Thank you for making this video! As new and niche as the Aquarius+ is, I always give major props to how active releases have been with it. The USB BASIC variant is continuing to evolve for easier sprite and sound control thanks to Curtis, Frank keeps the backend infrastructure moving forward and Sean does awesome at the design and documentation side! I have mine hooked to an original Trinitron CRT monitor and it looks stunning on that through the native VGA.
It was somewhere around 1984 when I bought my Mattel Aquarius from Debenhams in Wigan, they were on clearance and I bought it, and an expansion pack for thirty pounds. I had good education from that little machine.
Toggling ScrollLock key on the keyboard (scroll lock LED is on) enables the cursor keys and F1-F6 will function as a hand controller connected to port 1.
I'm a retro fan, that's why I love Jan's videos, but I fail to get the nostalgia for the Aquarius. It was a terrible machine when it was new in the 80s, and it hasn't got any better since. I had one because we couldn't afford a Spectrum, and we ended up giving it away, nobody wanted it. The only good thing was the matching cassette deck, when we eventually got a Speccy, that thing would load previously unreadable cassettes!
Not sure if USB controllers are supported (yet). The USB port is mostly for keyboards (and some mouse support) currently, at least as far as I understand.
For true hardware-mimicking there is the Aquarius MX (also open-source). This allows anyone with the base original Aquarius system to add extra RAM and flash drive support along with an enhanced BASIC for interfacing, while still being backwards compatible with all Aquarius software and running on the OG hardware.
Eh?! No it’s not! This is NOT an emulated system! As you can see in the video, there’s a real Z80 and real hardware. Yes, it uses an FPGA, but an FPGA is NOT emulation; it’s just the modern way of flexibly implementing circuitry.
The Aquarius MX is also a Sean Harrington product, for use with a real Aquarius. For everyone who doesn’t have an original Aquarius, I believe everything that the Aquarius MX can do is included in the Aquarius+.
@@RichardHallas fpga is an “emulation” of a logic module as it can be “programmed” into anything. The rc2014 project for example uses “real” logic chips. Fpga has its uses don’t get wrong. I love this project but I would love to see remakes of old computers with real 7400 And 4000 logic basis, I don’t decry the work that has been done
@@crazyboy2006cashier I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. FPGAs do not emulate; they recreate. Yes, they’re reprogrammable, but so what? You end up with the same circuitry and it’s functionally identical to what you’re recreating. The technology used to create the chip in question is modern and more flexible, but the end result is identical; the same circuit pathways are laid out in the FPGA. That is not emulation. Would you say that an EPROM copy of a ROM is not the same because the EPROM is reprogrammable? Of course not; the two are functionally identical. What about a CD? Is a copy of a CD written on a CD-RW disc ‘emulation’ because the CD-RW is reprogrammable? Of course not. The technology differs but in all cases the content is identical. I sympathise with your opinion, and if you mean that you’d prefer to use traditional discrete chips rather than an FPGA because that would make the circuitry easier to understand and potentially cheaper, then that’s a perfectly valid view. But to claim that use of an FPGA is emulation is simply inaccurate. FPGAs are just a modern way of laying down circuits, but the circuits they contain are equivalent to those housed in a traditional chip. /
I certainly didn't expect someone to create a new Aquarius, let alone one this impressive! I have an original Aquarius somewhere in storage that I haven't touched in ages. I got it for free over a decade ago, and that was probably about a decade after I sold one I bought in the late 1990s. I didn't have the heart to sell the second one since it seemed like it chose me as its owner.
@@JanBeta you are right...but my initial thought was, why doesn't someone do something similar for the bbc micro, that sold over 1M examples...with many enthusiasts we have the maxi and mini C64, we have the A500...but no bbc ?
It was my first self bought system, so I have warm memories to that. (That was after the zx81 and before my msx). I must say I tend no to be really interested in owning modern remakes
When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius Age of Aquarius Aquarius Aquarius
Shame it doesn't have an audio chip, even just a DSP with some ROM would be cool, audio is one of the biggest draws for these retro boards imo, given everything else is so well catered for in FPGA and even software emulation, but not even FPGA emulation can match real audio synthesizer hardware, though it does work very well when combined with a good DSP (or MIDI processor) and DAC, the DSP can be a good substitute for the oscillators and different audio frequencies, I use one with my MiSTer, and it makes a world of difference with getting authentic audio from all the different cores, the ultimate solution would be a DAC with multiple oscillators for different clocks and what not, to try and match each console as close as possible, this would have been very expensive before now, but you can get a nice DAC/DSP/AMP with several good quality crystal oscillators with different clocks and even some spare spots for adding more for less than 50 £$.
