Long before on-demand services like Netflix and Disney+ existed, if you wanted to catch your favourite shows, you only had two choices: record them on VHS tape or sit in front of your TV when they started. A Raspberry Pi project aims to recreate this 90s TV experience in every detail.

A maker called Shane Mason is responsible for a project called FieldStation42. This project uses a Raspberry Pi Pico and some 3D-printed components to accurately recreate the full experience of watching TV in the 1990s.

90s cable TV simulator with a Raspberry Pi

This device hooks up to a TV and uses files the user has downloaded from the internet to create a simulation of a 90s TV schedule. Going beyond just a straightforward media player, the FieldStation42 instead tries to replicate the scheduling used in the era, and plays the appropriate video file to match it.

For example, if you are watching on a Saturday morning, it might play classic cartoons like DuckTales or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It can even play multiple channels simultaneously, letting users surf the different channels as if they were live broadcasts.

There is even an option that lets FieldStation42 support remote controls. So you can flick through the channels in an authentic 90s style. For extra accuracy, you can even hook the FieldStation42 up to a CRT TV.

Thankfully, many classic TV shows have been preserved online. With some careful searching, it is possible to find live-action TV shows, cartoons, game shows, and even PSAs and adverts. All of these can be utilised by FieldStation42 for the most accurate 90s simulation possible.

Further information on the project, including the steps needed to recreate it, can be found on the GitHub page for those interested in reliving the 90s.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.