Piers Rocks is back with another update on his OneROM Fire USB project. In this latest video, he works through the process of bringing his new USB-enabled ROM emulator board to life. The episode follows up on his earlier deep dive, where he first revealed the freshly fabricated boards.
The OneROM Fire USB is the newest version of his ROM emulator designed for classic systems like the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. This time, he focuses on getting the RP2350-based design running smoothly. He begins with basic power-on tests and moves through a full round of firmware adjustments. Each step is deliberate, practical, and captured in detail for viewers.
As the project progresses, Piers encounters several setbacks. Incorrect pin mappings cause startup issues, and early firmware builds fail to load correctly. Yet, his troubleshooting is patient and systematic. He rewrites sections of code, revises configuration files, and quickly identifies a long-hidden bug from earlier hardware versions. His honest commentary keeps the session engaging while showing the trial-and-error nature of hardware development.
After hours of debugging, success finally arrives. The OneROM Fire USB boots both character and kernel ROMs on the VIC-20 without errors. A small color issue appears on-screen, but Piers believes it relates to timing differences in the boot sequence. He plans to fix this with a clock speed tweak or a short firmware update.
Before finishing, he tests another Fire USB board he thought had soldering faults. To his surprise, it powers up immediately and runs correctly—no hat eating required. The episode closes with Piers outlining his next goal: adding automatic USB detection to eliminate manual jumper use.
The OneROM Fire USB project continues to evolve, showing real progress toward a versatile ROM solution for vintage computers.
One ROM website: https://onerom.org/
One ROM Web Programmer: https://onerom.org/web/
One ROM Studio installer: https://onerom.org/studio/