Great Video as always. Strange choice Aquarius but if that is the authors thing that's good. I am a mister owner and that has been hijacked by the arcade people. For me I really wanted something that would allow me to experience the 8bit and early pre PC monopoly 16bit machines and the mister has failed in that. Perhaps this can do something?
There have been some good experimental strides with this project to also include alternate cores or allow developers to experiment. There is a full-featured Sega Master System FGPA supported on it already, as well as CP/M.
@lBobHickman Awesome story! Yes, after loading BASIC you are left with only 1.7KB of RAM for any programming. The fixed character set severely crippled it even further and caused every game, including Intellivision's official ports, to feel second rate compared to the originals. It also required the mini expander to support multi-voice sound/music and controllers, and none of that was interfaceable with BASIC. The sound chip (AY) is powerful but even the official games barely made use of it.
The manuals definitely played a huge part back in the day. Most I've seen are super in-depth, especially considering BASIC programming. I didn't take a look at the original Aquarius documentation yet but good to know it's no exception!
Oh, sorry for only showing your game so briefly. I had so many things to show that I edited a lot of footage out. (Also, I suck at most games so I died a lot...) :D
@@JanBeta no worries at all mate. All the games in the Templeman folder are mine. I still develop for the Aquarius! Your review was excellent (as always!) keep up the great work!
The C64 was also vastly more expensive, at least until the price wars kicked in. The idea of the Aquarius was to set the price to a point where people could afford to try computing, much like the Sinclair ZX range. Unfortunately, things moved on too fast for many of these companies, leaving them with uncompetitive, unpopular products.
It looks like well designed hardware, and the Aquarius core obviously works well. A nice tribute to a largely forgotten platform. As with the Spectrum Next, adding too many improved hardware capabilities to the machine makes little sense. SD cards and USB are sensible additions, but not new, incompatible graphics and sound capabilities. It then becomes a weird "fantasy" machine that nobody ever had, yet historically, fantasy machines did become a reality, and were far better than an upgraded Aquarius, so people bought them, and now they feel nostalgia for them too.
I know very little about the Aquarius, the only thing I do know is that there was a version of the Triton QuickDisk drive available for the Aquarius, I have the Spectrum version (and have yet to test it some years since I got it!), and 100kB per disk (50kB per side), it's not a lot of space really... :P
servus jan, der retro anfänger aus chemnitz hier. eine frage: veraufts du auch alte/neues schätzchen? ...oder reperierst du auch platinen, wenn man nicht mehr weiter weis?...(ich hätte einen A4000 und eine 1541) da es bei mir in der ecke keine guten reperateure gibt (nur ram tauscher bei pc ab 2014...lol) suche ich verzweiflt leute die seriös sind,...(ohne garantie versteht sich, aber besser ein profi wie du für gutes geld, als ein ....naja für nen 10ner!)🙂 sorry fürs zusabbeln, du hast es echt drauf und danke das ich mir da einges abschauen kann (leider nicht alles).. und danke für den clip..ach ja, hast du erfahrungen mit mit nindendo DS? brauch man ein rom um das rudimentär zu starten?...fragen über fragen!? (sorry...;-) 🙂 dein RoboTronic64
Very nice! Never owned an Aquarius, but this looks like a good recreation. This kind of faux-retro is something I really like - it combines things like SD card data storage with more modern RAM and other cost-effective dodges that lower the barriers to entry to those who can't afford rapidly appreciating "real" retro hardware. So, this BASIC looks more like BASIC-80 than, say, QBasic or QuickBasic. That's only right.
@@JanBeta I didn't know that either. I remember reading about a decade ago that intel still made small amounts of 486s for some old, custom equipment, but can't recall what it was.
No idea. My guess is that they implemented that as a kind of "attract mode" for showing it in stores or something like that. At least it shows off the machine's capability of displaying color! :D
Back in the 80s my parents were going to get me an Aquarius or aVic20. I'm so glad and grateful they went for the Vic20.
The VIC was the reasonable choice indeed. Still lovely to see a recreation of the somewhat rare Aquarius though. :D
Thank you for making this video! As new and niche as the Aquarius+ is, I always give major props to how active releases have been with it. The USB BASIC variant is continuing to evolve for easier sprite and sound control thanks to Curtis, Frank keeps the backend infrastructure moving forward and Sean does awesome at the design and documentation side! I have mine hooked to an original Trinitron CRT monitor and it looks stunning on that through the native VGA.
