Pocket 386 Computer

[Forrest]

There’s a new Pocket 386 computer at Aliexpress available for $218.40 that looks really interesting for retrocomputing AliExpress
 

Form factor is similar to the Book 8088 computer and specs similar to the Book 386 handheld, both released last year by AliExpress

 

The Pocket 386 specs:

386 SX (40 MHz) embedded Ali M6117 CPU

8 MB DRAM

VGA card

Display switches between 640x480 and 800x480

CF Card (IDE) storage

USB controller

OPL3 (Yamaha YMF262-M) sound card

Built-in mouse

Lithium battery

 

I have not seen any reviews online yet
 

 

[r_chase]

Good find. We could use more retrocomputers like this. For example, maybe I could use this for testing interactive fiction.

[hwrd]

Many old netbooks from 12-15 years ago can now do the same as the above computer, and while using only MS-DOS.

If the above type of computer interests you, you may already have such a computer.  SBEMU adds the missing sound portion.

(This AliExpress computer is quite neat looking tho!)

 

https://github.com/crazii/SBEMU

"Emulate Sound Blaster and OPL3 in pure DOS using modern PCI-based (onboard and add-in card) sound cards."

 

I have a USB stick set aside to test newer machines for SBEMU compatibility.

 

 

Good luck!

[zzip]

Looks cool,  but I'd want something stronger than a 386SX,  That doesn't even meet Win95 minimum requirements, yet they show it running Win95.  I'm sure that's a miserable experience 😕

 

If they ever get to a 486 version, I'd think about it.

[Arnuphis]

If they ever to a 486 DX2-66 version with decent graphics/soundblaster and a 4:3 640x480 screen I will buy a dozen!

[bigfriendly]

I remember in the early 90s probably 91 or 92 the guy who worked at Electronics Boutique at the mall had gotten a new 486 that ran at 33Mhz. He invited several of us over to his house to play Wing Commander when he first installed it on his new computer. He also let us play The Red Baron and that was a really cool game too.

[AtariPhreak]

I would have ordered it today if it had a serial port. If it can do modem via dos, it aint for me. otherwise looks like a dream come true.

[Forrest]

It appears there is an adapter that gives a serial port Link No word on price/availability

[ianhollis51]

Hi folks.

 

[Forrest]

Looks good. How do you like it. How’s the mouse keys work?

[+OLD CS1]

How is Windows 95 licensed?  What release of Windows 95 is it?

[Gamemoose]

My question: how long does it take for Windows 95 to load on that thing?

 

I'd rather run DOS or Windows 3.1 programs on there. 

[edweird13]

Ran 95 on my DX50

anything less  no way

[ianhollis51]

Actually the Microsoft minimum specs for running Windows 95 are:

- 386 DX processor

- 4GB RAM

- 50-55MB IDE HDD

- 5.25” FDD

 

The 386 SX has internal 32-bit architecture, but only has 16-bit BUS which slowed response. I think the SOC nature of this machine and CF Card in IDE mode overcomes poor response to a larger extent than an original configuration would have exhibited. That said, you could do as I intend and backup the included card and then add another formatted with DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 and get snappier performance. 

[ianhollis51]

Ver shows Win 95 as version 4.00.1111 - so I guess the first release.

Power on time to DOS 7.10 is 2-3 secs, depending on your configuration.

Win 95 takes a further 10-12 secs from DOS, again, depending on your system configuration.

Operating system can be what you want because the “hard drive” is a Compact Flash Card (CF card) which uses IDE pin outs. If you buy a CF card and reader you can burn your own format. CF cards should be 2GB or less for Win 95, less for earlier DOS versions.

Ive seen a Pocket 386 with same specs but MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 for around $210 US ($335 Aud). Here in Australia E-Bay is selling original 386 machines for $500-$1,500 Aud.
 

At these prices the Pocket 386 represents good value, to me.
 

I found my old PS/2 bus mouse (Microsoft roller ball), cleaned it up and it works very well.

I also bought a PS/2 cable keyboard and laser mouse and these work fine - better than the built in items.

 

One niggle is that by activating the bus mouse in BIOS Win 95 halts with a “Mouse not found…” error if you leave it off when trying to use it in portable mode. 
 

