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6502

2 GoKawiil briefs on this topic

SDCC compiler suite continues to add support for retro and embedded chip architectures

SDCC is an open-source, optimizing C compiler suite (supporting C89 through C23 standards) that targets a wide range of microcontrollers, including Intel's 8051 family, Zilog Z80 variants, STM8, MOS 6502/65C02, and Padauk chips. The suite bundles an assembler, linker, preprocessor, simulator, debugger, and library utilities, each drawn from different GPL-licensed projects. Development is ongoing for newer targets like the Rabbit 5000/6000 and Padauk pdk13, while Microchip PIC16/PIC18 support has been left unmaintained.

Engineer father built custom Atari peripherals from KIM-1 kit to home computers

A reader recounts how his father, an electrical engineer who once designed early aviation safety systems, built a KIM-1 computer kit at home before moving on to a Fairchild Channel F and an Atari 400. The family customized the machines with RF output, serial ports, and floppy drives, and grew up playing early cartridge and cassette-based games like an unlicensed Star Trek title and Activision's grueling 'Decathlon.'