The PicoPCMCIA Packs Everything You Could Ever Need Into Your Vintage Portable's PCMCIA Slot

Maker and vintage computing enthusiast Kevin Moonlight, also known as "yyzkevin," is preparing to launch a limited production run of a gadget designed to cram as much functionality as possible into classic laptops' PCMCIA slots: the PicoPCMCIA.

"This is a PCMCIA [Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, also known as People Can't Memorize Complex Industry Acronyms] development board for retro-computing enthusiasts who want to experiment with audio, networking, and expansion on vintage laptops and mobile devices," Moonlight explains. "While ISA [Industry Standard Architecture] users have enjoyed projects like PicoGUS and PicoMEM, PCMCIA users have long been limited to scarce legacy cards with narrow functionality — this board aims to change that."

The PicoPCMCIA itself, built around the Raspberry Pi RP2354 microcontroller, is a single-slot 16-bit Type II PCMCIA card designed for minimum power draw and borrowing from existing RP2350-based projects designed for desktop-class machines with ISA slots. Its feature list is nothing short of impressive: NE2000 Ethernet card emulation using an Infineon CYW43439 Wi-Fi module for connectivity, "proof of concept" Bluetooth support, stereo audio with a DREAM SAM2695 single-chip synthesizer and emulation of MPU-401, Sound Blaster, and Gravis Ultrasound devices, CD-ROM emulation, linear flash emulation and planned support for ATA/ATAPI device emulation, and even USB connectivity for both firmware updating and connecting modern gamepads and mice to vintage systems.

Moonlight had originally planned to release the project as two distinct boards, one concentrating on audio capabilities and the other on network connectivity. "There [were] some struggles with the assembly," he says of his attempts, "and there's parts that went out of production. The new card is the same functionality except everything is combined inside [one] card."

The PicoPCMCIA is designed for broad compatibility, Moonlight says, with testing having been carried out on devices including the IBM PC110, a Hewlett-Packard 200LX palmtop, an Amiga 1200, the Apple Newton personal digital assistant, an HP Jornada 720, Compaq LTE Elite, and IBM Thinkpad 235 and 240 laptops. "Support for low-power devices such as the HP 200LX is considered mandatory, and the card has been tested to remain within the 150mA limit while using network functionality and storage emulation," the maker notes. "On devices with very limited power budgets, simultaneous use of networking and audio may require external power."

More information is available on the PicoPCMCIA project page; pre-orders are open at a $50 refundable deposit and a planned $160 final price, with shipping expected to take place within 30-90 days. Moonlight has promised that the device will be open-source, with a repository to go public "prior to shipment."