ISA sound card emulation on the Raspberry Pi Pico’s RP2040 microcontroller. PicoGUS can emulate:
- Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) – the primary focus of PicoGUS, hence the name
- Sound Blaster 2.0 / AdLib (OPL2)
- MPU-401 (with intelligent mode) – outputs MIDI data on 3.5mm MIDI TRS connector
- Tandy 3-voice
- CMS/Game Blaster
- Game port joystick
Current status: perpetual beta! See the main wiki page for current status and the compatibility list for support status of various DOS programs and other system compatibility notes. This project has a heavy demoscene focus due to the GUS’s history so that’s what I’ve concentrated on, but GUS support in games is very good to excellent.
Want to make your own PicoGUS? See the build guide. Note that the more DIY friendly v1.1.1 hardware has some documented issues with reset – a forthcoming v1.2 revision will fix these issues. Important caveat: due to the specs of the Pico, assumptions made by programs written to use the GUS, the imprecise nature of emulation, and the varying specs of retro DOS PC hardware, some things will likely never be perfect. This is still a work in progress.
Have a PicoGUS and want to use it? See the configuring and using your PicoGUS guide.
Links:
- GitHub project: Firmware source, hardware design, build/configuration Wiki. Of particular interest is the Compatibility list to know what systems and programs it works well with.
- Interactive BOM – this is nice if you’re building your own PicoGUS.
- YouTube Channel with project updates, demos, etc. If you’re interested in what the PicoGUS can do and how to use one, this is a good place to go!
- Follow me on Mastodon for updates!
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