Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Astounded at the low cost of equipment, I shall embark upon the more hardcore "DIY" computer trail... by building my own computer from individual chips and parts. What you say? The ever so nice DV164101 Evaluation Kit (PICkit), including an 8 pin PIC12F675 and all the stuff needed for a C coding environment will be used for the system. It's about $40, and will be all coded from scratch. An LED will be added with the intent upon flashing if booting is a success. If things go well, I'll be creating my very own microcomputer, simply for geeky bragging rights. I may also look into using the Zilog Z8 Encore! development kit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdy284 Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 but thats pretty cool man, what do you actually plan on using this thing for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Hey! I don't have tape on my horn-rims! Right now it's mostly going to be for the learning experience. Eventually I may make a little something to display messages on an LED screen, or other stuff... or even a portable WiFi network finder using a simple speaker device. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardnrg Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 hardware programming is a good thing to learn about Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 Aye, and it can be powerful. Then again, I don't look forward to game programming on a Playstation 2 XD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verran Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 You want some good clean (nerdy) fun? Try using Mentor Graphics to design a 4-bit ALU with memory at the transistor level. THEN, use it to literally route each metal layer on the PCB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 20, 2007 Posted March 20, 2007 Thaaaat's a bit above my head . Anyway, I'll be ordering the kit as soon as I get paid at around the end of March, unless I can get an advance, or my significant other loans me some cash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 29, 2007 Posted March 29, 2007 Update: Due to financial issues with my car, the project is going to be on hold untill I can leech some money off of my father, who codes PIC chips in his spare time, for the kit. Gotta love the real world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdaddy25fb Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 I've got a Zilog Z8. Made a timer with it in my spare time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamikaze_Badger Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 Did you just buy a chip and interface, or did you get a development kit? Also, did you feel very limited by it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdaddy25fb Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 Full Dev kit. No not very. It wasn't that hard to work with and there is a lot of support out there for it since a ton of perhipeals use similar IC's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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