Above: The author’s BBC Master 128 “microcomputer” with unique “mouse” input device, 1986 vintage.
The appeal of looking back to our technological past is undeniable. The tech we use every day does not exist in a vacuum — it was not created spontaneously but rather built upon layers of prior generations of knowledge, ideas, and hopes. It’s not surprising then that communities exist which celebrate and explore almost every aspect of technology’s complex past.
For me, technology has been a lifelong fascination, from the moment my dad brought home a BBC Micro Model B microcomputer for me to play with one weekend. We ended up buying a BBC Master 128, the Micro’s successor, when my dad saw how much I loved the Beeb, and by age 6, I was off and running, creating my own worlds in BASIC. I even founded our school newspaper using crude desktop publishing software and a special hardware device to make working with it easier, called a “mouse.” I can still smell the “computer room” where I spent countless days of my childhood at the keyboard, and while my hunger for new, more powerful gear soon sent me down the path of the PC, I still own and cherish that rare 1986 machine.
Today I have an extensive collection of computing devices of similar vintage which I never had the chance to experience in their heyday. My Amiga 1000 is the crown jewel among them and has allowed me to explore an entirely different Motorola 68000-based history, parallel to the 6502-then-x86 path that I took. The winter before last, I spent the break immersing myself in the world of the Amiga, refusing the use of my modern PC and spending all of my time learning the OS and how to develop in Aztec C, basking in period documentation and how-to guides. By essentially cosplaying as a 1989 Amiga user, I got to experience a delicious new flavor of tech that I’d missed out on the first time around.
But I didn’t do it alone. My Amiga journey was facilitated by an emulation and connectivity package from a group in Italy. I supplemented the wonderful paper books that I’d inherited with scanned PDFs from bombjack.org. And when one of my Aztec C disks turned out to have gone bad, I found a replacement image in the Belgian Amiga Club’s BS1 disk archive. Locally, I get to share my passion for the Amiga and other old hardware via a monthly meetup at my local makerspace, All Hands Active. My explorations were immeasurably enhanced by passionate communities all over the world that have formed around this wonderful old gear.
Technology has always emanated from and been sustained by such communities, from local computer clubs like the one in Palo Alto where Steve Wozniak debuted the first Apple computer, to trade shows like the one in London where I witnessed the launch of the BBC Micro’s ARM2-powered successor, Archimedes. Technology in turn has enabled new forms of community, like bulletin board systems (BBSs), CompuServe, IRC, and modern forums and other digital gathering places where enthusiasts can more easily connect regardless of geography.
Museums like Mountain View’s Computer History Museum and The Bloop Museum in Maryland provide context and depth, and even the chance for anyone to go hands-on with retro gear to see what makes it so special. Digital libraries like the Internet Archive and WinWorld ensure that users can still get their hands on obscure titles that would otherwise be locked away on a dusty floppy somewhere. And in-person events like Vintage Computer Festivals and our own Maker Faires allow enthusiasts to share their passions and discover new ones.
Maybe you’re into restoring obscure old computers, or supercharging them with powerful modern hardware, or embracing their constraints to create rad 8-bit chiptunes, wicked tracker music, or mind-bending demos. Maybe you prefer playing “obsolete” music formats, or niche video games from the 80s and 90s — or hacking old ROMs to put your own spin on classic games. In the emerging “fantasy console” scene, you can even create games for retro-style consoles that never existed! Whatever your retro tech obsession, there’s a community out there for you.
In our retro-themed issue of Make: (which you can get in print or PDF from the Maker Shed), we celebrate some beloved retro darlings, like my own Game Boy on the cover, as well as the chiptune music scene (“Pro-Sound Mod,” page 34) and the community that has embraced the Game Boy Camera and homebrew game development (“Game Boy Camera Renaissance,” page 28). The music theme continues with our deep dive into the creation of the Raspberry Pi Pico-based PC sound card emulator PicoGUS (page 46), and our piece on DIY vinyl records (page 38) shares the story of a maker we met at Maker Faire Bay Area who is finding fun new ways to explore this century-old tech. Retro gamers can get their hands dirty building a stand-up arcade console, full-size or mini (“DIY Retro Arcade,” page 50), and light up the game room with a Mario baddie (“Scary Sconce,” page 80). Our examination of the recent NABU craze (“Something Old, Something New,” page 44) proves that even weird old tech that nobody’s nostalgic for can inspire a passionate new community. And our capacitor replacement Skill Builder (page 118) conveys an invaluable restoration technique for retro devotees.
As retro and future collide in projects like the PICO-8 fantasy console, the FPGA-powered Analogue Pocket handheld emulator, and new retro-inspired gear like the Clockwork Pi uConsole (see Make: Volume 88, page 126 for our review), we get to experience the charm of the past without sacrificing the convenience of modern devices. The future of retro is bright.
Retro Playlist
When I was putting together this section, I asked our contributors to share their favorite chiptune and other retro-oriented songs. I’ve assembled them into a playlist, which you can jam along to while you explore the section.
The Bloop Museum is an electronic entertainment museum dedicated to computers, games, media, and gadgets. With more than 20,000 artifacts, they’ve outgrown their current space and are raising funds for a move to a permanent home. You can help with a donation at their fundraiser page.
This article appeared in Make: Volume 89.