--- title: 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In... description: A homebrew single-board computer called the 68k-MBC, built by hobbyist [Just4Fun], uses a Motorola 68008 CPU and runs CP/M68K or standalone executables. Its... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In Only Three ICs | daily.dev og:description: A homebrew single-board computer called the 68k-MBC, built by hobbyist [Just4Fun], uses a Motorola 68008 CPU and runs CP/M68K or standalone executables. Its... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/J0jUVRXGu.png og:image:alt: 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In Only Three ICs og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In Only Three ICs **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A homebrew single-board computer called the 68k-MBC, built by hobbyist [Just4Fun], uses a Motorola 68008 CPU and runs CP/M68K or standalone executables. Its "lite" configuration needs only three ICs: the 68008, an SRAM chip, and a PIC microcontroller that doubles as ROM, limited to 512 KB RAM and one serial port. The "full" version adds a second serial port and supports SD-based storage, RTC, and parallel printer adapters. The project is an entry in an ongoing retrocomputing contest with entries closing October 27th. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the minimum number of ICs needed to build a working 68008-based homebrew computer? Three ICs: the Motorola 68008 CPU, an SRAM chip, and a PIC microcontroller that emulates the ROM. This "lite" configuration of the 68k-MBC project caps RAM at 512 KB and provides a single serial port, while still supporting I2C and an optional SD card for storage or an RTC module. A "full" version adds a second serial port and parallel printer support. _Hobbyists tracking minimalist retro CPU builds can follow similar projects on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: 16-Bit Homebrew Relay Computer](https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-16-bit-homebrew-relay-computer-5ywkcispg) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Homebrew 68K Machine Has A PCI Bus](https://daily.dev/posts/homebrew-68k-machine-has-a-pci-bus-si8sau451) · Hackaday · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [M8SBC-486 \(Homebrew 486 computer\)](https://daily.dev/posts/m8sbc-486-homebrew-486-computer--zpe54i0wi) · Hacker News · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Random adventures in electronics](https://daily.dev/posts/random-adventures-in-electronics-hxvfmbfss) · Two Stop Bits · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Turning a CH32V003 microcontroller into a tiny monochrome video BASIC machine « Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers\!](https://daily.dev/posts/turning-a-ch32v003-microcontroller-into-a-tiny-monochrome-video-basic-machine-adafruit-industries--rzjcdhpn8) · Adafruit Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#retrocomputing](https://daily.dev/tags/retrocomputing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In Only Three ICs","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu"},"datePublished":"2026-10-02T20:19:19.093Z","dateModified":"2026-10-02T20:27:59.278Z","description":"A homebrew single-board computer called the 68k-MBC, built by hobbyist [Just4Fun], uses a Motorola 68008 CPU and runs CP/M68K or standalone executables. Its...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7f73b6ef37926195418562d5c88e1849?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7f73b6ef37926195418562d5c88e1849?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Hackaday","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Hackaday","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--JhDfhy70--/f_auto,q_auto/v1767541814/logos/hackaday","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"hardware,retrocomputing","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hackaday","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: A Homebrew Computer In Only Three ICs"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-a-homebrew-computer-in-only-three-ics-j0juvrxgu#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the minimum number of ICs needed to build a working 68008-based homebrew computer?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Three ICs: the Motorola 68008 CPU, an SRAM chip, and a PIC microcontroller that emulates the ROM. This \"lite\" configuration of the 68k-MBC project caps RAM at 512 KB and provides a single serial port, while still supporting I2C and an optional SD card for storage or an RTC module. A \"full\" version adds a second serial port and parallel printer support. Hobbyists tracking minimalist retro CPU builds can follow similar projects on daily.dev."}}]} ```