The C-One is a

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonst ...

(SBC) created in 2002 as an enhanced version of the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

, a

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

popular in the 1980s. Designed by Jeri Ellsworth and Jens Schönfeld from Individual Computers, who manufactured the boards themselves, the C-One has been re-engineered to allow cloning of other

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

computers.

Design

The machine uses a combination of configurable

Altera Altera Corporation is a manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs) headquartered in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1983 and acquired by Intel in 2015 before becoming independent once again in 2025 as a company focused on developm ...

field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips and modular CPU expansion cards to create compatibility modes that duplicate the function of many older

home computers Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

. The default CPU is the W65C816S (by

Western Design Center The Western Design Center (WDC), located in Mesa, Arizona, is a company that develops intellectual property for, and licenses manufacture of, MOS Technology 65xx based microprocessors and microcontrollers. WDC was founded in 1978 by a former ...

) which is used in Commodore 64 compatibility mode as well as the C-One's native operating mode. The C-One is not merely a

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

emulator In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run sof ...

, it loads various core files from a card to configure the FPGA hardware to recreate the operation of the core logic chipsets found in vintage computers. This provides for a very accurate and customizable hardware emulation platform. The C-One is not limited to recreating historical computers: its programmable core logic can be used to create entirely new custom computer designs. In 2004, the platform was expanded to include an

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

core made by Tobias Gubener. In 2006, Peter Wendrich ported his FPGA-64 project (originally intended for a

Xilinx Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company is renowned for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA). It also pioneered ...

FPGA) and enhanced it for the C-One. This core supported both PAL and NTSC machine emulation, and aimed to be cycle-exact and emulate many of the bugs and quirks of the original hardware. In 2008, after development of an "Extender" card which added a third FPGA, Tobias Gubener added

Amiga 500 The Amiga 500, also known as the A500, was the first popular version of the Amiga home computer, "redefining the home computer market and making so-called luxury features such as multitasking and colour a standard long before Microsoft or Apple ...

compatibility by porting Dennis van Weeren's

Minimig Minimig (a portmanteau of ''Mini Amiga'') is an open source re-implementation of an Amiga 500 using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Minimig started around January 2005 as a proof of concept by Dutch electrical engineer Dennis van Wee ...

code to the board. This core replaced the physical 68000 CPU and the PIC chip from the original with his own TG68 CPU core on the FPGA. developments to this core include features not possible with the original Minimig board. In 2009, Peter Wendrich released a "preview" of a next-generation C64 core called "Chameleon 64", with a greatly expanded specification compared to his earlier core. A new version of the CPC core was also released in mid-2009, featuring an embedded

SymbOS SYmbiosis Multitasking Based Operating System (SymbOS) is a Computer multitasking, multitasking operating system for Zilog Z80-based 8-bit computer systems. Unlike early 8-bit operating systems, SymbOS is based on a microkernel, which provides ...

core for control of device emulation, and a clock unlocked mode for CPU speeds of up to 80 MHz. So far, C-One

circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes and other features (similar to wires on a flat surface) ...

s have been produced by

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company Individual Computers, and they sell for

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333 with the FPGA extender card.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://c64upgra.de/c-one/
Wiki

Retroputing's forum on the C-One

Yahoo's C-One Group

Yahoo group for technical discussion about development of cores for the C-One
Home computer remakes Microcomputers 6502-based home computers Home computers Commodore 64 Amstrad CPC Reconfigurable computing Computer-related introductions in 2002

Design

See also

References

External links