[jeffchien]

Now I want a scavengers' guide to identify machines that might have a compatible microprocessor within them, because I haven't seen a Commodore or Apple II in a long time. Arcades with older cabinets obviously have them, but if most post-apocalyptic media are prophetic, they'll probably be occupied by a gang of young ne'er-do-wells. I suppose, thanks to the College Board, Ti-83s (Z80) are still quite common in the US. Are there toys, medical equipment, or vending machines that still use these chips?

I wonder if ESP32s and Arduinos might be more commonly found, though I could see the argument that places with those newfangled chips may be more likely to become radioactive craters in some scenarios.

[nkali]

I tried to do something like that in my free time. ARMs are everywhere, PICs are very common as well: https://github.com/ninakali/chip_scavenger/tree/main/src

[kragen]

Hey, this is fantastic, thanks!

[thesuitonym]

The Z80 is still an insanely popular microcontroller, that can be found it so, so many devices. Head down to your local Walmart's toy aisle open some of the electronics there (Post-collapse, of course) and you'll certainly find a few.

That's not as easy as just dropping a full computer on your desk, but having a low power processor that's easy to find replacements for would be useful. That is, of course, if you spent the time pre-collapse to learn how to make a useful system out of those components, which I suspect is the real goal of Collapse OS.

[kragen]

Can you name two such devices? Because the only thing I've ever found a Z80 in is an S1 MP3 player. I've found ARMs, 8051s, and weird Epson microcontrollers they seem to have never published the instruction set for, but never a Z80.