This New ISA Card Is A Game Changer! PicoMEM First Look

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The brand new PicoMEM ISA card from FreddyV supports hard and floppy drive emulation, extra RAM, AdLib emulation, WiFi, USB controller support and so much more! I think it's going to be a real game changer for these old PCs. So let's put it through its paces.

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Chapters:
Chapters:
00:00 Intro & DAC Install
03:42 BIOS Configuration Menu
06:29 Floppy & HDD Emulation
11:12 Updating PicoMEM Firmware & Installing
14:35 RAM Expansion
18:27 WiFi
22:40 AdLib Sound Card Emulation
26:19 USB Mouse & Game Controller Support

[uzaiyaro]

I’m not huge into retro computing, haven’t got the space or the spare cash. I’m just happy to see new gadgets coming out to make retro computing life easier, and I’m all for this.

[AttilaSVK]

Sorry for nitpicking, but the PM2000 driver doesn't emulate an NE2000 card, the PicoMem itself does. The driver is just a packet driver, which is kind of an abstraction layer, so applications like those in the mTCP suite don't have to have support for zillion network cards. They know how to speak to the packet driver, and that's what speaks to the hardware itself.
Btw, I'll be getting a PicoMEM for my SMEP PP-06 XT clone made in Czechoslovakia, as soon as I get that system up and running.

[domramsey]

Great in-depth video, Rees! I'm always a little hesitant about using modern tech in place of period hardware, but I think this project will probably enable a lot of old, currently dead machines to see the light of day again, which can only be good.

[ErikS-]

7:56 - MS-DOS 3.21! That's when my PC adventures started 🤓
Those times were so awesome!

[thepirategamerboy]

I remember getting in trouble in Elementary school doing the Star Wars telenet thing because they thought I was "hacking." lol

[HappyCodingZX]

nice one - looks like a great way to give real hardware all the advantages of emulation.

[HAGSLAB]

What a great device! Love all of these modern solution for old tech with all the "quality of life" features that makes it easier to use and love these old machines.

[magicknight]

So this thing can replace a whole bunch of cards and things? thats fantastic and looks like a reasonable price too

[catriona_drummond]

One step closer to the Pc of Theseus.
I'll definitely have some of those though.

[alk]

This thing is really sweet. I def want to get one for my old machines. Thank you for the thorough review.

[pkf]

There is nothing like adding features or abilities to computers games consoles or cars that just didnt exist when they were made. It just never gets old.

[harcalion]

Great video! From reading the news about the PicoMEM in diagonal I thought it could do all of these things separately, perhaps re-flashing the Pico each time, but seeing it do all of them at the same time... Really amazing! Thanks for the comprehensive demonstration.

[BlackHoleForge]

This reminds me of 3D printers. If you want something, just print it out.
Well in this case, need a sound card? VGA? Network? Floppy controller? There's a program for that. Awesome

[proteque]

such a great video showcasing the picomem and short and to the point showing hos to use it.

[juanramonredoferrer]

I ve got two of them and possibly more in the future 😂😂😂 👏👏👏

[TheAceWolfe]

The wifi could definitely be improved simply by having an antenna outside the computer.
Just a place to connect a regular wifi adaptor antenna on the back would be the simplest and cleanest solution for the end user

[jesuxcc]

Wow, I have an ancient PC (i8088 4, 75MHz, CGA, 256+384 KB RAM, no HDD, only floppies) and I clearly NEED one of these :)

[mattscomp]

Unbelievably good piece of gear. Well done to Freddy and all that helped create it. Purists might say it's cheating. As someone that started with PC's in the era of XT's I'm glad it exists. Anything that makes things easier is a good thing esp for those new to retro.

[thecount]

Can we have a single card that combines PicoMEM and PicoGUS? I don't care if it's more expensive or needs two Picos. The fact that it only uses one slot makes it a perfect add-on for nearly every PC without many ISA slots.

[masonowen]

Could be helpful with maintaining older CNC or industrial systems that use older industrial pcs. Being able to upload work files over wireless would be very convenient and the ability to usb devices would also be nice.