Raspberry Pi Nano project recreates vintage Apple Macintosh at a fraction of the size
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The pico-mac-nano is a project by Nick Gillard, which brings back the nostalgia and vintage of the Apple Macintosh from 1983 and measures only 62mm in height. Created by someone who’s been working with Apple products for over 30 years and created a supply site for Apple services and spares, it’s a personal project that came about from Nick finding the cheap Raspberry Pi Pico and coming across a Macintosh emulator.
Nick outlines the whole backstory and details of putting the pico-mac-nano in detail on the 1bitrainbow blog, as it’s a rather interesting and long process. Along with working around the limitations and sizing, it goes over a good deal of how the thing functions and how it was created.
The pico-mac-nano
The pico-mac-nano is available to buy on the 1-bit rainbow site for a mere price of $56/£56, that is when it is in stock. As it is currently out of stock due to huge and unexpected demand, it needs time to 3D print the parts and stock up. But if you are interested in the little thing, you can use the GitHub page to create your own version if you don’t want to wait or build it for cheaper.
pico-mac-nano next to coke can
pico-mac-nano next to original Macintosh
If you are interested in the details, the Raspberry Pi retro project takes advantage of the Zero’s size and combines it with a 2-inch LCD screen to create the tiny computer. Combining it with a custom-designed PCB with a miniature 62mm high replica of the Macintosh 128K case, it offers a whole emulation of the computer along with the look.
It also manages to fit in one USB port for both power and connecting peripherals. That does require getting a splitter to use two and or power if it’s not running on internal batteries. 1-Br does offer tested cables if you choose to buy from them, as not all cables can work with this build.
Nick has also created a Collector’s Edition version of the pico-mac-nano, which reflects the original packaging of the Macintosh. Also, making it fit in the cable and hex key, it is definitely one for the fans of the original vintage machine. Neither model has a warranty offered by the shop, so both are still more collector’s items that are fun Raspberry Pi projects to enjoy than proper products.
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