HalfBurntToast's Stuff

Since I was a teenager, something I've always wanted to do was design and build a computer, chip-by-chip. I was inspired by the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, specifically when Steve Wozniak built a computer, the Apple 1, that started an empire. So, I started learning electronics with the main goal of making my own computer.   Breadboard Shenanigans   In 2018, I finally got around to working with the legendary 6502 CPU and built my first rudimentary computer that barely worked. This version of the computer relied on an Arduino Mega to act as an EEPROM and serial interface. Thus, the entire computer needed to be synchronized to the Arduino to function. Unfortunately, building computers on breadboards is a pretty frustrating task. Breadboards are prone to manufacturing defects that can cause intermittent shorts between components, intermittent connections between the breadboard and components, massive amounts of parasitic capacitance and inductance. All of which are incre...

It's literally been ten years since I've updated this blog. Honestly, I forgot it existed. Since then, I've gone through three college degrees, three jobs, and more projects than I can even remember. I've worked in IT (security, networking, server admin, etc), programming, hardware diagnostics and development. Everything from managing servers, to programming hardware drivers, to developing circuits. I can say now that I've even been paid to design PCBs professionally for specialty analog sensors. But, thanks to 2020, I've had more time on my hands to meddle in the tech world on my own. Over just this past year, I've designed multiple homebrew computers from breadboarding to PCB fabrication. I've written, mostly in assembly langauge, everything from hardware drivers, to a scripting language, to simple games for these computers. I've hacked the driver board for a standard digital typewriter and turned it into a teletype. I reverse engineered a TTY tele...