asig / kosmos_tape_emulator

An Arduino based "tape emulator" for the Kosmos CP1 experimental computer kit that reads from and writes to microSD cards.

kosmos_tape_emulator

What is this?

This is a small, Arduino-based Tape replacement for your Kosmos CP1.

It reads and writes ".bin" files that are compatible with my Kosmos CP1 emulator, so you can can develop with the ease of a modern computer and run it on the real thing :-)

Also, you can use the Kosmos Tape Tool to transform your old audio cassettes to digital files while there still is hardware to do this.

What do I need to build it?

Hardware requirements are minimal. To build it, you need

• an Arduino. Pretty much any version will do, as long as it provides +5V.
• 4 momentary push buttons
• an microSD shield (ideally with a built-in voltage converter)
• an HD44780 compatible LCD display without I2C backpack. 16x2 will do

You can build it on a breadboard, if you want, but of course a perfboard is more permanent; please let me know if you want to build a real custom PCB, I will be very interested in that :-)

Build instructions

There are a few Fritzing files in the schematics directory, and the code contains comments on what to connect how.

There's also an OpenSCAD file included for a 3D-printable enclosure. It is somewhat ugly, but it works for me :-) Of course, you will have to adapt it if you're using different buttons.