Introduction

If you are interested in how one might build a computer from scratch using chips and solder, this website is for you.

The roadside attraction of this site is the Z-80 Homebrew Computer. This was a project that I started in 1980. I moved many, many times between 1983 and 1996, and the project often was shut up in a trunk. In some cases I lost (or gave away) most of my equipment and parts. I finally got the full homebrew computer working twelve years later on several breadboards, and soldered it all up in 1993. It took me another ten years to document the system. It has been a fun ride.

The first microcontroller I became fascinated with was the 8048 (and 8748). This site has a lot of info on the 8048, including an 8048 Development System. Look forward to more documentation on this fabulous microcontroller.

Focus on the wire. Make the solder joints shiny: not too hot, not too cold. Load the bootstrap with care. Fit the 128 bytes in your head. One loose bit and the whole thing spouts nonsense. Glowing lights moving in intended patterns will reward your efforts.