REAL HARDWARE / PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT

SuperIO. More possibilities for the CoCo 3.

An I/O expansion card for the Color Computer 3, exploring how the peripheral ideas behind SuperCoCo could extend an existing machine.

See the prototype Explore the interfaces

Prototype status: Physical prototype hardware and a cartridge-connected adapter are documented in Stew's photographs; the images are being prepared for the public site. The architecture is proposed; features, compatibility, production design and availability are not finalized. SuperIO is not for sale or preorder.

FROM THE WORKBENCH

Real boards. Early engineering.

These photographs show the expansion-board prototype, a cartridge adapter and the connecting ribbon cable. They are evidence of physical prototyping — not proof that every sketched peripheral is working or production-ready.

SuperIO prototype expansion PCB connected by a flexible ribbon cable to the Color Computer cartridge adapter — Prototype board and CoCo cartridge interface adapter connected by ribbon cable.

Edge of SuperIO prototype PCB with circular ports, network jack, stacked PS/2 connectors and other I/O connectors — Rear I/O edge showing the prototype's circular connectors, Ethernet jack and stacked keyboard/mouse ports.

SUPERIO / FUNCTIONAL CONCEPT

One cartridge interface. Many I/O ideas.

Stew's SuperIO sketch places an FPGA and peripheral connectors on an expansion card linked to a CoCo cartridge interface. It explores HDMI/video, audio, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, legacy CoCo ports, power connections and related headers.

This is a functional proposal, not a final schematic. Interfaces in the sketch and visible connectors in the photos do not establish completed drivers or electrical compatibility.

SuperIO concept diagram. An FPGA connects through a CoCo 3 cartridge bus to proposed HDMI and audio, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, Ethernet and Wi-Fi, CoCo joystick cassette serial and RGB signals, and power and expansion connections. — Proposed SuperIO expansion map, adapted from Stew's handwritten design sketch. Conceptual relationships only. Scroll horizontally to read the diagram on a narrow screen.

Bring the I/O forward

HDMI/video and audio output, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, and legacy CoCo signals are among the explored interfaces.

Find new connections

Ethernet and Wi‑Fi appear in the sketch, along with joystick, cassette and serial connectivity.

Respect the old machine

A cartridge adapter provides the proposed route to an existing CoCo 3; electrical and bus-timing verification are still required.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

SuperCoCo's spirit. Your existing CoCo.

SuperIO is not another SuperCoCo motherboard. It explores an expansion path for people who already have a CoCo 3, bringing selected next-generation peripheral ideas to familiar hardware.

Explore the SuperCoCo computer, download the PeTerm beta, or visit the live BBS.