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The Altair 8800 Reborn

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Screenshot of The Altair 8800 Reborn

This describes a modern kit that recreates the Altair 8800 experience using an Arduino Due to provide a cycle-accurate emulation of the Intel 8080 CPU and some I/O, while running original Altair machine code and CP/M. The project began from an Arduino-based Altair emulator and was developed into an affordable, easy-to-build kit aimed at hobbyists; it requires basic through-hole soldering and a few hand tools and can be assembled in roughly 4-6 hours. The kit comes with a professionally made PCB, a preloaded Arduino Due, and enough storage to hold Altair programs; the simulator source is released under GPLv3 so builders can modify it.

Two versions are offered: a Pro that fits a full-size Altair clone case to emulate the look and operation of the original, and a smaller Experimenter model for shelf display. Hardware specifics include 512 KB total RAM on the Due (with 64 KB usable for authentic Altair emulation) and a kit weight and dimensions comparable to the original in size but much lighter. Community support, a troubleshooting forum, and a repair/diagnosis option are provided. For those wanting a more authentic route, full 8080-based and S-100 bus recreations by other builders are referenced as alternatives.

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