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FRANK

FRANK is a hardware emulation platform built around the Raspberry Pi RP2040/RP2350. It started as a fork of the Murmulator project by Alex Ekb and grew from there.

The name comes from "Frankenstein" — it's stitched together from parts of different projects.

Supported Platforms

Over 30 emulated systems and native ports:

Console Emulators

Firmware Platform Repository PSRAM Required
frank-nes NES / Famicom (Dendy) frank-nes Yes (8MB)
frank-snes SNES / Super Famicom frank-snes Yes (8MB)
frank-genesis Sega Genesis / Mega Drive frank-genesis Yes (8MB)
frank-c64 Commodore 64 frank-c64 Yes (8MB)
frank-apple Apple IIe frank-apple Optional

PC Emulation

Firmware Platform Repository PSRAM Required
frank-386 IBM PC i386 (DOS, Windows 3.x/95, Linux) frank-386 Yes (8MB)

Game Engine Ports

Firmware Game Repository PSRAM Required
frank-idtech1 DOOM, Heretic, Hexen, Strife (all-in-one) frank-idtech1 Yes (8MB)
frank-doom DOOM (standalone) frank-doom Yes (8MB)
frank-heretic Heretic frank-heretic Yes (8MB)
frank-wolf3d Wolfenstein 3D frank-wolf3d Yes (8MB)
frank-duke3d Duke Nukem 3D frank-duke3d Yes (8MB)
frank-prince Prince of Persia frank-prince Yes (8MB)
frank-digger Digger Remastered frank-digger No

OS and utilities

Firmware Description Repository PSRAM Required
frank-os Full desktop OS (Windows 95-style GUI, apps, built-in emulators) frank-os Yes (8 MB)
frank-kickstart UF2 firmware launcher/bootloader with SD card browser frank-kickstart Optional
frank-manul Text web browser (HTTP/HTTPS via ESP-01 WiFi) frank-manul Yes (8 MB)
frank-netcard AT modem firmware for ESP-01 WiFi module frank-netcard No

Murmulator firmware

The original Murmulator project also provides:

ZX Spectrum emulators:

  • ZX Spectrum 48K / 128K / +3e (multiple emulator cores: tecnocat, pico-spec, frut-bat, ZX Speccy P, murmulator)
  • ZX Elf (pico-alf)

Cross-platform emulators:

  • MS-DOS IBM PC XT 8088
  • BK-0010 / BK-0011M (Soviet home computer)
  • Radio 86RK (Soviet home computer)
  • Macintosh
  • Atari 800
  • NES / Famicom / Dendy
  • Sega Master System / Game Gear
  • NEC PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
  • Nintendo GameBoy / GameBoy Color
  • Watara Supervision
  • Atari Lynx
  • Bandai Wonderswan / Wonderswan Color
  • NeoGeo Pocket Color
  • Gamate
  • Game & Watch / Elektronika

Tools and applications:

  • MurmulatorOS
  • Picomite MMBasic
  • VersaTerm (terminal for retro computers)
  • Bootloader (flash firmware from SD card)

Hardware

Product families

  • FRANK — 0805 components, Pico module socket, RP2040-Zero for USB-to-PS/2. Easy to hand-solder.
  • MiniFRANK — Credit-card-sized. 0603 components, QFN MCU soldered on-board, no Pico module.
  • TurboFRANK — USB hub, RS-232, TurboSound (2×AY-3-8910), speaker amp. M1P1 uses a Pico socket; M1P2 has both RP2040 and RP2350A on-board with a USB multiplexer.

Naming: MxPy

  • M1 / M2 — GPIO layout. M1 is the first-gen Murmulator pinout. M2 is second-gen, optimized for RP2350A HSTX and faster RAM.
  • P1 / P2 — RP chip. P1 = RP2040, P2 = RP2350A.

So TurboFRANK M1P1 = M1 layout + RP2040. MiniFRANK M2P2 = M2 layout + RP2350A.

When downloading firmware, pick the build matching your GPIO layout (M1 or M2).

Boards

All KiCad project files are in hardware/.

FRANK (regular)

Board Layout Compute Module Latest Rev Description Docs
FRANK M1 M1 Pico / Pico 2 (socket) 2.06 Full-featured: VGA, HDMI, composite, PIO PSRAM, PS/2, USB (via RP2040-Zero), TDA1387 DAC Guide
FRANK M2 M2 Pico 2 (socket) 2.06 M2 pinout optimized for RP2350A HSTX, QSPI PSRAM via Pico module Guide
FRANK FastBeta M1 M1 Pico / Pico 2 (socket) 1.04 Streamlined board for FastBeta ZX Spectrum firmware, HDMI/VGA, PIO PSRAM Guide

MiniFRANK (compact)

Board Layout Compute Module Latest Rev Description Docs
MiniFRANK M2P2 M2 RP2350A (on-board QFN) 1.04 Credit-card-sized, 0603 components, ESP-01S WiFi, USB hub (MW7211A) Guide

TurboFRANK (feature-rich)

Board Layout Compute Module Latest Rev Description Docs
TurboFRANK M1P1 M1 Pico / Pico 2 (socket) 1.07 USB hub, RS-232, TurboSound (2xAY-3-8910), speaker amplifier Guide
TurboFRANK M1P2 M1 RP2040 + RP2350A (on-board) 1.01 Dual-MCU with USB multiplexer and hardware power switch Guide

Accessories

In accessories/:

Accessory Latest Rev Description Docs
HDMI2VGA 2.04 HDMI to VGA / soft composite passive adapter Assembly Guide
USB2PS2 1.03 USB to PS/2 adapter built on RP2040 Assembly Guide

Other compatible boards

Most firmware also runs on:

  • Murmulator (M1 and M2)
  • Olimex PICO-PC (some firmware)
  • Waveshare RP2350-PiZero (some firmware)

PSRAM

Most emulators need 8MB PSRAM. Connection method depends on layout:

  • M1 boards — PIO. Solder an ESP-PSRAM64H onto the board's PSRAM pads.
  • M2 boards — QSPI, piggybacked onto the Pico 2's flash chip. Works with clone Pico 2 boards (usually black, SOIC-8 flash). Or just use a Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 (has PSRAM built in).

Getting started

  1. Order or fab the PCB (gerbers are in each board's gerbers/ directory)
  2. Assemble per the board-specific guide
  3. Flash firmware: hold BOOTSEL, plug USB, release, copy .uf2 to the drive (or picotool load)
  4. SD card with ROMs / WADs / disk images
  5. Display (HDMI or VGA) + keyboard (PS/2 or USB) + gamepad

For quick switching between firmware, flash frank-kickstart first. It gives you a graphical launcher that reflashes from SD without BOOTSEL.

Repo layout

hardware/      Board KiCad projects
accessories/   Adapter boards (HDMI2VGA, USB2PS2)
docs/          Assembly guides
software/      Prebuilt firmware
archive/       Old board revisions
lab/           Experimental / WIP

Links

Author

Mikhail Matveev — software engineer and hardware developer based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Background in software architecture, QA, and open-source development. Builds retro computing hardware and writes firmware for fun. More projects at rh1.tech.

License

© 2026 Mikhail Matveev, xtreme@rh1.tech

GPL v3. See LICENSE.