The Spikeputor, while technically unfinished, has exceeded my initial expectations.

It has performed as a completely functional computer, running at a maximum speed of about 3 kHz, driving text and graphical output, performing relatively complex calculations (Mandelbrot set rendering, digits of pi calculation), and looking great while doing it all!

However, as expected at the outset, the connections within and between the protoboards are getting flakier and flakier. I was spending more and more time wiggling wires and debugging to get the thing up and running, and less time writing Spikeputor code and planning to complete the project with hand-made "display" memory. Rather than spending a lot of time and effort (>3,000 transistors) on that, I've decided to end this prototype project and focus future efforts on a more permanent solution. The Spikeputor Mark ][ will be mostly the same design, with a few modifications to make it even more robust, and rendered on printed circuit boards. I'll post a link to the new project here once I start it up.

In the meantime, thanks so much for following along or taking a peek at what has been an incredibly rewarding project. Spikeputor Mark I out!