Close

Official 3rd Try! Seems like its working this time.

A project log for Z80 overpowered computer

I am building a computer with a 4MHz Z80, 32KiB EEPROM, 32KiB RAM, IDE interface and UART.

dylan-brophyDylan Brophy 09/11/2016 at 00:570 Comments

When I originally started on this project 2 years ago, I made some fairly simple hardware to make a computer with. Although it didn't end up working, I learned a lot and really began to understand how computers worked on a much deeper level. I also got a Z80, along with some other chips I would use in the future. A year later, I tried again. I made a PCB design in EAGLE and ordered my board from OSH park. Since I was inexperienced in the areas I was exploring, I made mistakes in the underlying foundation that the computer would be built upon, eventually leading me to have to scrap that version. Now, I am trying again. This time I know a LOT more about what I am doing, and have made a computer system in an FPGA which taught me too. This version FINALLY seems to be working. I have made an EEPROM programmer, have a working output port, and will be testing the newly-added 32K RAM today. I have also started making OS2, which so far works in the emulator. It, as of now, can read a file, get user input, and dynamically allocate memory. I am trying to make it compatible with CP/M so I can run programs from it.

Discussions