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This project somehow has the distinction of being both the longest and fastest portable electronics project I have ever done. I originally started making a C64 laptop in the fall of 2006, and kept pecking away at it every so often. Finally, a few weeks ago, I said “screw it” and started over.

I redid everything in a week and a half – the shortest project ever. (The previous record hold was the Wii portable at 2 weeks) The goal this time was to make something that looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new form. Including the color beige and texture.

Luckily the blue in the logo matches the blue SD card. Not to sound like a TLC host or anything, but that sort of stuff is important in design.

Anyway, about the project itself. This is a fully functional Commodore 64 laptop using actual hardware, specifically the C64C motherboard which was one of the last and smallest revisions. It uses a Gamecube power supply in place of the original power brick.

For storage there’s a device called the 1541-III DTV to “emulate” a floppy drive using an SD card. (Click here for more info) The SD card is formatted FAT-32 so you can dump disk images on it using a PC, and read it with the C64 – pretty cool!

For more information, the making-of, pictures and video read the rest of the story below.

I am taking a break for a while because I am pretty tired and burned out from all the portable making this winter and spring. If you are interested in projects, hit me up in a month or so.

Continue reading Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop →