PicoPCMCIA – a PCMCIA development board for retro-computing enthusiasts

https://www.yyzkevin.com/picopcmcia/

54•rbanffy•1h ago

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geerlingguy•1h ago

I was able to see the development card in person at VCF Midwest last year; it's a very neat project! The version he had at VCFMW was in a transparent plastic case[1], which looks even better than the IBM-inspired design of the one on this page.

[1] https://youtu.be/hF0NKvmQmVA?t=47 (I couldn't find a good picture elsewhere)

Edit - I found this video on his YouTube channel with more info (with the latest version of the card): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-04EoGlayY

riskable•1h ago

For those who aren't aware what PCMCIA stands for: People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms

scoot•1h ago

"For those who have forgotten..."

geerlingguy•1h ago

If you want to refresh an old memory, it actually stands for "Personal Computer Memory Card International Association" but nobody knew that. And it was later called 'PC Card'... then there was the faster ExpressCard that wasn't backwards compatible.

It was fun being able to expand your computer's IO capabilities by adding on a network card, modem, USB, FireWire, etc. with these modules. It's similar to Framework's little USB-C-based modules, though those modules are just too small for a lot of circuits without a very creative design.

simcop2387•1h ago

My understanding (probably wrong) is that pcmcia was based off the ISA bus and then pc card updated to pci based and express card was pcie

tonyarkles•56m ago

Close! The PC Card rename was because people were confusing the name of the association with the specific form factor.

PCMCIA and PC Card = ISA

CardBus = PCI and ISA - slot was backwards compatible so you could use a PC Card in a CardBus slot

ExpressCard = PCIe

fallat•1h ago

The RP2XXX microcontrollers are so incredible in terms of what it's opened to hobbyists. I hope microcontroller-based computers become a thing.

hoistbypetard•1h ago

I love the IBM aesthetic on the card artwork.

klipklop•52m ago

A dream device for 486 and pentium laptop enthusiasts. Got in line to get one.

netrap•25m ago

Awesome !!

I have an old Thinkpad and had a similar idea for wifi, but I was thinking about MiniPCI.

Emulating NE2000 is great :)

kfarr•17m ago

TIL the Newton had a PCMCIA slot!

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