Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is a tribute to Sean Harringon's excellent work on developing the Aquarius+ into an enjoyable product. The AQ+ has a nice case package, a lot of SD software content, and great online support. The system also includes IN/OUT audio jacks on the side to support a cassette deck, and a built in "WiModem" type WiFi capability that helps get this system onto the modern internet. On top of that, this system has a wild multi-voice audio capability and sprite support.
My only nits are:
- The word "Aquarius+" confuses search engines, since there is a medical device of the same name
- Compatible joystick/gamepads are so far a little hard to find
But there is still active firmware update support. This is very much a fun product with several developer options, and a lot familiarity due to being Z80 based.
For info about the system, start with the following:
github.com/fvdhoef/aquarius-plus
00:39 PART 0 - Initial content overview
01:30 autoexec.example
01:36 PART 1 - CP/M Demo
03:43 PART 2 - Cassette Save/Load Demo
05:50 PART 3 - BASIC Examples (Character Set, Mouse/Timer)
07:30 PART 4 - ESP32 WiFi Usage Examples
09:46 PART 5 - Master System (Modern-Make Software)
14:26 PART 6 - PT3 Audio Demo
The doll in the thumbnail is the Aquarius barbie from Mattel (the company that makes various lines of toys, and also released the original Aquarius system in the early 1980s). The original barbies were tagged as being suitable for ages 3 and up.
This is a tribute to Sean Harringon's excellent work on developing the Aquarius+ into an enjoyable product. The AQ+ has a nice case package, a lot of SD software content, and great online support. The system also includes IN/OUT audio jacks on the side to support a cassette deck, and a built in "WiModem" type WiFi capability that helps get this system onto the modern internet. On top of that, this system has a wild multi-voice audio capability and sprite support.
My only nits are:
- The word "Aquarius+" confuses search engines, since there is a medical device of the same name
- Compatible joystick/gamepads are so far a little hard to find
But there is still active firmware update support. This is very much a fun product with several developer options, and a lot familiarity due to being Z80 based.
For info about the system, start with the following:
github.com/fvdhoef/aquarius-plus
00:39 PART 0 - Initial content overview
01:30 autoexec.example
01:36 PART 1 - CP/M Demo
03:43 PART 2 - Cassette Save/Load Demo
05:50 PART 3 - BASIC Examples (Character Set, Mouse/Timer)
07:30 PART 4 - ESP32 WiFi Usage Examples
09:46 PART 5 - Master System (Modern-Make Software)
14:26 PART 6 - PT3 Audio Demo
The doll in the thumbnail is the Aquarius barbie from Mattel (the company that makes various lines of toys, and also released the original Aquarius system in the early 1980s). The original barbies were tagged as being suitable for ages 3 and up.
