Out of the 30 volumes of MAKE we’ve produced over the years, which project holds the record for taking up the most number of pages? The Atari 2600PC by Joe Grand, which spanned a jaw-dropping 35 pages back in Volume 02 (2005). Having worked on MAKE since the beginning, this project is legendary in my mind. Why did Joe decide to build it?

From his intro:

From an engineering perspective, the design of the Atari 2600 hardware is both simple and complex — yin and yang, so to speak — and it has enticed me for many years. The goal of this project is to cram a full-featured PC system into a retro Atari 2600 videogame case. Not only is this a real challenge, but it’s extremely rewarding. Since I want to retain as much of the original look and feel of the Atari system as I can, I will be using part of the original Atari circuitry and the original game controllers.

Wanna check it out? Here’s a PDF of the full project for your viewing pleasure.

We still have some copies of Volume 02 in the Shed if you need them for your collection.