It is an awesome system indeed! I definitely have to try it on a CRT for some extra vintage feel. :D
It was somewhere around 1984 when I bought my Mattel Aquarius from Debenhams in Wigan, they were on clearance and I bought it, and an expansion pack for thirty pounds. I had good education from that little machine.
That adventure game where you chosen a barbarian it was called THE ORB on ZX Spectrum
Toggling ScrollLock key on the keyboard (scroll lock LED is on) enables the cursor keys and F1-F6 will function as a hand controller connected to port 1.
Now that is going to be useful! Thanks! :D
Oh, and in the /cores/aqms folder is a fun surprise if you like other Z80-based gaming systems from a decade or two ago...
Where can I find a retro-computing version of the classic Cray X-MP?
Assuming my comment about my Jetpac port for the Aquarius+ got mashed somewhere in moderation :(
Ah well - There is a beta version of it
Did they actually license the Aquarius trademark and IP from (the notoriously not litigious at all) Mattel?
Mattel handed it back to Radofin and Radofin went bust.
I'm a retro fan, that's why I love Jan's videos, but I fail to get the nostalgia for the Aquarius. It was a terrible machine when it was new in the 80s, and it hasn't got any better since. I had one because we couldn't afford a Spectrum, and we ended up giving it away, nobody wanted it. The only good thing was the matching cassette deck, when we eventually got a Speccy, that thing would load previously unreadable cassettes!
never heard about this machine before.
Super niche and also spectacular commercial failure right at the big videogame crash of 1983.
Thanks!
Thank YOU for letting me try the Aquarius out! Awesome work! :D
Algokommi ❤!
We had an Aquarius before we got a Spectrum.
That 8bitdo controller should work via USB...
Not sure if USB controllers are supported (yet). The USB port is mostly for keyboards (and some mouse support) currently, at least as far as I understand.
Nice product but it’s still an emulated product. Would love to see a real rom and logic system but I love it
For true hardware-mimicking there is the Aquarius MX (also open-source). This allows anyone with the base original Aquarius system to add extra RAM and flash drive support along with an enhanced BASIC for interfacing, while still being backwards compatible with all Aquarius software and running on the OG hardware.
Eh?! No it’s not! This is NOT an emulated system! As you can see in the video, there’s a real Z80 and real hardware. Yes, it uses an FPGA, but an FPGA is NOT emulation; it’s just the modern way of flexibly implementing circuitry.
The Aquarius MX is also a Sean Harrington product, for use with a real Aquarius. For everyone who doesn’t have an original Aquarius, I believe everything that the Aquarius MX can do is included in the Aquarius+.
@@RichardHallas fpga is an “emulation” of a logic module as it can be “programmed” into anything. The rc2014 project for example uses “real” logic chips. Fpga has its uses don’t get wrong. I love this project but I would love to see remakes of old computers with real 7400
And 4000 logic basis, I don’t decry the work that has been done
@@crazyboy2006cashier I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. FPGAs do not emulate; they recreate. Yes, they’re reprogrammable, but so what? You end up with the same circuitry and it’s functionally identical to what you’re recreating. The technology used to create the chip in question is modern and more flexible, but the end result is identical; the same circuit pathways are laid out in the FPGA. That is not emulation. Would you say that an EPROM copy of a ROM is not the same because the EPROM is reprogrammable? Of course not; the two are functionally identical. What about a CD? Is a copy of a CD written on a CD-RW disc ‘emulation’ because the CD-RW is reprogrammable? Of course not. The technology differs but in all cases the content is identical.
I sympathise with your opinion, and if you mean that you’d prefer to use traditional discrete chips rather than an FPGA because that would make the circuitry easier to understand and potentially cheaper, then that’s a perfectly valid view. But to claim that use of an FPGA is emulation is simply inaccurate. FPGAs are just a modern way of laying down circuits, but the circuits they contain are equivalent to those housed in a traditional chip.
/
I dont care about "real" cpus. An ez80 is no better than a softcore in an FPGA.
LOL shitties computer of 80's the another change
Never heard Aquarius before, thanks for the video.
Well, looks like Jan followed the EEVBlog mantra; “Don’t turn it on, take it apart!” Good going, Jan. 😊
Always! :D
I certainly didn't expect someone to create a new Aquarius, let alone one this impressive!
