Brain Board Update

I have shipped several Beta kits to some Mimeo builders who also have Apple IIs. Once I incorporate any feedback from the Beta Testers, I’ll open up for ordering. Hopefully this will take only a couple of weeks. My own testing of the production board has revealed no bugs.

In some ways, this is the most complex retro-project I have yet attempted. There was a pretty decent blue print for the Apple 1 and Apple II projects. The complexity involved making sure I didn’t overlook any of the content in the blue print and filling in a few blank pages. The Brain Board project involves creating a way to map the blue print from one fairly complex architecture into another. It also involves mapping the software systems along with the hardware systems. With the motherboard projects, the software was a given. A similar project was the PS/2 to ASCII keyboard adapter, but that mapping is much more constrained.

Several folks have suggested I take pre-orders for this project. Though demand on this project is hard to estimate, I think I have enough parts on hand to supply immediate demand and pre-orders are not necessary.

I have decided to classify this kit as a level 1 kit – it is very easy to build. If you can figure out which end of a chip has pin 1 and have a decent soldering iron, you should be able to build it. Here is a list of projects that I have offered with their skill levels.

1) Apple Cassette Interface (stocked), Brain Board (shipping soon)
2) PS/2 keyboard adapter (stocked)
3)
4) Apple 1 (stocked), Apple 2 rev 0 (discontinued)
5) Datanetics keyboard (several PCBs left)