The MEGA – Museum of Electronic Games & Art has announced that the first batch of development kit of the MEGA65 will be ready for pre-orders next week at Trenz-Electronic.
This is a limited run aimed at developers who want to participate in shaping the final machines, which are expected to be released in 2021 or want to start producing software for the MEGA65. The DevKit comes with special developer support.
The MEGA65 is the modern take of what the successor of the Commodore 64 would be. It runs around 50x faster than the C64 while keeping a high level of compatibility,
The announcement offers a detailed list of what is included in the development kit which we reproduce here:
Hardware
– Powerful Xilinx™ Artix A7 200T FPGA for main integrated circuit, additional MAX10™ FPGA for recovery
– Incredibly high quality cherryMX™ based retro keyboard with metal frame
– Shiny see-through compact plexiglass case with laser engraved serial number
– Modern features like 100 MBit fast LAN, dual SDHC™ card slots, digital video and more
– Awesome chiptune potential: 4 SIDs, OPL2™ (wip), 4-channel 16-bit DMA-based Audio in FPGA
– Keyboard FPGA allows for easy control and reconfiguration to individual needs
– 40MHz 8-bit CPU, 384 KB fast RAM, 8 MB slow RAM (wip)
– Digital and analog video output usable at the same time
– VIC-IV video controller with 23-bit VGA™ and digital video connectors
– 3.5mm 4-pin stereo audio socket. Audio is also sent on the digital video connector
– Internal PMOD™ connectors for additional expansions like Tape, Userport, extra memory, real SIDs
– JTAG™/FTDI™ programmer included for quick testing + flashing of bitstreams, debugging and coding
– Supports real 1541, 1571, 1581 Commodore™ drives via IEC Port
– Battery-backed real-time-clock
– Keyboard fits original Commodore™ 65 case
Software
– Bundled with highly specialized and enhanced GEOS™ version (wip)
– Built-in freezer menu with countless save slots (depending on SDHC™ card size)
– Win, Mac and Linux toolchains and emulators for coding, sending files (PRG, SID, …)
– Multiple D81 image support including AutoBoot
– Includes licensed Commodore™ 65 ROM
What’s in the box
– MEGA65 r3 mainboard
– MEGA65 Plexiglass case with screws and rubber feet
– MEGA65 mechanical keyboard
– Floppy disk drive top cover with unique serial number and MEGA65 logo
– Preconfigured 16GB Kingston™ SDHC™ card with Commodore™ 65 ROM + demo games and apps
– Original Commodore™ 65 reset switch cap (colour may vary)
– Refurbished 3,5” floppy disk drive (bezel color may vary)
– 12V 2A power supply (110 – 220 V)
– Unique key for access to DevKit owner + development support forum and channels
– Support for assembly (15-60 minutes depending on skills), hardware + software development
This first batch is limited to 100 units with laser-engraved serial numbers and it will cost EUR 999. The online store will have it available on 18th June, 11 AM (GMT+2) at Trenz-Electronic. Due to the limited run, it is not for everybody’s pocket but whoever is interested in develop for the machine or can afford a one-of-a-kind piece of hardware like this, it is certainly a good investment!
Link: mega65.org
Congrats on this super cool exclusive, VintageIsTheNewOld! Likely the news item of the year!