This kit emulates the Altair 8080 using an Arduino Due (which is basically a small computer). Time to get the soldering iron out and start building it.
I love getting parcels. Today my Altair Arduino kit arrived in the post.. The Altair was one of the first commercially available computers out there. It was quite primitive however. Instead of boot ROM, you had to enter the boot loader (some 40 or 50 bytes long) into memory using toggle switches on the front panel. Then it could load BASIC or any other program from punched paper tape or an audio cassette.
This kit emulates the Altair 8080 using an Arduino Due (which is basically a small computer). Time to get the soldering iron out and start building it.
For more information check out AltairDuino
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Today I built myself a cross-cut slide for my table saw. This makes cross cutting much easier, more accurate, and safer than using the miter gauge.
Finally! The contractors are here to restore my basement after the flood in June. New gizmo that I built. A dekatron tube controller. A dekatron is a special vacuum tube that can used for counting. The glow on a single electrode can be transferred to the next one by pulsing the voltages on other electrodes. When the glow returns to the starting electrode a pulse is generated which can be used to advance another counter tube. These were used in early computers such as the WITCH. This one uses neon (hence the orange colour). Others use argon or other gases. Argon glows purple. Wanted one of these for years. Finally got a hold of some core memory. This piece comes from Russia. |
AuthorCharles Baetsen holds a Bachelor and a Master's degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Archives
February 2024
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