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:

Components from Mouser:

• 6 MHz CMOS Z80 CPU
• 64K (8k x 8) Static RAM
• 2 MHz Crystal oscillator
• A few types of 74HCXX series logic ICs
• 8 and 4 position DIP switch blocks

And some extra goods from Amazon to help with development:

• 3 Breadboards
• 2 Veroboards
• A shitload of 3mm LEDs

I really cheaped out on the breadboards and LEDs, but I’m actually really impressed with the quality. The breadboards were “Elegoo” brand and only about $7.99 for a three pack. That’s less than the single breadboard cost me at Fry’s the other day. I was surprised to see that they came in some really high quality packaging, and the boards themselves were cleaner, whiter, and straighter than an altar boy. Hell, the American-made, $8 breadboard I just bought came in a plastic bag and looks like it’s made out of recycled milk jugs.

The LEDs came in white, blue, green, red, and yellow. The leads are sturdy, the lights are bright, and I’ve yet to have one fail. They even came in a convienient labeled box. I think I paid less than $15 for 750 of them. LEDs at Fry’s were something like 25 for $5.00, which is a total rip.

I had originally considered building the computer on a 160x100mm eurocard board, but I feared that would be much too small for a single-board computer after drawing it out on paper. I saw that Amazon had some larger Veroboard-branded stripboard available through Prime, and I thought that it might be better to try to use that first, then make some eurocard based multi-card computer system later. I’m glad I did, too. a 10”x5” piece of stripboard sounded massive after looking at 160x100mm eurocards all night, but I was surprised to see how small even 10”x5” looks in person. You can see the comparison in the picture below, with my small wireless mouse included for reference as well. There’s no way in hell I could fit everything on a single eurocard.

For now though, I’ll be building everything on breadboards while I design and experiment. I had no trouble attaching the new Elegoo breadboards to my other one. The four boards should give me plenty of room to work with while I’m getting started.

Now that I can fit more than just a clock circuit on the board, I should be able to plug in the Z80 and get to work.