I have an original Aquarius somewhere in storage that I haven't touched in ages. I got it for free over a decade ago, and that was probably about a decade after I sold one I bought in the late 1990s. I didn't have the heart to sell the second one since it seemed like it chose me as its owner.
i thought nobody liked the Aquarius they are really bringing back every retro system .
There's always at least a handful of peeps who love a system, I guess. Not on a huge commercial scale but as a hobbyist project in this case. :)
@@JanBeta you are right...but my initial thought was, why doesn't someone do something similar for the bbc micro, that sold over 1M examples...with many enthusiasts
we have the maxi and mini C64, we have the A500...but no bbc ?
It was my first self bought system, so I have warm memories to that. (That was after the zx81 and before my msx). I must say I tend no to be really interested in owning modern remakes
@@kwanchan6745 maybe a copyright issue
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
The "WIFI" part looks like an ESP32, it's probably doing a lot more than just WIFI.
I have one and think that the ESP32 just handles loading the bitstream onto the FPGA and WiFi.
It is. It's the governor system that loads the FPGA core (since it's volatile). It handles all modern IO and then lets the FPGA handle the legacy IO.
I can recognise a pixelated Wookie anywhere. Cool computer little computer.
Shame it doesn't have an audio chip, even just a DSP with some ROM would be cool, audio is one of the biggest draws for these retro boards imo, given everything else is so well catered for in FPGA and even software emulation, but not even FPGA emulation can match real audio synthesizer hardware, though it does work very well when combined with a good DSP (or MIDI processor) and DAC, the DSP can be a good substitute for the oscillators and different audio frequencies, I use one with my MiSTer, and it makes a world of difference with getting authentic audio from all the different cores, the ultimate solution would be a DAC with multiple oscillators for different clocks and what not, to try and match each console as close as possible, this would have been very expensive before now, but you can get a nice DAC/DSP/AMP with several good quality crystal oscillators with different clocks and even some spare spots for adding more for less than 50 £$.
Finland we got those and many more in 1980's. But C64 is "national computer"
Very cool! Thanks, Jan for the in-depth review!
Great video as I was looking at getting this. Are there any plans to support third-party controllers?
Great Video as always. Strange choice Aquarius but if that is the authors thing that's good. I am a mister owner and that has been hijacked by the arcade people. For me I really wanted something that would allow me to experience the 8bit and early pre PC monopoly 16bit machines and the mister has failed in that. Perhaps this can do something?
There have been some good experimental strides with this project to also include alternate cores or allow developers to experiment. There is a full-featured Sega Master System FGPA supported on it already, as well as CP/M.
Christ not another one
The Aquarius was the first computer I owned. 4K of RAM with some of that taken up by BASIC didn't leave much room for programming.
I remember the manuals being pretty nice and detailed though. Good enough to keep me interested in programming and launch a career in tech.
@lBobHickman Awesome story! Yes, after loading BASIC you are left with only 1.7KB of RAM for any programming. The fixed character set severely crippled it even further and caused every game, including Intellivision's official ports, to feel second rate compared to the originals. It also required the mini expander to support multi-voice sound/music and controllers, and none of that was interfaceable with BASIC. The sound chip (AY) is powerful but even the official games barely made use of it.
great manuals@@TheRealBobHickman
The manuals definitely played a huge part back in the day. Most I've seen are super in-depth, especially considering BASIC programming. I didn't take a look at the original Aquarius documentation yet but good to know it's no exception!
Didn't Realize that was a thing.
Neat
Awesome review mate. Its great that the wee blue key is being kept alive by fans and enthusiasts. Thanks for giving one my games a go!! (Aquariworm).
Oh, sorry for only showing your game so briefly. I had so many things to show that I edited a lot of footage out. (Also, I suck at most games so I died a lot...) :D
@@JanBeta no worries at all mate. All the games in the Templeman folder are mine. I still develop for the Aquarius! Your review was excellent (as always!) keep up the great work!
I had a real Aquarius as a kid back in the 80s. It was utter garbage compared to the C64, especially the horrible keyboard.
Yeah, the C64 is vastly more powerful!
The C64 was also vastly more expensive, at least until the price wars kicked in. The idea of the Aquarius was to set the price to a point where people could afford to try computing, much like the Sinclair ZX range. Unfortunately, things moved on too fast for many of these companies, leaving them with uncompetitive, unpopular products.
I'm waiting for the RM 800XL
480Z!
At this price, why not get a mister instead?
