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jtwinters
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Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Thread Started on Dec 31, 2006, 1:30am »
Here are a few pics of my own DTV Hummer project. I had an old PSOne LCD screen lying around and I thought I'd make a C64 laptop. Actually, it's more like a C64 PDA! It measures 6.5 x 6 x 1.5 inches (15.5 x 16.5 x 4 cm) when closed. It can run from an AC wall adapter or 6 NiMH AA batteries. The keyboard is hacked from a portable folding keyboard for a Jornada PDA which outputs RS-232. I'm using a PIC 16F88 to decode the signals and re-encode them to PS/2 (that was an ordeal to figure out). The PIC checks to see if an external PS/2 keyboard is connected on power up. If one is hooked up, it will route data from that instead. There is an internal ampilfied speaker as well as connections for audio and video output on the back. There's a serial connection for a disk drive and an SD card slot in the side. I also have a connection for a userport/joystick. The joystick in the picture is a hacked Atari keychain joystick. The mini joystick wasn't in the original plan but after I accidentally discovered it on ebay, it seemed perfect.

Here's a how-to post regarding the RS232 to PS/2 keyboard hack:
http://jledger.proboards19.com/index.cgi....read=1167783024

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Here are some of the innards. It was originally a Hummer. I cut the power supply part of the PCB off and supplied my own regulated 3.3V.

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Another size comparison to emphasize the tiny-ness of it.
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Special thanks to David Murray, his site has been a permanent fixture on my computer for the last few weeks!
« Last Edit: Jan 24, 2007, 12:27am by jtwinters »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Jason Winters

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http://www.picobay.com/fishcam

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Golan Klinger
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #1 on Dec 31, 2006, 4:53am »
Holy macaroni! That's awesome. What kind of DTV did you use? Did you fabricate that case yourself? More information please.
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diroga
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #2 on Dec 31, 2006, 7:06am »
amazing. plz document your project and share!
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MadModder
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #3 on Dec 31, 2006, 8:12am »
Hey! That's very nice. Seems like it's all made out of wood, and then a layer of tape-like aluminium foil on that?
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jtwinters
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #4 on Dec 31, 2006, 12:00pm »
The DTV is from a Hummer. It doesn't look quite right because I physically sawed off part of the circuit board.... the side with the voltage regulation components That was a fun experience. I followed all the traces on that side of the board and I thought it would work, but I wasn't 100% sure until I did it.

MadModder is correct, The entire thing is made from wood and superglue. The wood is that thin plywood stuff that you get at the hobby store. Then I covered it with faux stainess steel contact paper. With all the cutting and filing and glueing I did, I think it might have been easier just carve it from a big log.

I'm working on a site to document it. I was finally to a point that I could take a few pictures last night and I wanted to post them before someone scooped me.

I'll be publishing the keyboard convertor schematic and PIC code if anyone is interested. Those Jornada foldaway keyboards are really cheap on ebay. The cool thing is that I can have the PIC run "scripts" on power up... like POKE settings and stuff like that. It is also capable of progamming the function keys from BASIC. The PIC watches for a certain "activation" key sequence and then saves the next keystrokes to the PIC's EEPROM until you press another special key sequence to deactivate learning mode. I'm sure you guys are already doing this with custom ROM flashes, but I just about have an anxiety attack every time I start playing around with the ROM and I'd like to keep the flashings to a minimum.
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Jason Winters

Check out my interactive fishcam!
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My other projects:
http://www.picobay.com/projects/index.html
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #5 on Dec 31, 2006, 12:56pm »
Excellent!, I would have loved to build something like this, but I have neither the tallent, nor the time.
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gmoon
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #6 on Dec 31, 2006, 1:04pm »
Very, very cool! :D

Love the case (hinges, especially.) It would be great to peek at the PIC code too.

You're in a position to answer a question: how much current does the Hummer board draw without the factory power regulator (and the LED integral to that regulator)?
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jtwinters
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #7 on Dec 31, 2006, 1:48pm »
I'll have to get back to you on the current draw since I'll have to take it apart to measure that specifically. Right now I can only back into a number. The whole thing uses 1000 mA (gulp) when running with the LCD screen. I know the screen alone uses about 730 mA. The 3.3v regulator and 7805 are sucking up some current as well since they are warm to the touch. The PIC and keyboard use practically nothing. So the current draw comes out to... ok maybe I can't back into a number. let me just measure it and get back to you.
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Jason Winters

Check out my interactive fishcam!
http://www.picobay.com/fishcam

My other projects:
http://www.picobay.com/projects/index.html
shadyman
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #8 on Dec 31, 2006, 3:09pm »
Sweeeeet!
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David Murray
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #9 on Dec 31, 2006, 5:11pm »
Wow, this is a work of art. I noticed many similarities between some of my work and yours... It came as no surprise when you said you'd been reading my website. I need to add this to my gallery.

I was surprised to read it was made of wood. It doesn't relly look like wood at all on the outside.
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robertb
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #10 on Jan 1, 2007, 4:39am »

Quote:
Here are a few pics of my own DTV Hummer project. I had an old PSOne LCD screen lying around and I thought I'd make a C64 laptop. Actually, it's more like a C64 PDA!

Brilliant! Simply brilliant! O.K., when do you start mass-hacking these for those of us with no talent? ;-D

Happy New Year!
Robert Bernardo
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http://videocam.net.au/fcug
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CSCBlows
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #11 on Jan 1, 2007, 2:44pm »
Sweet!!!!!
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yock1960
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #12 on Jan 1, 2007, 9:29pm »
It's beautiful!

I'd be interested in the details of connecting the PDA keyboard. I have a PDA keyboard that I'd like to use with mine, but it's a little above my abilities without someone blazing a trail for me!
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #13 on Jan 2, 2007, 8:23am »
That is just amazing. Ive always meant to make an RS232 to PS2 adaptor, but never got bored enough to actualy make it. I cant wait to see the code/schematic you used.
Do i detect a 1541-III-DTV space there? The 5pin header and SD slot lurking in a gap about the right size is just too suspicious for me :P
But I have to say, its amazing work. Its just what most C64 enthusiasts have always wanted. Now if you could add a touchscreen and use the mouse driver too, that would make a killer PDA.

could we have the model number for the KB?
I have an old ericsson chatboard that I beleive also outputs rs232 for the keys, its even smaller than yours.
« Last Edit: Jan 2, 2007, 8:25am by pyrofer »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Please visit my Project site at,
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Leif Bloomquist
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Re: Unveiling the Picodore 64 - a Commodore PDA!
« Reply #14 on Jan 2, 2007, 8:58am »
Very nice work!
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