Today, we have a total of eight flashing LEDs. I was able to plug the Z80 in, set up the address bus, and free run the CPU.

Amazon order came in, and I think I’ve got everything I need to make something interesting happen. Here’s what I’m working with:

My shipment from Mouser came in, and my desk is now covered in ICs, resistors, LEDs, and jumpers.

Ciarcia’s book and other sources online start the building process off with the clock, so I did the same. This was my first time working with ICs, and the clock seemed like a simple and rewarding place to start. Flashing LEDs will can make anyone feel like they’ve made something cool.

I picked up a bigger breadboard at Fry’s, along with a few logic chips to play around with while waiting for my shipment from Mouser to come in. When I got home and started setting things up, I realized that the only way to get 5V power to my breadboard was through jumpers from my Arduino’s 5V and Gnd pins, which isn’t going to work if this project is going anywhere. It was late and I was impatient, so I decided to improvise. I keep a giant bag of old phone chargers and USB cables stashed away just in case, and I rememebered that USB wall chargers put out 5V, even up to 2A sometimes. I said fuck it and got to work.

I make software. I like my job very much. I get paid to sit at home and code all day, which is exactly what I would be doing if I didn’t have a job.

Hardware is just cooler though. Hardware hacks will always be cooler. Nothing beats the feeling of making something you can see with your eyes and use with your hands. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to take on a project where I get to try something completely new. I don’t really know anything about the hardware behind computers, so I’m going to make one. This project will be serving as an exploratory experience of sorts; I’ll try to keep to reading data sheets and probing around with meters instead of following any guides and tutorials too closely. I will surely be making a lot of mistakes along the way, so I wouldn’t recommend copying my steps too closely either, but feel free to follow along.