Vintage NEC ‘286 computer revived with Raspberry Pi #PiDay #RaspberryPi @Raspberry_Pi @hacksterio
To resurrect their broken vintage NEC ProSpeed laptop, babtras added a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer and a modern LCD screen. Sometimes old components fail beyond repair and replacements are unavailable or prohibitively expensive. In such cases, it is worth reviving a vintage computer using modern hardware. That’s what Redditor babtras did by putting a Raspberry Pi into an ‘80s NEC ProSpeed 286.
A Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer was used – it is compact enough to fit easily inside of the case. The original keyboard had a PS/2 connection, so babtras was able to use a cheap PS/2-to-USB adapter with some jumpers in the keyboard’s ribbon cable connector. Instead of putting in a battery, babtras decided to stick to with the ProSpeed’s original power supply. Its hard drive connector provides both 5V and 12V, which is perfect for this project. The 5V rail powers the Raspberry Pi, while the 12V rail powers the LCD panel. To make the USB ports accessible, babtras fabricated a custom panel that fits onto the back of the machine for panel-mount USB extensions.
Babtras replaced the original LCD panel with something new. The new LCD panel fit into the same space as the original with a custom-fabricated Plexiglass frame. The panel came with a controller board with various connections, including HDMI.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
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 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Diving into the Raspberry Pi RP2350, Python Survey Results and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
