Building an 8-Bit Computer From Scratch

Kyle Hovey is building his own 8-bit Transistor-Tansistor Logic (TTL) computer from scratch.

I set out to learn as much as I could about how to build an 8-bit computer and soon found that looking back to the invention of the computer was the way to go. I emailed the creator of the Magic-1 computer to get some advice on where to start. He pointed me to a textbook from the late ’70s: Digital Computer Electronics by Albert Malvino. Without that book this entire project would not have been possible. If you are looking to build your own 8-bit computer I highly recommend purchasing this book. It starts at the bare logic level and moves on up to registers, then counters, then the actual structure and operation of a simple-as-possible computer. My computer that I’m building right now is based on the SAP-1 architecture with some modifications that add needed functionality.

Sounds like he wants to build a steampunky case with Numitron tubes for the display. Check out Kyle’s blog 8bitspaghetti to follow along with his project.