Is it a dream to have a built-in boot disk for a Macintosh 128K or 512K without SCSI? ROM-inator was a cheap and excellent kit that made that dream possible, but it's currently not available for purchase. But Steve Chamberlin has made it open source so that anyone can make it with a little effort...
To make a ROM-inator, upload a Gerber file to a PCB company, make a PCB, flash the ROM with a programmer, and solder the board and parts. This requires the purchase of a programmer and tools, but I decided to make it for fun.
I will explain how to make it briefly, but the ROM programmer chooses a machine that can flash ST 39SF040 and flashes it. After that, solder the pin header and gate IC to the PCB and install it on the Logic Board to complete it. However, the biggest drawback of this kit is that if you choose the wrong pin headers or IC sockets, the Mac chassis and ROM will hit. Machine pins and IC sockets should be low profile.
When it is completed, start it as it is. If you boot while pressing "R" on the keyboard at the timing of "Press and hold r now" displayed on the screen, it will boot from ROM-DIsk. Some programs are pre-installed on the Rom-Disk made by Steve Chamberlin, so you can check if they work.
This ROM-Inator works at 128K, 512K, Plus. And what's great is the software called Plus ROM Flash Tool, which allows you to change various ROM specifications on a Mac without using a ROM Programmer. * Tool structurally does not work at 128K. To create a custom image at 128K, you need a ROM programmer or another PLUS or 512K.
ROM Disk Image:
This is intended to include your own boot disk (up to 1MB) as a ROM boot disk.
Although the capacity is small, you should be able to install multiple software of this era.
ROM Code:
This can change the Happy Mac Icon that appears at startup. Steve Chamberlin has 15 types of icons.
Startup Sound:
I don't think this needs explanation, but if you have bin or raw data, you can set it to Startup sound with a length of 0.66sec.
These need to select the Data File correctly. This will not start if you write it by mistake.
In this way, you can arm your Mac with a custom image and use it with attachment.
And since you can use HD20, you can also use HD for these, although it's slower than SCSI.
The easiest way is to use Hard Drive Mode with BMOW's Floppy EMU. It can be used up to 2GB.
Well, it's been a while since I made this, and an avid Vintage Mac user told me I wanted it.
He's called James Wages, a well-known YouTuber in the Vintage Mac world called JDW.
When he finished making them, he advised me to release the kit.
I was wondering if Steve Chamberlin would re-release it, but Steve had no plans to sell it and he said I should make it.
That's why I decided to sell this kit. I named it "ROM-inator Resurrections".
Resurrections can be lowered by up to 1.8mm using low profile custom pin headers.
And I can pre-install and provide a SYSTEM 3.2 ROM-Disk for 128K. A typical ROM-Disk is 6.0.8.
Models up to the Mac Plus are the slowest in the series and are said to be unpleasant, but that's not the case. In short, you should enjoy it!