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Z80 Computer

2022 (paused due to limited free time)

GitLab Project

The goal of this project is to design a single-board 8-bit computer from the ground up, based on off-the-shelf components. I originally started this project as a way to learn computer architecture in a more practical and hands-on way, and to teach myself PCB prototyping and design.

Hand-wired prototypes
Hand-wired prototype boards: reference design (left) and later design with RAM (right)

Project Goals

  1. Single-board construction
    • The computer is indended to be a single-board computer design, with optional expansion capability for future development.
  2. Full-Featured
    • I plan to implement most (if not all) of the currently-available peripheral chips made by Zilog for use with the the Z80.
    • Planned Zilog features:
      • Parallel I/O controller (PIO)
      • Counter/Timer module (CTC)
      • Serial I/O controller (SIO/2)
      • "Killer I/O" (includes PIO, CTC, SIO)
    • Some non-Zilog features I'm working on including:
      • Floppy drive controller (WD37C65)
      • LCD port (HD44780-compatible)
      • VGA character-based graphics (FPGA or CPLD)