Makers – Page 5 – Geronimo/370

IoT : Internet of Things – Raspberry Pi Zero W

Posted on2017-10-25

Raspberry Pi Zero W Wow… I say again: wow… I keep getting amazed by the sheer size of credit-card sized computers. The newest one (that I know of) is the Raspberry Pi Zero W. See picture on there right. For you to be able to see the size I made… Read the rest

IoT : Internet of Things – MQTT and Node-RED

Posted on2017-10-23

MQTT and Node-RED Everyone with at least a minor interest in technical stuff has heard of IoT, the Internet of Things. In this IoT network it’s all about connectivity, about a network of physical devices, vehicles, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable… Read the rest

8 bit computer, progress on the Control Unit

Posted on2017-10-18

8 bit computer, progress on the Control Unit Below some pictures of the progress of the construction of the Control Unit of my 8 bit computer. Two pictures, one of the front and one of the back. I’m not satisfied with the layout, and I think I am going to… Read the rest

8 bit computer, solution for the microcode

Posted on2017-10-09

8 bit computer, solution for the microcode As I mentioned in this post, I was looking for a solution to program a couple of EEPROMs that are going to hold the microcode for my 8 bit computer. Using an Arduino Nano, I created a solution that also uses a python… Read the rest

8 bit computer, building up the Control Unit

Posted on2017-09-30

8 bit computer, building up the Control Unit Here’s the start of the building of my Control Unit:… Read the rest

8 bit computer, storing the microcode, solution

Posted on2017-09-30

8 bit computer, storing the microcode, solution I have a solution for the micro code predicament mentioned before. I’m using an 8KB EEPROM memory chip (the AT28C64). These memory chips will be divided into four segments, each holding pieces of microcode. Decoding instructions This microcode will be addressed as follows:… Read the rest

New version of MINDSTORMS

Posted on2017-09-26

New version of MINDSTORMS There is a new version of MINDSTORMS out, version 1.3. It gives us the possibility to edit MyBlocks that we’ve been building before, when for example, we want to add a parameter, change the icon, things like that. Check it out here! … Read the rest

8 bit computer, microcode challenges

Posted on2017-09-24

8 bit computer, microcode challenges My 8 bit instructions can have up to 8 microcode steps each; I defined up to 24 control signals (thus needing 3 bytes per step); So in the Arduino Nano I’m using, I have to define them as uint32_t variables (which are 4 bytes long).… Read the rest

8 bit computer, output module, problem solved

Posted on2017-09-24

8 bit computer, output module, problem solved Remember that annoying problem I spoke of? I solved it! It appears I had soldered two connections together by accident. Almost invisible, but still two outputs were connected, resulting in double displays on the two leftmost 7-segment displays. Fortunately I was able to… Read the rest

8 bit computer, instructions and microcode

Posted on2017-09-232019-05-12

When designing and building your own computer, you have to design and build your own instruction set as well. So that’s one of the things I’m doing right now. One of the functions of the Control Unit in the computer is to decode the instructions and have all the chips… Read the rest

8 bit computer, buildup status

Posted on2017-09-21

8 bit computer, buildup status The status so far in pictures: … Read the rest

8 bit computer, output module, annoying problem

Posted on2017-09-17

8 bit computer, output module, annoying problem As you can see in the picture on the right, the output displays two little ‘-‘ signs – and sometimes even more segments – in a dim, lightly flickering way, to the left of the actual output digits. Funny thing is this seems… Read the rest

8 bit computer, Output Module complete

Posted on2017-09-16

8 bit computer, Output Module complete Today I finished building and testing the Output Module for my 8 bit computer. See video and picture below. … Read the rest

8 bit computer, test the Output Module

Posted on2017-09-09

8 bit computer, test the Output Module Today I hooked up my Output module – still on breadboard – to the signals from the PCB modules. As you can see in the video below, it works so far. At first, the clock pulse was very messy, but adding a 100nF… Read the rest

Building up my workbench

Posted on2017-09-02

Building up my workbench Today I finished building up a rack for my equipment on and above my workbench. First I sawed all pieces to measure, I felt like an IKEA factory… I used 12 mm meranti plywood, and 44 x 44mm legs. The shelves will rest on 40mm high… Read the rest