Task: Purchase a BlueSCSI Pico Hard Drive Emulator
Needed: Web browser, compatible vintage computer
Time: 10-15 minutes
Introduction
One of the most exciting developments for vintage computers has been the availability of devices that emulate floppy and hard disk drives. This is important because it can be hard to get software onto old devices and they are prone to failure. I really like the new BlueSCSI Pico v2 that uses a Raspberry Pi Pico computer for the emulation and a MicroSD card for loading software via disk images that can be booted with no fuss. I purchased one of these for my classic Mac SE and it worked like a charm with no configuration. All I had to do was load up a hard disk image on an exFAT-formatted MicroSD card and the BlueSCSI Pico did the rest! This is based on an open-source design which I really like and, although the developers are Mac-focused, it will work on a wide variety of platforms including Amiga, IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, NeXT, and Sun.
Instructions
There are several different places online to buy an assembled BlueSCSI. I got the 25-pin external version with 3D-printed case for just under $50 from Joe’s Computer Museum. You can build your own much cheaper and can buy internal SCSI versions. There is also a WiFi option that I did not get. I have been very happy with it. Well worth $50!
Be sure and check compatibility with your system before you buy.
Comments
The most challenging part of this for me was learning the ins and outs of making hard disk images for my Mac SE. Fortunately, I learned about the Infinite Mac website where you can boot a Mac in a web-based emulator and create images with the operating system and other software with a few menu clicks. This YouTube video explains very clearly how to do this for the Mac. I was booting games and productivity software on my Mac in minutes. This could be a challenge for other systems.
Note that the SCSI port on my MacSE did not power up the BlueSCSI. As you can see below, I had to use a USB cable to power the unit.
Here is a nice review of the BlueSCSI.
