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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : [CMM2 et al] New Member says hi

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rrroonn
Newbie

Joined: 08/02/2026
Location: Australia
Posts: 1

Posted: 09:36pm 08 Feb 2026

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Hi everyone.

Did not find a better place to post this - sorry in advance if I step on protocols.

I joined this group because of the fantastic work that has been done on the CMM2. I wanted to find an education computer system so that I can help my grand-kids discover the world or programming the way I did in the 70's/80's and if you try to find an "educational computer" now, you can only find school laptops.

I spent days working with AI and searching and I could not find a better alternative. Something that makes it easy for a novice to start. Something that a child doesn't need an account for. Something that doesn't require learning OS commands and concepts. Something that allows interactions with the real world like LEDs, motors, sensors.

While I understand and admire the passion of people that preserve the old hardware (I cut my teeth on a System 80); I like the modern peripherals that are dirt cheap, and modern MCUs that are so powerful, rather than trying to keep floppy drives working and playing with cassette tapes.

The CMM2 ticks so many boxes and the only sad thing is that it appears to have been sabotaged by the gods of time that took the wind out of its sails through the chip shortage era. It is now very hard to find the hardware. I took it as a sign when I found a Gen1 on eBay and I immediately snapped it up. I have four grand-kids so that means I need MORE.

In the end, I settled on doing a JLPCB production run for five Gen2 boards that will be my spare-time project for a little while. When you do this you see that even a few years of elapsed time the rot sets in and key parts are no longer available. It won't be much longer when the sdram is off the shelf as they are running out remaining supplies now in some places I looked. I thank the community for providing the build kit that allowed me to do this.

I really see that preserving the function and experience that the CMM2-style system provides is a worthwhile thing - even if it never makes anyone rich. Having read a bit about the history, I see that a lot of passion and dedication went into its creation. For that I am grateful. And, hopefully, my grand-kids will be grateful.

So now, I will stumble around getting to know the intricacies of the ecosystem while I build up some hardware. Maybe I will need some help on yet-to-be discovered technicalities but time will tell. In parallel, I am working on getting a reference design into KiCAD 9 and reacquainting myself with the STM32. I think preservation is important as we are currently losing the battle on building capable minds and becoming AI junkies. Maybe I can assist with preservation at some stage.

Just a bit about me - I taught myself to program on a System 80 (TRS80 clone) using Basic and Z80 assembly. I then stepped in C and eventually C++. I became a "Digital Systems" engineer through RMIT and spent years in software and hardware in such areas as data-acquisition system, system emulators and assemblers. I spent some time in projects such as corporate PKI and high-security networks. At one stage I designed and built a modern replacement for a Perkins Elmer mini-computer system that replaced a national maintenance management system for Defence.

I retired early and live on acreage with my family nearby. I have built off-grid solar systems and play with ESP32 embedded systems including designing and building my own boards for such things like my current project - a reverse osmosis bore water harvesting system. I work with ESPHome, Node-Red and Home Assistant a lot to automate many of the mundane tasks - particularly around prioritising and maximising solar energy as we cut the cord to the utility company.

I read Geoff's history of MMBasic and how he built it from scratch using the exact approach I have done a few times and knew that the system would be maintainable - and I think history has proven this. Hat-tip to Geoff and the others who's names I don't yet know.

BTW, I love that forums haven't gone away totally into Facebook and the like. There's a lot to like about the way we did things in the good ole days.

Edited 2026-02-09 07:38 by rrroonn

lizby
Guru

Joined: 17/05/2016
Location: United States
Posts: 3602

Posted: 10:28pm 08 Feb 2026

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Welcome to the forum. I share many of your experiences in the PC world--CP/M system with Z80 and onward and upward from there.

The other name you should know in addition to Geoff's is Peter Mather. He ported MMBasic to the CMM2 and guided the hardware development, as he has also done with the PicoMite.

MMBasic on this hardware is a powerful system, and you're not likely ever to experience one where the developer is so forward-looking and at the same time responsive to user requests. (My all-time record for request made to inclusion in a release: under 2 hours--lucky timing.)

PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed

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