Commodore Free 11/Commodore_Free_Issue_11_2007_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/t.micro kim

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 11KB | 362 lines

u          micro-KIM project
      Interview with Vince Briel

Q-Please introduce yourself

My name is Vince Briel & I run a small
company called Briel Computers that
produces computer kits based around the
vintage theme. I used to collect
computers & now focus most of my time
designing hardware.

Q-When did you first become involved
with computers?

Back in the late 1970's I was
introduced to computers at my Jr. High
school. It was a Decwriter II terminal
that simply had a keyboard, a printout
instead of a screen & an acoustic modem
to dial into the HP Access timeshare
basic mainframe. First time I used it,
I was hooked. I remember skipping lunch
to go into the computer room & play
adventure or star trek.

Q-What machines do you own? Do you have
a favorite system?

I currently have about 20 vintage
machines, PET 2001 chicklet keyboard,
KIM-1, TRS-80's, & Apple II's. My
favorite vintage machine is my Apple II
plus. It was my first computer & so it
will always be my favorite.

Q-Please explain the micro-Kim project.

The Micro-KIM is a single-board
computer designed around the 6502 CPU
that comes with on board keypad & 6
digit display. It is based on the KIM-1
computer designed by Chuck Peddle as a
development board for the 6502 CPU.
When I started designing the Micro-KIM,
I set a goal to produce a kit single-
board computer for under $100. This was
no easy task. When you start adding up
the price of components to build a
small 8 bit computer, the price quickly
adds up.

With a lot of part searching & design
work, I was able to reach the $99 goal.
The final result is a redesign of the
original KIM-1 using some of the
original design, incorporating slightly
more modern design & reducing the size
to a much smaller form.

Q-Would you say that the micro-KIM a
clone?

Yes. At first, I was going to keep
almost all of the original design only
making changes to replace the 6530's
which are not available. In the end, I
made some changes reducing chip count &
total parts to reach the $99 kit goal.
All of the original KIM-1 software
should work on the Micro-KIM. I've only
tested some of the software out there
but so far, everything works just like
with the original KIM-1. Some of the
decisions I had to make when designing
the Micro KIM was with things like the
expansion connectors.

On the KIM-1, there are a lot of
signals that are either not needed or
can easily be produced with simple
logic. They are spaced very far apart &
would require a large PCB to duplicate.
The Micro-KIM expansion port contains
all of the necessary signals to
replicate the KIM-1 expansion conn-
ectors, so it is possible to recreate
the expansion connectors on the KIM1
making the Micro KIM hardware compat-
ible with the KIM-1. In order to get
the Micro-KIM board size down to 5"X6"
I was forced to leave off the cassette
interface. Also, the 2nd 6532 was left
out. It is possible to add these in
the future if there is enough demand
for it. However, the Micro-KIM includes
the KIM-1 TTY interface as a RS232 con-
nection allowing you to send & receive
programs using a terminal program like
Hyper Terminal.

Q-I am sure many readers will ask "why
bother"

I have been asked this question before.
The answer is simple. I'm trying to
produce kits like you could buy in the
1970's & 1980's & build & have a
working computer. Kits like this just
don't exist anymore. Now you can sit
down with you kids & teach them how to
solder together a computer.

Q-What is special about the Micro-KIM &
the original Kim computer

Well, the KIM-1 has been labelled the
first "single-board" computer & is one
of those little known C= computers. The
Micro-KIM is my attempt to make an
affordable kit computer for people to
build. If you want to build your own,
the project is fully open source & the
schematics are on the website for
download. Unlike many other replica's &
modern clones, the Micro-KIM uses all
common components, no custom programmed
chips (except the EPROM) or micro-
controllers. This makes it possible for
students to collect parts for them-
selves & build their own based on the
schematics.

Hopefully the project can be helpful to
students learning microprocessor hard-
ware fundamentals.

Q-Does the Micro-KIM have extra/
enhanced functionality over the
original KIM machine?

The RS232 interface was added on-board
so the user can use the KIM-1 built in
TTY option. Also, the Micro-KIM comes
with 5K RAM where the KIM-1 only had
1K on board.

Q-You are selling the machines in both
kit & complete setup, are these readily
available & what are the costs &
delivery charge?

Yes, the Micro-KIM is available in both
kit & assembled form. While I focused
the project on kits I understand that
some people just can't solder or don't
want to. Therefore assembled versions
are available. The kit includes all of
the components to build the board & you
simply need to add a Wall Wart power
supply. The assembled version comes
soldered & tested & also requires a
power supply. Production is now under-
way & you can get a kit for just $99 or
an assembled for $149. Shipping $8.95
in the US or $21 outside the USA.

Q-Do you need to order the parts from
yourself or can they be purchased from
electrical component suppliers

All parts needed to build the kit
except for the power supply are
included. No hunting down components.

Q-what uses are there for such a system
in today's modern world? There are real
world applications that the Micro-KIM
can be used for. It is possible, for
example to make it into a home burglar
alarm with some interfacing. Mostly the
Micro-KIM is a great tool to learn how
to program a 6502 processor or learn
about hardware design.

