Console
MAXIK
An 8-bit game console you plug into your TV, switch on — and two and a half seconds later you're playing. Games boot from an SD card, controls are NES gamepads, and every program it runs is one you can write, read and debug yourself.
There is no emulator running on Linux inside. MAXIK is a real
computer: the AGATA-1 processor is a circuit in FPGA
gates executing one microinstruction per clock. The boot screen says
it all: MAXIK · AGATA-1 core · SAP-3/16 ISA.
Specifications
| What | How |
|---|---|
| CPU | AGATA-1 — a core of the SAP-3/16 architecture (ISA 3.1): 8-bit data, 16-bit addresses, A/B/X/Y registers, vectored interrupts |
| Clock | 25.2 MHz turbo (1 T-state = 1 clock); for teaching it slows all the way down to 1 Hz with single-stepping per T-state |
| Memory | 64 KB flat RAM, including a 16 KB VRAM window |
| Video | HDMI out; 40×25 text mode, 160×100 bitmap in 16 colors, 320×200 mono, 8 hardware sprites, fine scroll, blitter |
| Audio | 3 channels + noise, ADSR envelopes, frequency in Hz — over HDMI to the TV |
| Storage | microSD card as a caddy of up to 256 disks of 64 KB each + the SAP-DOS boot menu |
| Input | 2× NES port (two-player games), serial link for development and browser upload |
| Base | Tang Nano 20K FPGA on a custom carrier board, USB-C power |
AGATA-1 — the heart of the machine
The processor carries our daughter's name, just as the console carries our son's (the whole story). It is designed for transparency: the microcode is generated from a single source of truth, every clock can be watched, and the very same processor also runs in your browser at sap-3.com — identical to the last bit. What you debug at home runs on the TV unchanged.
The blinkenlights panel
An optional front panel with 169 LEDs and six seven-segment displays shows the CPU's live internal state: program counter, registers, the bus, flags and raw microinstructions. Plus STEP and RUN buttons and a speed dial from 1 Hz to full turbo — a debugger you can touch.
Project status
rev A in production
The rev A console board is being manufactured and the v1 front panel is being finished. The goal is set: Christmas 2026, two boxed consoles under the tree. A public DIY kit is next on our mind — watch this page.