Galaksija Computer Kit

The Galaksija was a computer designed by Voja Antonic. It was not really a kit, as all the parts of the computer were available off the shelf. However, there were kits sold, and later the computer was also sold complete. The design was first published in a special edition of a Yugoslavian science magazine, Računari u vašoj kući (Computers in your home), published in 1983.

In the 1980s there were restrictions on importing computers in Yugoslavia. Some computers were available, but most people in Yugoslavia could not afford one. Voja Antonic came up with the idea to create a computer when he was reading a book about CPUs and CPU-assisted video generation. He worked on creating a Z80-based computer that used the CPU and software to generate the video image. He knew that this would limit the performance of his design, but it simplified the hardware and was much cheaper than having dedicated video generation hardware.

Through colaboration with a computer programmer and journalist who was tasked with producing a special edition of the Galaksija magazine, focused on home computers, Voja was able to publish his design. The name of the magazine would also become the name of the computer. In the end, around 8000 people ordered the build-it kits from Antonic, but many also bought the parts themselves to build the computer at home.