Task: Purchase a Pico Micro Mac Emulator for Booting a Classic Macintosh 128k Computer from a Raspberry Pi Pico
Needed: Pico Micro Mac VGA Board, Raspberry Pi Pico, VGA Cable, Monitor with VGA Port
Time: 10-15 minutes
Disclosure: Note that as an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.
Introduction
Classic Macs can be hard to come by in good condition and can be expensive. I was excited to see a Raspberry Pi Pico solution for booting an original Mac 128K. This project is made possible by Matt Evans and the detailed hardware instructions on his GitHub page and his Micro Mac emulator.
Instructions
Getting up and running with this project is quite easy.
First, I purchased a Raspberry Pi Pico from Amazon for about $11 with the header pins pre-soldered.
Second, I purchased the header board from Joe’s Computer Museum for $20 that includes a micro-USB port for the keyboard and mouse as well as a VGA port for graphics out. This was designed by Ron from Ron’s Computer Videos.
Third, I flashed the Pico with the firmware provided on the Pico Micro Mac webpage at Joe’s Computer Museum. Simply plug the Pico into your PC while holding down the button on top and drop the firmware file into the dialog box.
Fourth, copy the Mac 128K emulator onto a micro-SD card and plug it into the breakout board. This image from Ron comes with some games and software already included.
Fifth, I purchased a micro-USB hub from Amazon for $8 with USB-A jacks for a keyboard and mouse. Plug this into the Pico with your keyboard and mouse connected to the hub.
Sixth, use a micro-USB power cable to power the breakout board and Pico. Once powered, the Mac should automatically boot. That is it!
Comments
There was some press about this project on Tom’s Hardware when it was announced in 2024.
I don’t think there is sound yet on this board and anything you save will be lost when powered off. I am sure more features will be added over time.