jumpers
• Improved video display using Parallax Propeller (works with most TV’s and monitors)
• No need for Apple 1 slot adapter because Apple 1 slot now onboard as well as original replica 1 connector
• User firmware updates. User can download firmware updates and install. No need to send in for new chips.

Add-on accessories

• Compact Flash Adapter board
• Slot 1 Expander (3 apple 1 expansion slot board)
• Multi I/O board

Other information

• Applesoft Lite Apple II Applesoft converted for the apple 1 and replica 1
• Apple 1 ROMS These are the Actual Apple 1 nybble ROM images

SYSTEM INFORMATION:

This is a block diagram of the replica 1. The idea behind the project was to keep the design down to a minimum of parts and yet still allow full compatibility with the Apple 1 computer.

 This chart shows the memory map of the replica 1. The zero page is identical to the Apple 1, and the main program RAM is increased from 4K to 32K. The area occupied with BASIC was previously RAM on the Apple 1 but now is EEPROM so BASIC is resident in ROM at all times. This makes for faster loading of programs. Krusader also is resident in ROM. These do not change the compatibility of the replica 1 with the apple 1 but makes programming the replica 1 much easier than on the apple 1.

This is a diagram of the pinout of the expansion connector on the replica 1. It is different than the apple 1 in a few ways. First, it uses standard IDC 40 pin connector like on a IDE hard drive. Secondly, there are only 40 pins instead of 44 because some of the pins on the apple 1 were not needed to replicate the computer.

The multi I/O board is an all-in-one solution that gives the user 2 8 bit bi-directional ports with 4 handshaking lines, a true RS232 serial port with speeds up to 19,200 BAUD, and a 8K EEPROM programmer to store data or programs. There is a socket to add your own speakjet voice chip that works in conjunction with the serial port to make your replica 1 or apple 1 speak! The speakjet is not included but can be purchased here.

CFFA1

The CFFA1 is a add on storage card for the replica 1 and apple 1 computers. It uses compact flash cards to allow you to load/store programs onto your replica 1 or apple 1 computer. The menu driven card has the ability to format, create 1 level deep subdirectories, load, save basic and assembly language programs. This is the only storage card you need for the replica 1.

We had a crash on the site and lost the pages. We will be updating the site over the next 24 hours.