Rom-inated 512K

[MJ313]

I like my 512K a lot… it’s a pretty nice little machine that I got locally. The story is somewhere in the Conquests forum. It had it’s issues, but after getting the analog board cleaned up, for the most part it has worked fine. The floppy drive is pretty loud. But… when I saw BMOW’s Rom-inator, I thought, well, that’s pretty darn cool. What if…

The Rom-inator comes as a neat little kit, but I knew I didn’t have the skills necessary to assemble it, so I asked Uniserver if he’d be willing to do it. He agreed.

So then I ordered up the kit and once I got it, shipped it all off to Uniserver.  I just got it back...

It’s a masterpiece. I really want to take this first post to show off his stuff. If anyone wants one of these Rom-inators (which are really cool) but don’t want to mess around with logic board soldering, email him. He (and Steve, of course) can answer questions about install as well.

Check these pictures out.

 

 

[MJ313]

The board slides in very easily. Clearance could be an issue if you don't take proper care to keep the wires down.

 

[MJ313]

Arrrr!

 

[uniserver]

i like the scribble box artwork!   nice!

 

[uniserver]

 

[markyb86]

"Press and hold ARRRRRRR now" ? LOL

What do you plan on running on the 512 now?

 

[MJ313]

"Press and hold ARRRRRRR now" ? LOL

What do you plan on running on the 512 now?

LOL!!

Rom-inator comes pre-installed with a bunch of good software and games...

I had to test it out with Floppy Emu... now I am totally free of floppy disks!! huzzah!

And of course, Lode Runner!

 

[MJ313]

i like the scribble box artwork!   nice!

my 2 year old dominates with the crayons... it's fine as long as it's not on the walls

you should see this 7600 chassis I have. I gave it to him and he crushed it with crayons.

 

[MJ313]

Oh and let me say this. Rom-inator makes this machine FAST. Like... ridiculously fast. From power switch flip to 'press r' to desktop can be as quick as 4 seconds.

I kid you not.

 

[uniserver]

are you using your floppy emu in hd20 mode?  because that works too!

 

[bigmessowires]

Cool, I'm glad it's working, and great photos! I noticed you left out the sockets for the flash chips, and soldered them directly to the PCB. Was that to reduce the board height? Having the chips socketed means you can remove and reprogram them externally, if you ever accidentally trashed the contents with a bad update. I would feel a little nervous with them soldered in like that - a bad update would basically brick your computer until you replaced the original ROMs. I guess the chances of that are pretty low, but I sleep better at night knowing mine are socketed.

There's a tutorial on changing the contents of the ROM disk, if you want a different built-in OS or programs: http://www.bigmessowires.com/2015/02/13/rom-inator-disk-setup-tutorial/

 

[uniserver]

reduce the board height?

yes

remove and reprogram them externally

1.

He doesn't have a programmer, nor does hardly anyone.

- if he did have a programmer,  i doubt him or hardly anyone would know how to use the damm thing.

2.

He will probably leave the image as it is.

as most people probably will.

I would feel a little nervous

you shouldn't... your software is pretty decent by now.

 

[MJ313]

I don't have a programmer and I'm not messing with the image; I'm real happy with it the way it is.

And I have a 2 year old and a newborn, so I don't sleep well anyway

 

[MJ313]

are you using your floppy emu in hd20 mode?  because that works too!

I have used it-- I had to slim down my HD20 image though because the original one I was using with my Plus was a memory hog and had issues on the 512K

 

[bigmessowires]

Even if someone doesn't have an external programmer, I don't see a reason not to use the sockets. At least that way you have the option if you ever need it. Just my 2 cents.

I don't have a programmer and I'm not messing with the image; I'm real happy with it the way it is.

And I have a 2 year old and a newborn, so I don't sleep well anyway

Oh man, customizing it is where the fun is! Maybe change the startup beep to a recording of your 2 year old laughing.

 

[techknight]

I like the TAM, and the 5200 startup sound. IMHO. 

 

[uniserver]

i hate sockets.

 

[CC_333]

Unless it's a socketed SE/30 CPU

c

 

[MJ313]

Oh man, customizing it is where the fun is! Maybe change the startup beep to a recording of your 2 year old laughing.

I'd probably be more inclined to try to get the Inception sound on there... maybe when I get the nerve up some day. But right now it's real cool the way it is.

Socketed or unsocketed, this is pretty much the coolest little thing.

I've been thinking about your Target Market. Right now it seems you gear it towards the guy/gal who likes to tinker/solder and spend hours messing around.

Then there's people like me... yeah, I've got a Master's degree in CIS, but I'm not going to be doing all of that. But I could see myself getting one of the million Mac Plus's floating around and a Rom-inator, having Uniserver install it, and giving it to my Dad for Father's Day. I mean, pretty much every person in their 50's/60's who has seen my collection has gotten the greatest kick out of it. It brings them back to the good ol' days. But these people don't want to be bothered with maintaining floppy drives and using floppies. Give them this, they flip the switch, smile when they press R, play around for an enjoyable 30 minutes, then go about their day.

A lot of people on this site can probably hack this thing, but a lot more people would enjoy it if it was put in front of them, even in it's base state. Everyone here should buy a Plus, throw this in it and give it to their Mom or Dad, older friend, whatever.

Just sayin.