One of the most satisfying things you can do with a vintage computer is to turn it on and start writing a program. With nothing but your curiosity, a little persistence, and maybe a book and a pad of scratch paper, you can craft a program that solves a problem, performs a task, produces a work of art, tells a story, or generates an interactive experience.

In this Digest, we’ll look at a few ways to get starting writing programs for the MEGA65 using the built-in BASIC 65 programming language. This won’t be a BASIC tutorial—there are hundreds of vintage books on that subject, and you already have the MEGA65 User’s Guide. There are additional chapters for beginners in the MEGA65 Complete Compendium. Instead, we’ll focus on several ways to create and run BASIC programs with your MEGA65, and with your PC.

But first!

Batch 2 shipments have begun!

Trenz Electronic has announced that batch 2 shipping has begun, and some have already received their MEGAs! The next 400 recipients should receive shipping notices in the next few weeks, followed soon after by receipt of your very own MEGA65.

Batch #3 is expected to deliver in the third quarter (July-September) of 2023. It’s too early to say how many units will ship in the next batch. Here’s hoping that FPGA supply will be flowing more freely next year.

Has your shipping address changed?

For those of us awaiting delivery of a pre-ordered MEGA65: If your shipping address has changed since you placed the pre-order, send an email to: sales@trenz-electronic.de

Changing the shipping address in your Trenz Electronic website account settings will not update shipping addresses on pending orders. You must send them email to update the address on a pre-order.

I know many of us have been waiting a long time for our MEGA65s. If your address needs updating, take care of it soon to ensure smooth delivery.

Digest feeds

You’re probably reading this Digest delivered as email via Substack. If you clicked through to the audio version with the play icon at the top of the email, you’re probably listening to it using a web browser on your desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone. You can read past and current issues, as well as manage your email subscription, on the Substack website: m65digest.substack.com Substack has a phone app, and it includes a built-in audio player.

Alternatively, you can follow the Digest using your favorite feed reader. The Substack website has an embedded RSS feed, and you can usually just copy the website address into your feed reader to subscribe. If your reader needs the exact feed URL, it’s just this: m65digest.substack.com/feed

I’m pleased to announce that the audio version of the Digest is now available in your podcast player! Search for “Dan’s MEGA65 Digest” in Apple Podcasts or the Pocket Casts directory. I’ve also found that some (but not all) podcast players can subscribe directly to the Substack RSS feed as if it’s a podcast.

Finally, just to make sure we’re not too dependent on a single platform, I post a copy of the Digest to my personal website. dansanderson.com/mega65 has links to all of my MEGA65 projects, along with every issue of the Digest. You can follo