Olimex Puts "Developer Edition" Neo6502 Retro-Throwback SBCs Up for Sale
With hardware now locked down, attention turns to firmware and software development — and you can pick up a board to help, too.
Bulgarian open hardware specialist Olimex has announced progress in the Neo6502 project to create a low-cost vintage-tech open-hardware single-board computer built around a MOS 6502-compatible processor — including making a small number of "developer edition" prototype units available for sale for those who would like to help with firmware and software development.
"We want more developers to join and experiment, so we decided to put Neo6502 on [the] web for sale," Olimex founder Tsvetan Usunov writes in the project's latest update. "We have built [a] limited quantity of prototypes. Note that this is not final product, it may have changes in [the] future. This developer edition is without complete software and is intended [for] people who can develop firmware for 6502 and RP2040."
The Neo6502 project began back in April as a spin-off from Usunov's work forking the AgonLight retro single-board computer, with a singular vision: an accessible retro-style single-board computer design built around a Western Design Center (WDC) version of the iconic MOS 6502 eight-bit processor and using a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller to simulate the majority of the rest of the hardware required for a functional system — from memory to video output.
Back in June Usunuov showed off the first physical prototypes of the Neo6502 boards, featuring a DVI-over-HDMI digital video output, analog audio, a USB port, integrated speaker, USB Type-C power, and expansion via a full 6502 bus header and Olimex's own UEXT expansion header. While the hardware design is complete, though, work continues on the firmware and software.
It's on that front Usunov has shared a few other updates — including integration of a BASIC interpreter and Apple II emulator by Paul Robson and a Microsoft BASIC and 320×240 256-color graphics mode from Rien Matthijsse. "As you see," Usunov writes, "Neo6502 gives a lot of opportunities, having all peripherals software defined you can imitate old technology or even create your own which do not exist!"
Those interested in a "developer edition' Neo6502 can pick one up on the Olimex web store now at €30 plus shipping (around $34.)
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