We’ve seen a rising curiosity in retro computing in recent times, with a corresponding response from producers blissful to cater to a brand new market. On the planet of gaming, the NES Traditional, SNES Traditional, and Sega Genesis Mini proved to be highly regarded. THEC64 Mini crammed the same area of interest for 8-bit computing followers. However these releases had been solely possible as a result of the techniques already- had big fan bases. Svofski knew there wasn’t any likelihood of his favourite pc receiving comparable remedy, so he’s constructing his personal Vector-06C Mini.
The Vector-06C (“Вектор-06Ц” in Russian) was an 8-bit house pc launched in 1987 within the USSR. In contrast to most of the hottest Soviet house computer systems of the Nineteen Eighties, it wasn’t merely clone of a Western pc like a ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64. The Vector-06C could have lagged behind Western efficiency requirements, however it was an unique design that also has a loyal — although very small — fanatic group. Svofski’s objective is to create a “mini” model of the Vector-06C, akin to THEC64 Mini, utilizing trendy {hardware}.
Svofski appropriately surmised that no producers had been going to tackle the problem of designing and promoting such a distinct segment product, however the Vector-06C had distinctive capabilities that make it fascinating right now. As an alternative of working built-in software program, like CP/M, the Vector-06C solely had a small ROM chip that contained a bootloader. That allow it launch software program from a shopper tape deck or floppy drive. The Vector-06C’s video system proved to be fairly versatile and permits for simulation and porting of video games created for a number of different fashionable techniques.
When Svofski first began this undertaking in 2023, he deliberate to emulate the Vector-06C on an ESP32-S3 microcontroller. However that turned out to be insufficient for emulating the distinctive {hardware}. The Vector-06C had a KR580VM80A processor, which was a clone of the Intel 8080 that’s doable to emulate. However the quirks of the Vector-06C made that tougher to emulate than “common” 8080-based computer systems just like the Altair 8800 or IMSAI 8080.
The answer, which remains to be in progress, is to recreate the Vector-06C’s {hardware} on an FPGA. That could be a Gowin GW1NR-9 FPGA chip on a Tang Nano 9K growth board. It let Svofski reap the benefits of current processor cores: one for the primary CPU and one for the floppy controller’s processor. He initially used MikeJ’s T8080 CPU core, however then switched to a devoted KR580VM80A core created by Vslav. Svofski modified a 65c02 floppy processor core to slim it down so it makes use of fewer logic models.
At this level, Svofski appears to have a system able to booting, loading floppy software program (from an SD card), and outputting video. He’s within the means of implementing a keyboard connection and audio output.
If Soviet 8-bit computer systems are your factor, then you definitely’ll wish to observe together with Svofski work to see his progress on the Vector-06C-Mini.