What is this?

The rosco_m68k is a self-build Motorola 68k computer designed for experimentation, education and hacking.

Featuring a 68010 16/32-bit processor running at 10MHz, 1MB RAM, 1MB ROM (Flash, with in-system programming capability) and advanced IO capabilities thanks to the on-board XR68C681 dual UART, the rosco_m68k is easy to build and lots of fun to hack on.

And with our open-source serial firmware, Easy68K-compatible IO and simple starter projects for your own code, the rosco_m68k is ready to run your programs just as soon as you've soldered it up!

Note actual PCB colour may vary.

Now shipping with Firmware 2.4 and SD Card support

Features

• MC68010 16/32-bit CPU
• 1MB RAM
• 1MB Flash ROM
• On-board UART (115200 BPS as standard)
• SD Card support (requires Arduino SD adapter, not supplied)
• Expansion connector with support for both new and legacy (MC6800) peripherals
• Serial bootloader firmware loads programs via Kermit protocol
• Easy68K IO Compatibility Layer in the firmware
• Various example programs and quick-start code for your own!
• Built-in support for Xosera retro video adapter (additional hardware required, coming soon!)
• Supports IDE adapter, and legacy V9958 video (via community projects, all require additional hardware, not supplied).

Order the parts, grab your soldering iron, and join in the fun of putting your own computer together!

Who can build this?

The rosco_m68k is designed to be easy to solder, and no special skills or equipment are needed! Simply grab a regular (ideally temperature-controlled) soldering iron, some solder (we like lead-free 0.6mm diameter) and have at it!

• All-through-hole design, only basic soldering skills required
• 4-layer PCB so there's plenty of space around components, no fiddly bits
• High-quality solder mask and tented vias reduce the risk of hard-to-spot bridges

Where supplied, all new components are the very highest-quality we can get our hands on. Some components are (by virtue of their not being produced any more!) pre-owned, surplus or new-old-stock, but we carefully recondition and test every component before it leaves our workshop to ensure that you won't be disappointed by non-functional parts.

What else do I need?

In addition to the base PCB and components and soldering gear, we recommend the following:

• Serial to USB (FTDI) converter to connect your rosco_m68k to your PC
• USB to Dupont power lead (can be easily made at home from any USB cable)
• Multimeter for debugging

When working with the rosco_m68k, we find the following useful:

• Logic analyser for testing and development
• Solderless breadboards and jumper wires
• Arduino, or other MCU
• EEPROM programmer (Required only if you want to reprogram the ROMs or glue logic)

What about software?

Just like the hardware, the firmware and software for the rosco_m68k are open source, and we're constantly improving and adding new features to it. You'll find everything you need at https://github.com/rosco-m68k including the standard firmware, example projects in both assembly and C, and a bunch of standard libraries you can use in your own projects to do things like serial output and GPIOs.

Getting started with writing your own code is easy thanks to our comprehensive instructions on building a GCC toolchain for m68k, and if you use Home-brew (https://brew.sh) you can simply install the toolchain with a couple of commands! (Note that Mac or Linux is recommended for development. A VM can be used when working under Windows).

Programs are loaded to the board via serial link using the Kermit protocol, and all support code is provided by the firmware and standard libraries to make writing these programs as easy as writing programs for your PC.

The standard firmware additionally provides an Easy68K-compatible IO layer, meaning that your existing Easy68k simulator code can probably be run on the real hardware with minimal changes (if any). (See http://www.easy68k.com for more about Easy68K).

And of course, if you're so inclined, you can completely replace the standard firmware with your own code, giving you total control :)