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Classic Computer Emulators
Figure 1: Sometimes the authentic hardware takes up too much damn space!
I love emulators and am in awe of the people who can write them. I've even been involved in beta testing one or two. Emulators give you a vintage machine in your own computer! While it's not quite the same as the real thing, they do have their uses. For example, you might want to:
- Get a nostalgia fix (one of the main uses)
- See what the interface of a classic machine looked like
- Run some classic programs
- Try out software before converting it for your real machine
- Develop software for a classic machine (Easier to do this in an emulator than in a real classic computer)
Some can also be handy in converting software from disk/cassette images to a form where the programs can be loaded into your modern machines. Whatever you want to use them for, they can be a lot of fun and most are free.
My real collection of machines is mirrored with corresponding emulators. I use them mostly for conversion purposes along with the last two reasons cited above. Once a year or so, I scour the web and update all my emulators. Having just undertaken this task I figured the results might be useful to others. Consequently, the emulators I use are listed below. Before you jump into this list and download an emulator for your favourite machine though, note these caveats:
- These are for Windows XP and above. They may or may not work on earlier platforms.
- They are not the only ones out there. They are just the ones I use.
- Some are still supported and some are not.
- Some come with ROMS and some do not. ROMS are not difficult to find on the Internet though.
- By the time you read this it will already be out of date. Make sure you get the latest version from the websites listed.
Here they are...
Platform |
Name | Notes | Acorn | Virtual Acorn | Untested (and not free) |
---|---|---|
Amstrad CPC | WinApe 2.0 beta 2 | Excellent easy-to-run emulator |
Apple II series | AppleWin 1.29.9.0 | Apple II+ and IIe also. Very good. Also supports the virtual Z80 card. |
Apple IIGS | KEGS32 0.91 | Very good. Get the ROMS and software from this site. |
Apple Lisa | LisaEM 1.2.6 | Sets the emulator within a Lisa image. Good. Lisa Office install disks required. |
Apple Mac (1980s and 90s) | Softmac XP 8.2 | Good but 32-bit only. May need to run in a virtual XP environment if 64-bit. Can be tricky to set up. |
Atari 8-bits | Altirra 3.20 | All the Atari 8-bit range including the 400, 800XL and 130XE. Very good. |
Atari 16-bits | Steem SSE | All the Atari 16-bit range including the 520 and 1040ST. |
BBC | BeebEM 4.14 | For the BBC class of Acorn computers. Comprehensive |
Commodore 8-bits | VICE 3.4 | For the PET, VIC 20, C-64 and other Commodore computers. A superb emulator |
Amiga 16-bits | WinUAE 4.3.0 | For the Amiga machines. Good - Somewhat confusing to configure. |
General CP/M 8-bits | myZ80 1.24 | For machines like the Osborne 1 and Kaypro II. May not work in Vista or above. |
Kaypro 2x or 84/4 | Virtual Kaypro | Java based emulator which works well in Windows 10 |
EACA Colour Genie | Genieous 1.0.4 | Very good. I helped test this one. |
Epson HX-20 | eHC-20 | An HX-20 emulator from Japan |
Exidy Sorcerer | JSorcerer 1.3 | Java-based emulator which can be downloaded or played on the web. |
Intel "PC-type" Computers | Oracle VM VirtualBox | General emulation Win 10 platform that still supports floppy disk images |
PCem v15 | 8088 to 486 box emulation | |
VMware Workstation Player | A modern general emulation platform for intel operating systems | |
PCjs Machines | PC emulation in a web browser | |
Mattel Aquarius | Virtual Aquarius 0.72a | Simple but good |
OSI Challenger | WinOSI 1.5 | For the Ohio Scientific Challenger range of machines . Good |
Polycorp Poly 1 | Poly and Proteus Emulator 1.2 | An emulator for the New Zealand Poly |
Sinclair 8-bit | EightyOne 1.0a | For ZX80, ZX81 and all the ZX Spectrums |
Sinclair QL | QemuLator 3.2.2 | Shareware. Great program. Easy to set up and run. |
Spectravideo | BlueMSX 2.8.2 | For the Spectravideo machines and MSX units. Beautifully designed |
System 80/Video Genie | HT-1080Z 1.6.6 | Also good for the TRS-80 Model 1 |
Tandy Colour Computer | Xroar 0.35.4 | Actually a Dragon emulator but with a CoCo ROM it becomes a CoCo! |
Texas Instruments TI-99/4a | Win994a-TI-99/4A 3.010 | Easy to use. Good |
TRS-80 Model 100 | Virtual T 1.6 | Very good. Also emulates the NEC 8201a |
TRS-80 Model 1 and Model 4 | TRS32 1.28 | An good emulator for the Model 1/III/4 and 4-P. Disk image tools avaialble too. |
Tez
16th May, 2020
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