…I’ve just been busy working on some really cool paleotechnology projects. Dr. Rosen came across an article about a microprocessor course built around students creating their own 8086-based computer. He asked me what I thought about it — and my first thought was “Can I sign up, even though I’m not an undergrad?”
Since then, I’ve been working on coming up with a working computer design that EET students could have a chance of building in one ten-week term. (Drexel is on the quarter system.) Since nearly all modern PCs are based on x86 architecture, Dr. Rosen suggested that, like the course described in the article, we design the course around an 8086 computer. Here is the design. (Caveat lector: I haven’t completely built this one — let alone debugged the design. It almost certainly has multiple bugs. Consider it pre-alpha.)
Upon further reflection, Dr. Rosen pointed out that this design (rather complex, not to mention costing perhaps $250 in parts) was probably too ambitious for a one-term undergrad class. He asked what I thought we could do to simplify the design. I pared it down, removing the RS232 subsection and making a few other minor changes — but it became apparent to me that an 8088-based design would be significantly simpler and less expensive. Continuing this line of reasoning, I figured that a Z80-based design would be simpler still. (The Z80-based Timex-Sinclair 1000, after all, uses a total of only four ICs.)
Here is the Z80-based design. (Again, this has not yet been completely built, let alone debugged. Should we go with this design and build it, I will post complete plans here.)
