This is the final part of my 386 machine build series. Sadly, the 386SX mainboard died after briefly coming back to life in the last video. I went hunting for a new one and found a gem of a 386DX40 mainboard. Its BIOS supports 4 floppy drives, but for reasons I only had space for three. But how often have you seen more than two floppy drives on a DOS computer?
I’m also adding a network adapter so I can go online with this machine. All the hardware I am using gets a major refurbishment and cleaning before using. This results in a very pleasing to look at computer in a relatively small case. I’m really happy with the outcome of this and I hope you enjoy it, too!
I can confirm, support for more than two floppies, even this early in PC history is rather rare. Watch the video below for a special treat in the build of this classic computer.
8-6-2021 (August 6, 2021) is the Snakiest day of the year and it’s also this year’s CircuitPython Day! The day highlights all things CircuitPython and Python on Hardware. See you there!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