Q-Can you tell our reader about some of
the other projects for example the
Altar PC & the Replica 1(apple 1 clone)

Sure. I designed the Replica 1 which is
a clone of the Apple 1 computer. As a
collector I wanted an Apple 1 but the
price was way out of my league, so I
decided to build a clone. When I was
nearing completion I began to get a lot
of email requests to purchase one so I
decided to start Briel Computers &
began selling boards. Shortly after I
designed the replica 1 I designed a
daughter-board card that gave Apple 1
or replica 1 computers a serial port
based on the video & keyboard I/O on
the Apple 1. It was virtually invisible
to the Apple 1 or replica 1 & it added
a way to communicate with PC's & other
computers with a terminal program.

After that I designed a 4 Meg RAM card
for the Apple IIgs. I had been
approached about doing this design &
I looked at all of the data on the RAM
port & had a design in my head in less
than 30 minutes. I built a prototype
without even having schematics drawn up
first. I broke every engineering rule
there is doing that but sometimes if I
don't get ideas down fast I loose
focus. So, I had a working 4 Meg card
that used old 30 pin PC SIMM's chips &
1 74LS138 & it worked perfect 1st time.

I gave this design to Garber Street
Enterprises as a gift as long as Briel
Computers was somewhere on the card. I
probably lost out on sales but my work
is not about money but creating. The
AltairPC is a more difficult project
than I originally thought it would be.
The concept is a functional clone of
an Altair 8800 front panel mounted on
a desktop PC. Now your P4 computer has
that vintage flair. Great idea but I
am no mechanical engineer. Modifying
PC cases in a production format is
difficult & requires a lot work. My
original design was using a micro-
controller to emulate the front panel
but it just didn't have that vintage
feel to it. I'm now working out the
case design issues & redesigning the
front panel so that it is an actual
complete Altair 8800 all on the front
panel. The idea of having your P4
system in a case that looks like an
Altair 8800 is a lot of fun.

Q-How much interest has there been in
all these projects & has the interest
surprised you?

Well, I don't advertise. I have to
admit, I am happy with the interest &
enthusiasm that people have shown
towards the kits. I really enjoy seeing
my kits hacked & modified.

Q-Why do you think users are still
interested in older machines, could it
be that new computers like Pc's are
just to complicated & difficult to say
learn programming

No, I don't think computers are more
difficult. Actually, today's computers
makes it possible for just about any-
body to build their own system. What I
think has been lost is that style that
computers had. Every machine didn't
look like every other machine out
there. Today's computers are just
amazing but the interest is part
nostalgic, & in some ways, people just
need to know how we got where we are
today.

Q-Do you think newer younger users are
interested in these machines maybe as
learning tools?

Absolutely. I'm really amazed when I
get emails from 11 year old students
wanting to build one of my kits. If my
kits help generate interest in computer
kits again, that would be great.

Q-You also are the owner of the
http://www.kim-1.com/ website for KIM 1
enthusiast has there been any feedback
About this site?

Actually, I don't own that site. It is
owned & run by Vern Graner.

Q-What other resources are there for
Kim-1 users?

Hans Otten has a great web site for
KIM-1 users as does Vern Graner. Bob
Armstrong has a good site with modern
add-on hardware for the KIM-1. The 1st
place I would stop at is 6502.org

Q-Could you update our reader how the
KIM-1 Came into being & a little of its
history?

Sure. Actually I was fortunate enough
to be at the Vintage Computer Festival
East 4.0 when Chuck Peddle gave a
video conference session describing
the start of MOS & the 6502. In 1975
former Motorola engineer Chuck Peddle
formed MOS technologies & created the
6502, a $25 CPU. At the time, the 8080
Intel was hundereds, & here was this
new 6502 that was similar to a Motorola
6800 for only $25. They wanted to sell
the CPU's at a computer convention but
they didn't allow sales on site so they
had a hotel near the convention & sold
the processors out of their hotel.

Chuck mentioned that they had a
"barrel" of 6502's  but only the top
10% of the barrel had working CPU's.
Chuck had also designed the KIM-1
(Keyboard Input Monitor) as a develop-
ment board for engineers. What they
didn't realize is that a new hobby
market was just beginning & the
majority of their customers were not
engineers but average people. Soon
people where designing add-on hardware
& writing programs & creating user
groups all based on a development
board.

Q-Was there much commercial software
for the Original KIM machine?

Micro Chess is the most popular program
that I can think of. There is a Tiny
BASIC & even a version of Microsoft
BASIC for KIM-1's with more memory.
Most software came from magazines &
user groups.

Q-Is there a thriving group of
programmers creating new software for
the machines?

Mostly former & current KIM-1 users
that want to use their programs they
wrote 30 years ago.

Q-Do you have any other projects
planned?

Yes. More than I will ever have time to
make. Hopefully I can get many more
projects out there for people to enjoy.