How one engineer beat the ban on home computers in socialist Yugoslavia

In Lewis Packwood’s book Curious Video Game Machines, Voja Antonić explains how he built a console and published instructions for anyone to make their own

Very few Yugoslavians had access to computers in the early 1980s: they were mostly the preserve of large institutions or companies. Importing home computers like the Commodore 64 was not only expensive, but also legally impossible, thanks to a law that restricted regular citizens from importing individual goods that were worth more than 50 Deutsche Marks (the Commodore 64 cost over 1,000 Deutsche Marks at launch). Even if someone in Yugoslavia could afford the latest home computers, they would have to resort to smuggling.

In 1983, engineer Vojislav “Voja” Antonić was becoming more and more frustrated with the senseless Yugoslavian import laws. “We had a public debate with politicians,” he says. “We tried to convince them that they should allow [more expensive items], because it’s progress.” The efforts of Antonić and others were fruitless, however, and the 50 Deutsche Mark limit remained. But perhaps there was a way around it.