Since we're using an ATX power supply for this computer, there is a little magic that needs to happen before it becomes a proper power supply. Besides the usual orange, red, yellow and black wires attached to a 20-pin connector, there are also a few...
Compared to the 8080, the Z80, the 6809, 6502, and all the other 8-bit microprocessors used in boxxen of yore, the CPU I’m using for this project - the Motorola 68000 is both extremely powerful and extraordinarily complex. The power comes from a huge...
Although it might make sense to start this project by building a CPU module first, I decided it would make more sense to start with the memory for this system. This serves two purposes: as an explanation of how the 68000's memory-mapped I/O works, and...
Quick story. I brought this computer to the Vintage Computer Festival 9.1 last year to show Bil, Dave, and all the other cool people at the event. At the time, I was freerunning the processor, watching the blinkenlight count up. Great stuff, and proof...
I'm in the middle of a few free days right now, and I figured it's time to take a look at this project. Things aren't good. Let's go over what's wrong with it:It's not doneIt's not even close to being doneThe 'not being done' is mostly a result of using...
I'm exploring the STM32 F3 for this project:→InsertImageLinux Setup→InsertImage- Toolchain: GNU Tools for ARM→InsertImage- Bare metal template→InsertImage- OpenOCD Git repo: git://git.code.sf.net/p/openocd/code→InsertImageTexane Repo:→InsertImage-...
Project deadline is 17 days away.→InsertImageThe ElecFreaks PN532 based NFC reader arrived today. Had I realized that all their software samples are derived from the Adafruit board I would have ordered that one to support the open source effort (sorry...
Days until deadline: 16→InsertImageI still don't have the correct tag in hand yet (ntag203). But today I was able to write an NDEF formatted message to the MiFare Classic tag that came witdh the NFC reader. This was all thanks to the Seeed Studio PN532...
Days until deadline: 13→InsertImageI have had a few productive nights of coding and now have a working proof of concept. After arriving home from holiday at in-laws house I was happy to see the NTAG203 samples I had ordered had arrived while I was gone....
I'm happy to report that I have finished the hardware prototype and have the first full version of the firmware done.→InsertImageThat turns out to be a lot of wires. From left to right is the PN532 NFC reader, Arduino, and breadboard. On the breadboard...
Mechanical assembly always takes longer than I think it will. I figured one evening would be all it takes to build this thing, but by the time I figured out the size of the acrylic, cut a wood base for it, tested the layout of the components, then drilled...
→InsertImageSo here's the deal. One of my prejudices against Arduino is that it's an expensive board to leave with a project. But this is kind of a one-time thing so I was happy to find the Seeed Studio protoype shield for like $7.95 at the local Radio...
→InsertImageHere's the test. The LEDs are waaaaay too bright. I sanded the clear domes on them down which helped a bit. This LCD display doesn't ahve the best visibility, but it looks better in person than shown above.→InsertImageThis is the final picture...
Simultaneously designing top-down and bottom-up until your designs meet in the middle to produce a functional result. →InsertImageThat sounds like a horrible idea.→InsertImageFor this project, this was the only design strategy that made sense,...
Prior to high school graduation, Ian Hillier and I were leaders of the robotics club at school -- we even won the 2007 Skills Canada Robotics competition for a soccer playing bot! When we weren't building robots, we built some electric scooters for...