Hi there – Ken here, from the YouTube channel What’s Ken Making. I’m a technology nerd enthusiast, with a focus on retro and maker tech. My goal is to produce high quality, in-depth content that goes a level deeper and addresses the question “Why does it work that way?“. I hope you’ll find that spirit permeating not only my videos, but also my articles here on RetroRGB.
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Thank you!
There are a lot of “new” 8-bit computers and consoles being developed by smart engineers, YouTubers, and hobbyists, but none of them are quite like the GameTank. I was able to spend some time deep diving into the GameTank project over the past couple of months. I built the through-hole version of the console, programmed […]
Like most FPGA gaming enthusiasts, I’ve been following the Game Bub project for quite some time. After all, this was a fully open-source FPGA handheld that supposedly rivaled the Analogue Pocket. When the Crowd Supply project launched last fall, and Game Bubs were available to order, I was one of the first in line. But […]
Back in the 1970s, the idea of having a computer in your home, or even on your desk, was more science fiction than reality. Computers were massive, expensive machines that filled rooms and required teams to operate, so you would typically find them in governments, universities, and large corporations. That started to change with the […]
If you grew up with these older Game Boy devices, you probably remember two things: the games you loved, and the squinting you had to do to actually see them. Those early handhelds were marvels of portable gaming, but their reflective LCDs relied entirely on ambient light. Today’s modding scene has solved that problem with […]
I’d say this day is long overdue… the day when we are able to finally get our hands on an all-in-one, single-board MiSTer device. There have been different takes on the ‘consolized’ MiSTer over the past few years, but until now, they’ve all been some variation of a Cyclone V dev board + accessory boards […]
I was recently able to spend some time with the Ironclad series of MiSTer accessory boards. There are quite a few MiSTer form factors on the market these days, but the Ironclad offers a unique proposition – your MiSTer in a Mini ITX PC case. To accomplish this, it provides a standard 170mm x 170mm […]
The Commodore 64 has no shortage of flash cartridges, making it easier than ever to load software without the hassle of floppy disks or tape drives. But what if you could take things even further—adding NFC game launching, Internet connectivity, USB storage, and MIDI to your C64? That’s exactly what the TeensyROM brings to the […]
The large, cinderblock room was aglow with florescent fixtures, bouncing light off its painted walls. A number was called out over the loud speaker. Then a murmur crept throughout the crowd. Then another number. Another murmur. While the smoke-filled room around me emanated with disapproving grunts, I remained fixed and steadfast. I had just gracefully […]
If you’re handy with an iron (the soldering variety) and have wanted a handheld MiSTer FPGA, you’re now in luck! A step-by-step build video for the DIY MiSTer Handheld, Model 01 (DMH-01) is now available. In this 45-minute video, I walk you through the entire process of building your own from start to finish. I […]
When QMTech released their Cyclone V FPGA board with built-in SDRAM, I was intrigued with the possibilities. I’d been thinking about building a handheld MiSTer for quite some time, and I thought that the slimmer profile of this board would make it a good candidate for that project. When I got my hands on the […]
