A vintage Pocket Computers and Calculators emulator
After several posts introducing the main new models in PockEmul 2.10.0, this post takes a closer look at the new features included in this release.
It has now been more than ten years since I started working on the simulation of the Sharp PC‑1211. This machine was the very first pocket computer programmable in BASIC, and it is truly frustrating not to have it available in PockEmul (just like the Casio FX‑702P, by the way).
So, while waiting for access to its ROM—something I still hope will happen—simulation remains the only viable path forward.
Dear PockEmul’s fans, we are pleased to announce the new PockEmul release. It will be available in the next few week.
We are in the final testing phase looking for the most obvious bugs.
This new version brings several new models and some new features:
I’m fully aware that it’s been quite a while since version 2.9 was released.
You might be wondering why I don’t publish smaller releases more frequently, each with fewer models, instead of waiting to deliver a larger release with several models at once.
The truth is, I find it difficult to focus on a single model and bring it to completion from start to finish.
Very often, the final imperfections prevent me from reaching the required level of quality, and solving them takes a lot of trial and error before the right solution emerges.
Working on multiple models in parallel helps me maintain both my curiosity and my motivation.
Rather than writing one long post detailing all the new features, I’ll spread the announcements across several posts leading up to the release date—and possibly even after.
Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments!
A message for our longstanding users and subscribers :
PockEmul is a 25 years passion project and a labor of love.
We invite you to share the passion and love for vintage computing.
Help us make history like these computers have done in the not-so-distant past.
Help us shape the future of PockEmul. Spread the word!
This is a compiler for Pocket Computer created around 1987~1988.
I recently made PockEmul compatible with the LC-3 Compiler for the Sharp PC-1261/1262. It will be part of PockEmul 2.10.0
This required extensive groundwork, as the compiler relies heavily on undocumented features of the SC61860 processor, many of which had not yet been implemented in the emulator.
The compiler enables developers to write programs directly in BASIC, using special instructions, and then compile the code into LM format, all within the pocket computer itself.
It is particularly well-suited for creating fast-paced graphical games.
Originally developed in Japan, the compiler had no existing English documentation available until now.
To address this, I’ve translated the X thread by @poyokoma_danna, which details LC-3 functionalities, and supplemented it with a translation of the official documentation (hiroog/LC3_Compiler: LC-3 Compiler for SHARP PC-1261/PC-1262).
Continue reading “LC-3 Compiler User Manual for SHARP PC-1261/PC-1262”Incredible — a bug in the SC61860 CPU used in classic Sharp devices has been fixed after 25 years!
Usually, a CPU bug is spotted quickly because everything crashes. But this one was a subtle side effect in batch instruction processing.
When I requested a batch of 0xFF, the loop exited without doing anything, instead of executing 256 times.
Turns out, it was just a while () {} that needed to be replaced with a do {} while ().
Now, the LC-3 compiler works correctly — it’s the one that uses 0xFF batches, unlike the standard ROM which never does.
It took me ages to find this bug, I was so convinced my algorithm was solid. obviously, after 25 years of faithful service…
