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The W-2K

A project log for W-32 Z80 computer

I'm not going to give up this time, I promise!

buzz-pendarvisBuzz Pendarvis 07/24/2020 at 21:160 Comments

All of the following was done months ago, but i forgot to upload anything on it.

Recently I created a version of the breadboard computer i made on a perfboard. Because of the amount of RAM, I decided to name it the W-2K. Right now, the only form of IO that it has is a board with decode logic for a character LCD, though i planned for a PIO on the same board to drive a keyboard. I dont really like using character LCDs as they have microcontrollers on them, but in this case it was the easiest way to just get something working. Below are a few videos of different tests i performed as i was developing the machine.

As for the text LCD, i never got a video because the whole process was really just pressing the reset button and seeing the text on a screen, so all I have is this very very low resolution image:

(At the bottom you can see where the PIO would have gone)

Since the creation of this computer, I've made a lot of progress with the W-32 itself. I ordered, received, and assembled one main board (having  just RAM, ROM, the clock and the CPU), though I found a few problems and have ordered a revised version. With the new CPU boards, I've also ordered a keyboard interface board that uses a PIO to read from a keyboard matrix i ripped out of a broken TI-99/4A. Though that board is untested, I'm hoping it will work. 

Here is an image of the completely assembled (not working) W-32 board without the clock or ROM put in their sockets:

That's all for now. I'll be getting my new boards some time around Wednesday of next week, so expect another update in a week or so.

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