I think the MiSTer is around double the price of the Aquarius+ at this point. Of course it’s more versatile, too. :)
It looks like well designed hardware, and the Aquarius core obviously works well. A nice tribute to a largely forgotten platform. As with the Spectrum Next, adding too many improved hardware capabilities to the machine makes little sense. SD cards and USB are sensible additions, but not new, incompatible graphics and sound capabilities. It then becomes a weird "fantasy" machine that nobody ever had, yet historically, fantasy machines did become a reality, and were far better than an upgraded Aquarius, so people bought them, and now they feel nostalgia for them too.
"Modern connectivity"
"VGA"
Pick one. I know people don't like to age, but let's face it, VGA is not modern.
Modern compared to the original system at least.
@@JanBeta That's not what "modern" means. The VGA standard came out only 5 years after the original Aquarius. It's been 37 years from that time.
The squiggly signature on the PCB (and bottom label) of this Signature Edition is that of Sean Harrington, who makes them.
Awesome project Jan Beta, kudos for the videos.
how obscure can it get , this is incredible . next a micro system for the sega terradrive lol
This is a very nice unit! Great design and implementation. I want one.
I still have my Aquarius with Burger Time cart.
I know very little about the Aquarius, the only thing I do know is that there was a version of the Triton QuickDisk drive available for the Aquarius, I have the Spectrum version (and have yet to test it some years since I got it!), and 100kB per disk (50kB per side), it's not a lot of space really... :P
Haha, I guess back in the day that was a reasonable amount of data. :D
Thanks for the video.
servus jan, der retro anfänger aus chemnitz hier. eine frage: veraufts du auch alte/neues schätzchen? ...oder reperierst du auch platinen, wenn man nicht mehr weiter weis?...(ich hätte einen A4000 und eine 1541) da es bei mir in der ecke keine guten reperateure gibt (nur ram tauscher bei pc ab 2014...lol) suche ich verzweiflt leute die seriös sind,...(ohne garantie versteht sich, aber besser ein profi wie du für gutes geld, als ein ....naja für nen 10ner!)🙂 sorry fürs zusabbeln, du hast es echt drauf und danke das ich mir da einges abschauen kann (leider nicht alles).. und danke für den clip..ach ja, hast du erfahrungen mit mit nindendo DS? brauch man ein rom um das rudimentär zu starten?...fragen über fragen!? (sorry...;-) 🙂 dein RoboTronic64
0:55 Thanks for pointing out that it's your hand and not your foot you used for size comparison.😉
I should use my foot next time. For kicks. :D
Very nice! Never owned an Aquarius, but this looks like a good recreation. This kind of faux-retro is something I really like - it combines things like SD card data storage with more modern RAM and other cost-effective dodges that lower the barriers to entry to those who can't afford rapidly appreciating "real" retro hardware. So, this BASIC looks more like BASIC-80 than, say, QBasic or QuickBasic. That's only right.
Same here, so I was extra eager to try this one out when Sean offered to send me one to tinker with. :D
No controller included and the originals are rare/expensive? Maybe a video on making one could be a good basis for one of your upcoming video's.
I am going to look into that! The Aquarius controllers are quite interesting. :)
I'm sure you can make a controller by modifying one you have. The pin out has to out there somewhere.
I am definitely going to look into that. The Aquarius controllers are too interesting to ignore. ;)
Does this play Intellivision Cartridges?
I don't think so. The architecture of the systems is very different.
Aquarius+ on raspberry pi 400 ???
That would be cool. Maybe it's possible to run the emulator on that (should be totally feasible, I guess).
Wow, never would have imagined that Z80 cpus were still being made.....
It's still a cool processor. 6502s are still in production, too. :D
@@JanBeta I didn't know that either. I remember reading about a decade ago that intel still made small amounts of 486s for some old, custom equipment, but can't recall what it was.
I guess other cores for Z80 based platforms could be run. Speccy, Amstrad etc.
Probably, yes. Would be nice to see some different "cores" for this at some point. :)
I believe there’s already an MSX core either available or on the way.
great video mr.beta i like this aquarius
Thanks! It is a very cool computer indeed. :)
@@JanBeta ☺️
That initial flashing screen is super annoying. I wonder why they went with that?
No idea. My guess is that they implemented that as a kind of "attract mode" for showing it in stores or something like that. At least it shows off the machine's capability of displaying color! :D
@@JanBeta More likely to save screen burn on those old CRT's
Nice machinen
Oh Jan, that really is an obscure system that would have been better left in the grave of junk early systems surely