The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

A weekly show about the trends in the electronic industry.

You are here: Home / Guest Appearance / #247 – An Interview with Voja Antonic – Gerontogenous Galaksija Genesis

#247 – An Interview with Voja Antonic – Gerontogenous Galaksija Genesis

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

ChrisAndVoya

Welcome, Voja Antonic!

  • Chris had the opportunity to interview Voja while in Belgrade for work.
  • Voja is the inventor of the Galaksija computer, which was the first (legally available) computer in Yugoslavia in 1984. It was based on the Z80 processor.
  • There is also a more in depth discussion of the Galaksija in Serbian that can be translated with Google Translate.
  • It was illegal to import other computers that were available at the time because of the cost of the finished goods.
  • Over 8,000 DIY builders wrote in to the magazine published by Dejan Ristanovic (computers in your home) to mention the article inspired them.
  • The cost of components was 230 Deutschmarks, which this site coverts at 2.871 / 1$. That means it cost roughly $80 in 1984 which would cost roughly $185 in today’s dollars (if this is wrong, please correct in the comments)
  • They used to broadcast games over the radio station, which people could record onto tapes and then play on their computers.
  • Voja will be demoing and running a workshop based around his DIY Single-chip 2D Retro Game Console at Choas Communication Congress (CCC) this year. Be sure to download and check out the (assembler) source code!
    [tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbTwWFwbsE4[/tube]
  • In the late 90s, Voja wrote in about the Engineer’s Assistant, a multitool that could do logic and protocol analysis. This became Microchip’s AN689 but was later pulled because of sanctions against Yugoslavia at the time.
  • Voja also wrote books such as The Guide To Critical Thinking and Patents That Won’t Change The World (Wayback Machine version).
  • He also talked about the Vampire Detector (also only available on the Wayback Machine), a machine with switched mirrors that allowed you to see if someone in a crowd is a vampire. This was a send up of the patent system.
  • Chris didn’t know about Voja’s site until after the interview, unfortunately. Check out this other awesome project with an OCR system for Bingo Balls.

Voja was a wonderful guest and I’m so glad we got to meet in person! Many thanks to my co-workers at Supplyframe for introducing me while I was in Belgrade.

 

Comments

  2. Just to be precise on ‘you couldn’t legally buy [home] computers in former Yugoslavia’ – actually, you could buy them if you were lucky to find them in special stores that sold stuff on behalf of private citizens – these were state-owned stores where you could bring your (second-hand) stuff and they would display it and if they sell it you would get money. But these were rare even in Belgrade – defnitely no such stores existed in smaller cities and towns.

    Also, there was not a ‘ban on importing computers’ in former Yugoslavia – it was a by-product of a (stupid) government policy of trying to stop the drain of foreign currency. The customs law prevented a legal import of any goods that cost more than 100 DM (German marks, about 50 Euros in todays money). Since the cheapest computer at the time cost more then 100 DM, you couldn’t legally import a computer.

  3. As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s (Sarajevo). I loved the magazines Voja mentioned Svet Kompjutera and a few others, also Sam Svoj Majstor was great. That whole DIY scene is what inspired me to become a software engineer. It was amazing and full of brilliant people like Voja.

    Galaksija the computer may sound primitive, but one also has to realize that for the time period it was actually pretty good. I personally purchased a smuggled ZX Spectrum 48k, which was my first computer.

    The recent global rebirth of the maker movement is starting to feel very similar to how those years were in ex-Yugoslavia.

  4. Thank you, I really enjoyed this episode. Content is always much more important than sound quality. Side note, software distribution by radio was done in many places in the 80’s, Britain, Sweden, Netherlands at least but probably in many more countries.