What is it?

Sentinel 65X is a project to develop a fully open hardware, open software platform for retrogaming and retrocomputing. It is based around the 65816 CPU architecture, in the form of the W65C265S CPU, running at 8MHz. This prototype is designed with 512KB each of SRAM and flash ROM, two SNES compatible controller ports, a ROM cartridge port, an expansion port, an Amiga-style "clock port", and the VERA graphics and sound system by Frank van den Hoef.

Why did you make it?

The goal is to create an open platform for retrocomputing and retrogaming, for retro developers and users alike, which is not bound to the fate of any one company -- the license for Sentinel 65X allows anyone to produce and sell the system and its accessories, royalty-free, and the design uses only in-production off-the-shelf parts!

What makes it special?

Sentinel 65X is a nascent platform, rapidly approaching a 1.0 release, which will be followed by a factory-made surface-mount production version. This prototype PCB is your chance to get in on the ground floor, and begin your participation in a growing community of designers and developers and lovers of all things retro.

This listing is for the unpopulated PCB. No parts other than the PCB itself are included. All but five parts are simple through-hole soldering. The SMD parts are the three clock oscillators, the reset supervisor, and the SD card port. The complete interactive bill of materials is available on https://git.sentinel65x.com.