My RasPi Model 100 (a Raspberry Pi in a TRS-80 Model 100 case)
(Last modified 13 Jun 2012)

The Raspberry Pi (RasPi) is a way cool, tiny, single-board computer that runs Linux and costs $35 (for the Ethernet-equipped model).  The RasPi will, I predict, become the TRS-80 Model 100 (M100) of its day.  I hope it will lead to as wide-spread an interest in computers and programming as did its earlier counterparts, such as the M100, the Sinclair Z80, the Commodore 64, and others.

Since the RasPi is so similar to some of those earlier computer-in-a-boxen, I decided to repurpose an old M100 case as a home for my new RasPi.

I started with a working M100 I picked up from eBay for about $25.  The unit was actually in pretty good shape.  The PCB was kinda eaten up, since one fad that the M100 community went through was trickle-charging a NiCd AA battery to act as a battery backup for the RTC.  This usually resulted in leaking of battery goo, which then corroded the PCB.  Luckily, the goo in this case didn't hit anything vital and the M100 worked fine.  It was a lot of fun playing around with the M100 in its original form; I had forgotten how much fun you could have typing up Basic programs on your own stand-alone computer.  (Yes, you can do that now on a laptop; I do it all the time.  Not the same.)

When my RasPi arrived, I started the task of replacing the M100's logic board with the RasPi.  One restriction I placed on the project was to make no wiring changes to the RasPi; if I wanted, I should be able to disconnect the RasPi from the M100 and have a fully functional, unchanged RasPi.  As you'll see, this requirement added some to the cost and the bulk of the final project, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Please note that this project will likely never be "finished."  What you see here is a snapshot of my progress.  Some parts of the RasPi aren't hooked up yet, and I will likely redo others as my needs change.  But this is a starting point for others who might want to take on something similar.

The RasPi Model 100 in action

Here is the RasPi Model 100 hooked to my big-screen LCD in the living room.  I've used the RCA video connection from the RasPi to an AVR input on the back of the set.  On the right side of the M100 case, you can see the power cord from the 5 VDC wall wart used to drive the M100.  On the left side of the case, you can see a 26-pin ribbon cable sticking out, which is hooked to the RasPi's I/O header.  The screen shows a section of code, in the nano text editor, that I was working on for controlling an LED hooked to the GPIO pins.

Closeup of the RasPi Model 100

Here is a better view of the RasPi M100.  Even though the unit is on right now, the LCD is dark.  That is not (yet) connected, though I might add some code the the USB converter inside (see below) to drive the LCD.  Put that on my rainy-day list...

The keyboard and USB converter

Here is a closeup of the USB converter (Teensy ++ 2.0) and the wiring to the underside of the original Model 100 keyboard (on the right).  You can find more details on this conversion, including source code, on this page.

With the logic board removed, all of my added electronics sits on the metal substrate that is part of the original Model 100's design.  Here, you can see how I've bolted the protoboard for the USB converter to that substrate.

USB converter and power wiring

This shot shows the USB converter in the foreground.  Above it and to the right is a slide switch I bolted to the side of the case, for use as a power switch for turning on the M100.  Above the switch (follow the red wire), you can see the coaxial power jack that I hot-glued to the side of the case.  I wired this connector up for center-negative operation, just like the original M100, in case I want to add battery charging later.  Although you can't see it clearly in this photo, I added a 1N5819 Schottky diode in series with the positive lead on the jack, to ensure I don't accidentally use the wrong wall wart.

You can also see in this photo the white USB cable that connects the USB converter board to one of the RasPi's USB connectors.  This provides the RasPi's connection to the M100 keyboard.  As I mentioned above, I chose not to solder wires to the RasPi, opting instead for plug-in cables for minimal impact on the original RasPi board.

Ethernet wiring

Here you see how I hooked up the Ethernet connection.  I cut up an Ethernet jack wall plate from the local big-box store, leaving the square hole and a small amount of mounting surface.  I then hogged out a square hole in the back of the M100 case, fitted the Ethernet wall plate into the hole, drilled a 1/8th inch hole through the wall plate and case, and locked the two pieces together with a 4-40 screw and nut.  For wiring, I used a 1' Ethernet male-to-male cable.  One end plugs into the RasPi Ethernet jack, the other into the back of the double-female adapter that came with the Ethernet wall plate.  Again, no cutting or soldering of the RasPi board...

Video and GPIO

This photo shows the large ribbon cable hooked to the GPIO header; the cable is routed through an existing hole in the side of the M100 case.

For the video, I drilled a 1/4-inch hole in the back apron of the M100 case, then mounted an RCA jack in the hole.  I cut one end off of a scrap RCA video cable and wired the free end to the RCA jack.  I then plugged the yellow RCA plug on the video cable into the RasPi's composite-out jack.

A future mod is to attach an HDMI-to-DVID adapter to the RasPi, then repositon the RasPi so I can get access to the DVI-D connector on the back apron.  For now, the composite output works fine.

Note in this shot how the RasPi board is mounted on the metal substrate. Since the RasPi developers chose not to include mounting holes (wth??), I tied my RasPi to a cut sheet of plastic-coated paper using insulated wire, then used foam-tape to fasten the paper and RasPi to the substrate.

The power connection

Finally, here is the power connection from the other end of the M100 case.  I sacrificed a USB cable with a cell-phone charger connection (micro USB) so I could hook up the red and black wires from my coaxial power jack.


Summary

So that's the current state of my RasPi Model 100 conversion.  I have to say, this thing is more fun to use than I was expecting.  The boot time is obviously longer than a real M100 (something like 20 seconds versus zero), but when you hit the login prompt, you have a full Debian Linux system in front of you.  And having a full-travel keyboard mounted to (actually, around) the RasPi makes a big difference.  I was keying in the code for the LED program above and realized at one point that this was really fun, that the act of typing code on the target, compiling and running on the target, was really fun.  I no longer need a host PC, filled with compilers and linkers and IDEs, to get code onto the target and actually run it.

The RasPi is a great little board.  Put it in a classic case like an M100, and you have a Linux system that is fun to use and makes a great platform for learning, be that Linux or C or Python or...




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