Just a quick post to let you know about some of the things coming up in 2025.
Mini VIC
The first project likely to be finished is the Mini VIC.
I am currently tweaking the design to improve the video output (you might have noticed the recent deep dive into VIC20 video output circuitry)
The video output is looking better now, with a nice straight edge to the border (it is often very wibbly on a VIC20). There is still an issue with the colour RAM corruption (as demonstrated by the David Bowie tribute Black Star.).
Just needs a few mods.....
The plan is to complete that as a "needs a VIC chip" version in the new year. There are a few VIC chip replacements, which could either end up as a "you need to buy one of those" or be bundled in. Or potentially I might still get one of my own attempts at a VIC replacement working well enough. Either way, this is a solid test bed, as it has been already for the Penultimate +3.
Speaking of which..
Penultimate +3
The Penultimate +3 is available now.
I am currently working with a game developer on a new game that will make full use of the new features.
There will be a proper blog post to follow on that very soon, just waiting for things to settle down in the new year.
Speaking of which....
EU Shipping
Slight problem at the moment due to new GPSR rules that came into place on the 13th December. There seems to be a lot of confusion and conflicting information. It appears I can no longer ship things to the EU as I cannot afford to put in place all the documentation and representation required to be able to sell into the EU marketplace. I am hoping that will get sorted out in the new year.
My Tindie store remains open for shipping to the UK, US and the rest of the world, just not the EU at the moment (sorry, I didn't vote to cut us off from our friends over the channel).
Speaking of cutting yourself off from the rest of the world, we will see how changes in the US play out. It seems likely it is going to get more difficult, certainly more expensive, to get things into the US under the new administration.
What else?
Well, following hot on the heels of the Mini VIC will be the Mini PET II. This is a redesign of the Mini PET to get around two main parts that are now out of production.
But it got a bit more complicated than that.
Just a test bed for the moment. I have a proper PCB made up, but I am trying not to work on too many things at once, and concentrating on the Mini VIC for the moment.
You might notice one of the boards I "borrowed" for the development process was a "Project ORAC" board.
ORAC
This was the beginning of an Oric 1 / Oric Atmos clone. I also have a new board for that with a few tweaks. That will follow after the Mini PET II.
Z80 Projects
After somewhat optimistically buying a lifetime supply of Z80s I have been a little disappointed to have only sold a few of them as part of the Minstrel 2 and 3 kits. I guess everyone who wanted one of them either cannot afford one or already had one.
So onto new Z80 based projects. Several are in the works. Not sure it is a good idea to continue with the ZX Spectrum compatible machine just now, but there are lots of other things that are now back on the table now I have lots of Z80s to use.
There are lots of development log posts on the upcoming Mini VIC and Mini PET II on my Patreon, I will start to post these on here once they are finished, until then, check out my Patreon if you want to know more.
2024 didn't quite go to plan, let's hope 2025 is full of 8-bit goodness.
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Minstrel 2 and 3 kits are available from my Tindie store.
Versions are available for ZX81 case:
Or standalone with keyboard:
And also Minstrel 3 with ZXpand microSD card interface:
I have listed the Minstrel 2 and Minstrel 3 PCBs with and without keyboards or overlays on Tindie. Just in case you want to source your own parts and don't like the ease and simplicity of having them all supplied in neat little bags and a foam pad with all the ICs in order.
I am in the process of moving things over there from my SellMyRetro store, so if there is anything that you want, let me know and I'll add it.
I have recently added lots of PET repair and upgrade parts, more to follow.
Bluesky
For those interested in such things, I can now be found on Bluesky.
I am almost at 500 followers, a fraction of what I had on Twitter, but a whole load more interaction and a nicer environment.
Patreon
You can support me via Patreon, and get access to advance previews of development logs on new projects and behind the scenes updates. These are often in more detail than I can fit in here, and some of these posts contain bits from several Patreon posts. This also includes access to my Patreon only Discord server for even more regular updates.
