I’m continuing to actively develop the project.
I’ve added two new documentation pages:
- toolchain setup
- writing C and Assembly programs for rosco_m68k

ROSCO Matrix Edition by SolderDemon

#computer #computerscience #cpu

Red pill or green pill?

This is the Matrix
Running on ROSCO M68K

SolderDemon

Preparing the first orders — rosco_m68k kits will start shipping soon

Huge thanks to everyone who ordered, especially early pre-orders. Your support proved there’s real interest and gave me the motivation to keep going.

No electricity. Just me and the work.

Relatable moment, when you’ve been trying to seat a processor into a socket for a full 15 minutes and it still won’t go in 😂

Kits are now available on SolderDemon.

Currently available:
• rosco_m68k — a single-board computer based on the Motorola 68010
• rosco_6502 — a single-board computer based on the 6502

Both are designed for hands-on assembly and learning classic CPU architectures.

Just finished a BOM design for hardware kits.
Used Puppeteer to render an HTML template with dynamic data and export it as a PDF.
Surprisingly simple and effective approach.

Open source here:
github.com/ra334/solder...

I recently came across the RC6502 Apple-1 Replica — a modular 6502-based computer built from separate CPU, RAM, and ROM boards, inspired by the original Apple-1.

I’m thinking about turning it into a kit for my SolderDemon project.

I’m continuing to develop the SolderDemon website. I’ve just added a reviews page. At the moment, reviews can’t be edited yet, but this will be fixed in the near future.

Why build a 40 year old computer in 2025? Because modern computers are black boxes. You tap glass, magic happens. With the rosco_m68k, YOU control every cycle. It’s not about speed; it’s about understanding. It’s the ultimate antidote to abstraction.

A real Motorola 68010 computer, built and running in 2025.
No FPGA. No emulation. Real silicon.

Started testing Philips SCN68681C1A44 DUART chips.
DUART is the main interface for rosco_m68k, and even as an alternative chip in the BOM it managed to run reliably at 38400 baud — after modifying the firmware to reach that speed.
Pretty solid result for hardware that’s long out of production.

MOS 6502: 5 Facts You Should Know
When MOS released the 6502 in 1975 for $25, it undercut Motorola and Intel by almost an order of magnitude. The low price came from aggressive chip layout and cost-focused manufacturing. This single move opened the door for affordable personal computers.

Assembled my rosco_m68k kit (~4 hours, careful build).
Powered it on — no boot.
Only START and RESET LEDs were on.
RESET pin on the CPU was sitting at ~2V. Definitely wrong.

PCBs finally arrived!
Boards for the rosco m68k, 6502, and SLC Free just landed. Half of the components are already sourced.
Also didn’t expect the rosco 6502 to be this compact.

Never seen a pile of 68010 CPUs like this.
Almost 30 years old, but still perfect for learning real low-level computing.

I’ve been working on my project SolderDemon for about a month now. It’s a platform that helps you learn the basics of computer science, experiment with retro hardware, and write real low-level programs.

SolderDemon: solderdemon.com/en