Also my VGA LCD monitor doesn’t display a good picture. The Poecket 386 screen is OK, but external VGA on one screen is poor. I’ll have to try some more screens and other cables.

 

I'm limiting mods to the OS and CF card at present while I wait for delivery of a couple of 2GB CF cards & a reader.
 

And, it’s surprising how much I’ve forgotten about DOS and Windows 2, 3, 95 and 98. I found some good magazines on Archive Org and I’m brushing up.

 

Finally, the Pocket 386 (P386 ?) sits nicely with my mini retro replica set of Recreated ZX Spectrum (average), The C64 Mini (nice!), A500 Mini (nicer!) and Atari 400 Mini (nice) and Raspberry Pi replica cases.

 

Would I buy another. Most assuredly. However, I did some research on the Book 8088 and Hand 386 first. LGR reviewed both on his YouTube Channel and the Pocket 386 seems to be his Wishlist for combining the Hand 386 hardware with the Book 8088 format. 

As an aside, I don’t know LGR, but follow his reviews and believe him to be very honest about what he’s testing. Subscribe if you like his channel.

 

cheers for now, Ian

[Forrest]

Thanks for the informative review.

 

Can you post a picture of using your monitor on an external VGA monitor? I’ve seen a negative comment about picture on an external VGA monitor on the Book8088.

[ianhollis51]

Actually, it might be my eyesight. I'm 72 with diabetes and my eyes are beginning to have some issues with refocusing. I got closer to the monitor and for 640 x 480 VGA on a widescreen LCD monitor, it looks pretty ok - close up.

 

Anyway, here are the pictures. If my memory serves me correctly, I think the external monitor colours are more accurate. The internal screen colours seem a bit too dull and muted.

 

Here in Western Australia in Autumn, the internal screen has issues with brightness when used outside on a sunny day. The viewing angle is quite limited and as the screen is a bit dark, bright sunlight doesn't help. Inside, under soft light, it's quite acceptable to me. I've seen $2000 laptops with much worse issues back in the 90s.

 

 

[+OLD CS1]

On 4/26/2024 at 1:24 AM, ianhollis51 said:

Ver shows Win 95 as version 4.00.1111 - so I guess the first release.

That is 95b, OSR2, so it should have the USB supplement to support (minimal) USB devices.

[ianhollis51]

Yes. The Pocket 386 has a single USB port that can be used as a drive only. According to the manual it’s a drive only port. I tried to use a USB keyboard and a USB mouse, combo wire & wireless, but the machine hangs the boot until the items are removed. 
 

I cloned the CF card immediately I got the Pocket 386 and am reacquainting myself with DOS 7.10/ Windows 95. I’d forgotten how much trouble PCs were to configure back in the day. We’re quite spoiled these days. The clone was from 2GB CF card to 16 GB USB thumb drive and on to another 2GB CF card which just arrived. Works great.

 

One thing I’m having trouble with is getting a useable DOS 6.22 formatted CF card via Windows 10. Even posts from last year are causing problems as commands in VirtualBox have been deprecated and my knowledge is limited. A 2024 Windows 10 Pro VM solution would be great. I’m looking into DOSbox/DOSBox-X as possible solutions, but I’m old (great excuse) and too much new stuff hurts my brain  

 

So, I’ll keep chipping away at it until I crack it. Maybe installing XP or Windows 7/8 on my old Compaq may help. I think it even has a floppy drive. I’ll have to haul it out of storage and see what happens. 
 

Cheers, Ian

[christo930]

On 4/3/2024 at 5:12 PM, Forrest said:

There’s a new Pocket 386 computer at Aliexpress available for $218.40 that looks really interesting for retrocomputing AliExpress
 

Form factor is similar to the Book 8088 computer and specs similar to the Book 386 handheld, both released last year by AliExpress

 

The Pocket 386 specs:

386 SX (40 MHz) embedded Ali M6117 CPU

8 MB DRAM

VGA card

Display switches between 640x480 and 800x480

CF Card (IDE) storage

USB controller

OPL3 (Yamaha YMF262-M) sound card

Built-in mouse

Lithium battery

 

I have not seen any reviews online yet
 

 

Given just how bad the 8088/8086 versions were, I'm not expecting anything good.

