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Developer Creates DIY 8-Bit CPU

Posted by Soulskill on from the now-that's-impressive dept.

MaizeMan writes "Not for the easily distracted: a Belmont software developer's hand-built CPU was featured in Wired recently. Starting with a $50 wire wrap board, Steve Chamberlin built his CPU with 1253 pieces of wire, each wire wrapped by hand at both ends. Chamberlin salvaged parts from '70s and '80s era computers, and the final result is an 8-bit processor with keyboard input, a USB connection, and VGA graphical output. More details are available on the developer's blog."

11 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. I can do 2^1 better by physicsphairy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I own a two-bit computer. My dad gave it to me. I know it is two bits because before he gave it to me he would often remark "I hate this ******* two bit computer."

    (Yes, it is also reproductive.)

    --
    When things get complex, multiply by the complex conjugate.
  2. Re:But does it run Vista? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why does this question keep coming up? Of course it does. It's turing-complete, so it's just a matter of writing the software. Not for the impatient users, obviously.

  3. Re:A lenient definition of "make" by grolschie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...Even if he was studly enough to build it from vacuum tubes, he probably wouldn't be winding his own filaments.

    Uh, maybe not. :-)

  4. Correct! Six thousand cores by Dachannien · · Score: 5, Funny

    built his CPU with 1253 pieces of wire

    Farnsworth: Let me show you around. That's my lab table, and this is my work stool, and over there is my intergalactic spaceship. And here is where I keep assorted lengths of wire.
    Fry: Whoa! A real live space ship!
    Farnsworth: I designed it myself. Let me show you some of the different lengths of wire I used.

  5. That's how we used to make all hobby computers by thomasdz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, baby...
    Back before the days of the 4004, 8008, and 8080, when we built computers, we REALLY built computers.
    None of this: take a pre-built-motherboard, add a pre-built-power-supply, add a pre-built graphics card...

    oblig: get off my lawn

    --
    Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
    1. Re:That's how we used to make all hobby computers by hughbar · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Exactly, I used to burn little holes in my shirts with the ferric chloride http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron(III)_chloride that we were using to etch circuit boards (they were masked with wax or aluminium paint). My mother was not pleased with this.

      Then, as a private project, I built a half adder with washing machine relays but it never worked properly because of power supply problems (which was the 12v transformer from my train set).

      As parent already said (but they're so PESKY and disrespectful): Hey you kids, GET OFF MY LAWN

      --
      On y va, qui mal y pense!
  6. Re:But does it run Vista? by Vanders · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to the fine article it has a 24bit address bus and an 8bit data bus, but presents everything via. a 16bit ISA. It's a bit like a 8088.

    Of course the ISA is probably nothing like an x86, so it still wouldn't run [MS|PC|DR|Free]-DOS anyway. Apparently it does have a C compiler, so perhaps you could port Bochs or Qemu to it and then run DOS on that. Emulated. On a TTL CPU running at 2Mhz (2Mhz slower than the original IBM PC). Maybe not then.

    --
    Syllable : It's an Operating System
  7. Watchout Intel by mgblst · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is about time that Intel has some competition.

  8. Er... WTF? by brunes69 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To have fun is not a good enough reason to do something?

    I guess you would be happier if he was just another fat slob who "has fun" by watching American Idol?

    This is quite possibly the most asinine comment I have seen on Slashdot in a long time.

  9. Done before... in 16-bits by Elledan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Magic-1, a 16-bit TTL-based, wire-wrap PCB computer.

    Slashdot posted an article on Magic-1 when it was completed years ago as well.

    --
    Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
  10. Fantastic! by adosch · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There needs to be more Steve Chamberlin's in the world. Personal (or enterprise, for that matter) computing hardware has hit a mass exploitation mark; computers today have such an abundance of resources, storage and processing power, any developer I've had to work with in the last half of decade sees the computer, much like Steve mentioned in TFA, as "...like black boxes... and understand what they do, but not how they do it." which leads to blatant disregard for anything, really sloppy ways of coding and development, zero ideology or best practice on how to truly harness and control resources efficiently. I don't expect anyone to have a physics background or be some die-hard electrical engineer, but there's definitely something to be said for growing up and working with early computer models where you had to give two shakes about that stuff. This is very cool, indeed.