THEC64 Maxi (DIY Version) Frankenstein

THEC64 Maxi DIY Frankenstein
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I made this so I could work on PCUAE originally...  
There where none available to buy at the time and the ones on eBay where to expensive so made one instead with the parts I had already...

I Built my THEC64 Maxi(DIY Model)(it was called THEC64 Frankenstein Model because I did originally use a cut down version of the breadbin case, now it uses the same case THEC64 Maxi uses),its using a Orange Pi PC H3 dev board, I have the same case as the Maxi now, it cost £17 from eBay..

You do not need a C64 Breadbin case like me, you can use a C64C case too if its cheaper but might need to mod the side of it so you can put a 4 port hub on the right of the case, you might need to cut the case so you can put it there though.

I built it because they were very hard to get and don't have the money at the moment for one, they were abit like gold dust at the time..  thanks goes to Jerome for his help on this.
I do like the firmware, it's better than THEC64 Mini, I like Classic C64/VIC 20 Mode and Media Access.

I did get THEC64 Microswitch Joystick and it works fine, it's a lot better than the one that came with the C64 Mini (but sometimes it has directional problems, left or right and down, it depends on how you hold it, and its screw can come out that holds the stick in place), If you are nice to it and not rough with it, it will be nice to you.. it's not a zipstik so you can't treat it like one, REMEMBER its a copy of the C64 DTV joystick so think of it as not a Quick Shot but a Cheetah Joystick instead..  

Edit: Got a proper C64 Breadbin case for it today, now it looks like a THEC64 Maxi, it's even the same case, the first version, it cost £17 on eBay. It's even the same colour... If you look inside the case it colour is the same colour as the PSX from 1995 so shows how the ABS plastic over time changes colour and if it was in a room with sunlight and no curtains draw, I have mine drawn so it don't damage my computers I have out, I lot of the stuff is in my wardrobe so its stored, I would never put them in a loft.

Wish I could get a THEC64 Maxi box.. The packaging it comes in..

I have stopped using this now cause I have THEVIC20 now.. but they are the same machine to I use PCUAE on it so it can be THEC64 Mini/Maxi pt THEVIC 20, it has there 3 Carousel's on it now.

What you Need to Build THEC64 Maxi (DIYV)
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You can now Download the SD card images.

You need THEC64 Maxi's or THEVIC 20's Firmware on SD Card... There is a post about it further down in this thread... Click here

Orange Pi PC H3 board.... (Cost £21) I got mine from China, its the only place you can get them, look on ebay, that where I got mine, Official Website about the OPi PC... and on eBay, took about 2 weeks to arrive.

USB 4 Port hub... (cost about £3 to 4)  You need a thin USB Hub and with USB 3 or 2. Its the only one that fits like a glove..

A Keyrah (cost nothing, had one already but was £35, got it in 2011, its V1) Need a device that works with the C64 keyboard(had C64 Keyboard already from stuff I collected from the 90s) that turns it into a C64 USB Keyboard.

C64 deep back Breadbin case (Cost £17).. Look on ebay for them, they are there.

And some cardboard from a Cereal box and some Blu Tac to stick the USB Hub down, Orange Pi PC and Keyrah. (Cost £1)

I made it as cheap as possible.. Cost me £43 without the Keyrah V1 that I got over 10 years ago, I only made it cause I had the Keyrah V1 already, bought the bits for it in parts so it was not one lump sum(updated it to a Keyrah V2 now cause the V1 had dry joints on its board and stopped some of the C64 keys working.)
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Some picture of it, some are of the old case I had.



Redone the side where the USBs are, it has four USB ports now.



It looks alot better..


THEC64 MAXi's Symbol keys..
They are wrongly mapped, but only 9 keys, Probably cause they had to change it cause of the "RESTORE" and "SHIFT LOCK" Keys.
I using a Keyrah V1( wiki.icomp.de/wiki/Keyrah ) with it so I can use a Original C64 keyboard with it so it feels like THEC64 MAXi, the Keyrah V1 and C64 Keyboard is mapped ok through Vice 2.4 on the PC so all are mapped ok,I tested it on my PC to make sure it was not the Keyrah V1 or the C64 Keyboard and its not, it the mapping file THEC64 MAXi using.

I need to know what keyboard map file THEC64 MAXi is using...? (If you have yours connected to a Uart, you can use Putty and run the64 program from the shell, it should show you its booting up text and what keyboard map file it loaded in to the emulator.)

I do not use this anymore now I have THEVIC20 so its been demolished and parts of it have been used on other projects so it does not exist any more...   but if I needed to would be easy to make again.