[Forrest]

The external monitor shots show an excellent picture, in my opinion. Any screen blurring is likely due to the monitor not running at its native screen resolution. FYI, there’s a massive performance benefit by sticking with PS/2 keyboard and mouse on a 386 system.

[Forrest]

Saw a very thorough review of the Pocket 386 on Youtube

 

The reviewer mentions several improvements found on the Pocket 386, compared to the Book 8088 from last year. Most notably, the normal/widescreen aspect ratio switch and the improved video quality both on the built-in monitor and on an external monitor. Biggest negative was the rudimentary OPL sound in Windows games. Soundblaster audio would be an improvement. PicoGUS might be the solution, but testing would be needed as the PicoGUS had some issues with the Book 8088 from what I’ve read on the PicoGUS GitHub page.

[AtariPhreak]

I ordered mine after chatting with the admin - yes, the serial port has a little dongle that you plug into it - one of those exposing a 9 pin serial port… I wanted one of these as I wanted pure 286/386/486 as there are lots of software that are effected by the “pentium bug” on machines faster than a p90. I believe there is a patch/fix for this, but like mentioned I kinda wanted to be in true DOS mode…. I have a SFF computer that I converted over to flash storage, installed dos 6.22 all ofmy BBS software archives, phreaking program archives, etc and it works a treat - but the power supply is ancient. plus this thing was so cheap it was just a no brainer. 

 

I believe it is arriving tomorrow. I most assuredly will provide a good, bbs centric review once I’ve put it through its paces.. 

[AtariPhreak]

On 4/26/2024 at 12:24 AM, ianhollis51 said:

Ver shows Win 95 as version 4.00.1111 - so I guess the first release.

Power on time to DOS 7.10 is 2-3 secs, depending on your configuration.

Win 95 takes a further 10-12 secs from DOS, again, depending on your system configuration.

Operating system can be what you want because the “hard drive” is a Compact Flash Card (CF card) which uses IDE pin outs. If you buy a CF card and reader you can burn your own format. CF cards should be 2GB or less for Win 95, less for earlier DOS versions.

Ive seen a Pocket 386 with same specs but MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 for around $210 US ($335 Aud). Here in Australia E-Bay is selling original 386 machines for $500-$1,500 Aud.
 

At these prices the Pocket 386 represents good value, to me.
 

I found my old PS/2 bus mouse (Microsoft roller ball), cleaned it up and it works very well.

I also bought a PS/2 cable keyboard and laser mouse and these work fine - better than the built in items.

 

One niggle is that by activating the bus mouse in BIOS Win 95 halts with a “Mouse not found…” error if you leave it off when trying to use it in portable mode. 
 

Also my VGA LCD monitor doesn’t display a good picture. The Poecket 386 screen is OK, but external VGA on one screen is poor. I’ll have to try some more screens and other cables.

 

I'm limiting mods to the OS and CF card at present while I wait for delivery of a couple of 2GB CF cards & a reader.
 

And, it’s surprising how much I’ve forgotten about DOS and Windows 2, 3, 95 and 98. I found some good magazines on Archive Org and I’m brushing up.

 

Finally, the Pocket 386 (P386 ?) sits nicely with my mini retro replica set of Recreated ZX Spectrum (average), The C64 Mini (nice!), A500 Mini (nicer!) and Atari 400 Mini (nice) and Raspberry Pi replica cases.

 

Would I buy another. Most assuredly. However, I did some research on the Book 8088 and Hand 386 first. LGR reviewed both on his YouTube Channel and the Pocket 386 seems to be his Wishlist for combining the Hand 386 hardware with the Book 8088 format. 

As an aside, I don’t know LGR, but follow his reviews and believe him to be very honest about what he’s testing. Subscribe if you like his channel.

 

cheers for now, Ian

I watched the video as I had not seen the “386book” and my search comes up empty.. Was the “tablet” version discontinued? depending on how much I like the 386 thingy i just ordered I might be up for the smaller form fact as well as its basically just going to be slaved to K/V/M. anyway… 

[Forrest]

The Hand 386 was introduced last year. You can watch the LGR’s video above. The Hand 386 has tiny keys, that you need to press with a pen or pencil. I believe the external video quality is not good on the Hand 386, and I don’t think it’s sold anymore.