at
can deal with a wide range of (E)EPROMs, as N8VEM boards use all sorts of
them. Lastly, a laboratory power supply is a wise investment. Mostly because they have a current limiter that cuts power when a short circuit could otherwise blow up your board!

HOW TO GO FURTHER

The obvious first step is to add the $20 backplane, and put the N8VEM plus backplane into a case (options range from DIY woodwork to buying a standard
19" card cage). From here on, the choice is a personal one. A few highlights:

* VDU cards: Adding a video card frees you from the use of a PC and brings
that warm glow of old CRTs into the room. Using vintage CRT chips is also very interesting from a hard- and software perspective.

* Adding hard and floppy disk drives increases the 'Vintage' qualities of the N8VEM. Although, in practice, you will probably not use the floppy disks very much.

* 'Frankenstein systems': blending old and new technology can be very interesting. For instance, the PropIO card adds mass storage in the form of a modern SD card, but at the same time the on-board Propeller chip supports VGA graphics and PS/2 keyboard.

* Blinkenlights: a front panel with dozens of switches and flashing lights is just good fun. The ECB Bus Monitor card looks like a classical front panel,
but actually is a much more sophisticated debugging tool.

MULTIPROCESSOR SYSTEMS

Another option is the 6x0x board, which deserves special attention. It adds a second processor and operating system to the N8VEM. Builders can choose to
plug in a 6502, 6802 or 6809 microprocessor and let it run DOS/65, Flex or Cubix. The 6502 will appeal to those with an Apple II or Commodore background, but the 6809 is the most interesting option: it was considered to be the most powerful 8 bit microprocessor, and the Cubix operating system gives it a comfortable operating environment with a full tool chain. Typical for what happens in the N8VEM approach, the 6x0x board was expanded first with an extra I/O board, and then even with a custom backplane to use ECB cards without the Z80 being present as a server.

Having a card rack full of peripherals operating the Big Three 8-bit microprocessors, running everything from CP/M to Flex, the N8VEM becomes a
true fetish object for retro computing enthusiasts. It can take years to
master that universe of hard- and software, with plenty of manageable yet satisfying projects still waiting to be done. OS/9 is just one builder's project away, for instance.

THE CUTTING EDGE

N8VEM has spun off new projects in various directions. If you like to keep things simple, the Zeta board is a small project, offering a very fast (20Mhz) CP/M computer, with SD cards as mass storage, VGA connector and an on-board Propeller experimentation area. All on the size of a circuit board the size of a 3.5" floppy drive. The N8 is a more complex board in the spirit of the 80s home computers. The Xi 8088 is an IBM PC/XT compatible; and 68000 and 80286 processor boards are also in various stages of development.

THE TRAILING EDGE

In the last few years, development efforts have also broadened out towards the well-known S-100 bus, made famous by the original 1975 Altair computer. New S-100 cards provide everything from mass storage devices, video cards, to
80286 and 68000 processor cards. With that range of options, builders can either provide a new lease of life for old S-100 systems, or simply create a brand new one.

KEEPING THINGS TOGETHER

With such a broad array of projects, and involvement from people with widely differing skill sets, it is remarkable how the N8VEM mail group binds all
these builders together. The youngest builder is 14 years old; it would be impolite to mention the age of the oldest. But if you have ever used 8-bit computers, you're likely to encounter some of the people that designed those vintage machines on the N8VEM mail group. This loose organisation of builders means that it is quite easy to join in - whether home brewing is a full-time hobby or just a one-off desire to own a $20 self-built computer for fun.

Suggested literature, freely available online in PDF format:

* Steve Ciarcia, Build Your Own Z80 Computer.

* Rodnay Zaks, Programming the Z80.

N8VEM mail group:
groups.google.com/group/n8vem
N8VEM depository:
n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com
S-100 board development:
www.s100computers.com

AUTHOR:

Oscar Vermeulen, o.vermeulen@altis.ch. No copyrights reserved: text is in
the public domain.

ORIGIN OF PICTURES:

1. n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/f/1252026457/100_0210_1.JPG (cover page of N8VEM repository, used with approval)

2.
www.nekochan.net/photos/PICT1495.JPG
(written consent of the photographer for any publication purpose of this article)

3. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electronics_workbench.jpg (copyright
free + written consent of the photographer for any publication purpose of this article)

4. picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/S7mK2OqBoTiEs98QAcCRquvBklHorPmGf8xLjp46i7M (written consent of the photographer for any publication purpose of this article)

Higher-resolution versions of photos are available if desired

n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/file/61925814/N8VEM%20article.doc


*************************************
BOOK REVIEW: TERRIBLE NERD
By Commodore Free
*************************************

If the title doesn't give the book away; then reading the introduction will!
If you don't recognise the writer then you must be of a younger generation; however don't let this put you off. Kevin Savetz' Tech writer, pours out his memories of growing up in a new era of technology.

Here we have a 41 year old male; who grew up on what many called "new technology" the explosion of the pocket calculator and the birth of the home computer system. Things that had never been seen or experienced before, a glorious era of ideas and interesting music projects and strange hairdos (although to be honest most areas have strange hairdos, I am led to believe this is fashion).

Kevin is the creator of (amongst other websites) the excellent resource www.Atarimagazines.com and while true this isn't strictly a Commodore related website (nor is the book; as Kevin was an Atari baby, however this doesn't matter) the website does house 6502 programming manuals, and of course all items are printed with the original author's permission.

Kevin also created many resources for finding your way around the web in his life; and was also the moderator on many newsgroups. A frequent BBS user and general computer enthusiast and of course self confessed geek, some may call him a nerd (hence the book title). Kevin also helped many with his free internet fax service. And how would we survive without the glorious fridge magnet site! www.savetz.com/fridge/fridge.cgi

The book starts with Kevin growing up with consoles like Atari 2600 and intellivision and his first 8 bit computer system, feeling alienated at school (the nerd) he had access to and the wealth of online services from BBs to CompuServe. The whole school years thing; and of course swapping games with friends in the bike sheds. Girlfriends or the lack thereof, playing Mule and learning about Basic programming. How he created graphics for various BBS
front ends.

These early attempts at mastering the electronic beast gave Kevin a foot in
the door ahead of many others, Kevin would use his new skills to create friendships of like minded people and hone a hobby into a career in the computing industry. The book explains about Kevin's hacking of the school computer to dial into BBS`s, how he caused trouble on college radio, and one
of his altered egos that of AOL`s AnswerMan later sections detail meetings
with Microsoft and even some writing job offers from the company, yes with pay!

Kevin explains

"While other guys were chasing girls, he was typing in pages of code from computer magazines, swapping software, programming in BASIC, and scouring
news
--- CrashWrite 2.0
* Origin: --:)-- Dragon's Lair BBS --(:- (39:901/281)