Kim-1

Under this category, we’ll be building and programming the Kim-1 computer.  Commodore MOS put this unit together to demonstrate the capabilities of their new 6502 processor.   You will find this processor in several of the vintage machines such as the VIC-20, Apple II, Atari, and early Nintendo systems.  The Commodore 64 had a variation of this processor, which is the 6510.

The KIM-1 computer has a six digit LED display.  It will even run VTL-02, which has the feel of BASIC programming.  Many early games are also available for this unit.

A good reference is the First Book of Kim.

I’ve built several of the Kim Uno units, and you can check out a lot of good information on the Kim-1 at Obsolescence Guaranteed.   This has a lot of good information for building and programming the Kim-1.  The good thing about emulators for vintage machines is that a lot of years have passed.  This means that over this time, a lot of the bugs have been worked out.  You get a good feel for what it is like to program these computers.

I’ve also noticed there is an emulator available for the Iphone under your apps.  The Iphone app has several programs that you can run including a Timer program, and Lunar Lander.

For a closer clone of the Kim-1, you can get the PAL-1.  From time to time they are available on Tindie.  Corsham Technologies also has a very close replica of the Kim-1.

I’ve spent a lot of time learning the Kim-1’s instruction set, and I’m sure you will get a lot of enjoyment out of this too.