Projects involving vintage CPUs

[HellasTechn]

Dear friends.

I have been cleaning my storage room and i found my collection of old CPU's, RAM's and a few other stuff dating back from 1980 to 2000.

I thought that maybe i could somehow use them to make simple circuits. (something like the arduinos). You know like led flashers etc.
I even thought that maybe i can substitute the circuit of the post below with a simple (cpu+clock) circuit.
https://www.electronicspoint.com/threads/help-with-data-switch.259040/#post-1543004

I have no idea about programming and i know that this is a major drawback.

Any thoughts ?

 

[chopnhack]

Dear friends.

I have been cleaning my storage room and i found my collection of old CPU's, RAM's and a few other stuff dating back from 1980 to 2000.

I thought that maybe i could somehow use them to make simple circuits. (something like the arduinos). You know like led flashers etc.
I even thought that maybe i can substitute the circuit of the post below with a simple (cpu+clock) circuit.
https://www.electronicspoint.com/threads/help-with-data-switch.259040/#post-1543004

I have no idea about programming and i know that this is a major drawback.

Any thoughts ?

Recycling is great and although they are all μ-processors, they won't function in the same way arduino's would. Arduino's are setup with on board memory designed to retain/execute code. CPU's from PC's execute code and do have some on die ram, but the majority of its retention is done off-die on separate RAM chips. Arduino's come pre - programmed with interfaceable code, the CPU? (has an instruction set that is far less user friendly).

I would think that you would be more likely to learn some coding using an Arduino or other similar μ-processor than trying to learn ASM and chip specific instruction sets.

 

[HellasTechn]

Still tones of programming is required.

I guess i can make just one project : The cofee mug heater out of a ceramic cpu !

 

[chopnhack]

Still tones of programming is required.

I guess i can make just one project : The cofee mug heater out of a ceramic cpu !

μπραβο φιλαρακο μου! βρικες αξια απο σκουπιδια

 

[davenn]

some years back I got a nice piece of black Perspex around 0.4 x 0.7m
and mounted a collection of old uPC's on it all nicely labelled
Z 80, 6200, 8118, 6802, 286, 386 etc etc
just one of each to produce a nice display of processors through the years

was considering doing one for memory chips too
RAM, ROM and E(E)PROM

Dave

 

[davenn]

μπραβο φιλαρακο μου! βρικες αξια απο σκουπιδια

The google translation may have been a little out but I got the gist of it
hahaha

 

[chopnhack]

Basically its "bravo, my friend, you found value from garbage" Greek is actually one of my languages, parents were from there.

 

[Arouse1973]

μπραβο φιλαρακο μου! βρικες αξια απο σκουπιδια

So will you be smashing plates this Christmas? Ebay do some cheap brooms.
Adam

 

[HellasTechn]

So will you be smashing plates this Christmas? Ebay do some cheap brooms.
Adam

I guess cheap plates are also wanted.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I may have misinterpreted his post.

chopnhack wouldn't say a nasty thing about his worst enemy. Well, maybe he would. But not about you, I'm sure.

 

[HellasTechn]

Ho....

Ok now i see post #2.

Ok now it makes sense to me. My bad. I am sorry chopnhack.

Kris could you please erase post #8
and #9 if it is ok with davenn

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I'm not sure how to handle this. I don't want to delete your post, since others have posted in response to it. I'll ask Ian what to do.

 

[HellasTechn]

Ok i understand.
This whole thing i started because i didnt see that chopnhack was the one who also wrote post #2.
I (the idiot) focuced on the other post....
So sorry.
please if it is ok just delete all my posts except # 1 & 3

 

[davenn]

I have tidied up

no probs mate --- I have been known to misread things on numerous occasions

have an awesome Christmas and New Year

 

[HellasTechn]

Thank you !

Same for you !

P.S. I am still open to ideas concerning the topics title.

 

[davenn]

personally, I wouldn't really work about using them in a circuit, there's just too many other peripheral IC's and other components needed
to get something up and running
I/O controllers, RAM, ROM etc etc

 

[chopnhack]

So will you be smashing plates this Christmas? Ebay do some cheap brooms.
Adam

LOL, no usually that is only done at weddings, but rarely so. I am pretty sure most Greeks consider it to be "γυφτικα" - Gypsy-ish or lower class. Originally it was a sign of someone's great pleasure, so much pleasure they felt they would burst, so they had to break something!

Ho....

Ok now i see post #2.

Ok now it makes sense to me. My bad. I am sorry chopnhack.

Kris could you please erase post #8
and #9 if it is ok with davenn

Sorry to have offended you Hellas, there must be a cultural divide then - I was born and raised here and my Greek education was from lower grade school through middle school. I have visited Greece once and so my vocabulary and perhaps verb tenses are not always correct. My spelling is bad too.. but don't forget I rarely use my second tongue here. Only to speak with γιαγια και παπου! Given that and that my parents and grandparents were "χωριατες" (bad slang for farmers) you must forgive my colloquial use of "φιλαρακο μου". As for "βρικες αξια απο σκουπιδια" in the US, its a good thing to turn "trash into cash" perhaps there is where we diverged. Let's just say opa! and forget it ;-) (my apologies to the Germans and British called out in the video).

As for ideas, if you do come across any more interesting ideas, please post them!

 

[garublador]

some years back I got a nice piece of black Perspex around 0.4 x 0.7m
and mounted a collection of old uPC's on it all nicely labelled
Z 80, 6200, 8118, 6802, 286, 386 etc etc
just one of each to produce a nice display of processors through the years

was considering doing one for memory chips too
RAM, ROM and E(E)PROM

Dave

You could take this in a slightly different direction and make them into resin coasters. I haven't tried it myself, but here's a link to some instructions.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Man-Cave-Resin-Coasters/

 

[HellasTechn]

Sorry to have offended you Hellas, there must be a cultural divide then - I was born and raised here and my Greek education was from lower grade school through middle school. I have visited Greece once and so my vocabulary and perhaps verb tenses are not always correct. My spelling is bad too.. but don't forget I rarely use my second tongue here. Only to speak with γιαγια και παπου! Given that and that my parents and grandparents were "χωριατες" (bad slang for farmers) you must forgive my colloquial use of "φιλαρακο μου". As for "βρικες αξια απο σκουπιδια" in the US, its a good thing to turn "trash into cash" perhaps there is where we diverged. Let's just say opa! and forget it ;-) (my apologies to the Germans and British called out in the video).
As for ideas, if you do come across any more interesting ideas, please post them!

My friend. I read Post #2 and i wrote back post #3 kind of sarcastic.
Here is the thing. I am such a Βλάκας (idiot) that i didnt realise that it was you (same person that wrote #2) who posted #4 and i thought "why is he jumping into the discussion to say such thing" ? Not to mention that i wasn's aware of the "cash from trash" expression.

So please forgive me for takeing it the wrong way.

P.S. we should move our discussion to an other general discussion topic like "Get to meet each other" ! I would like to hear more about you since we are Πατριώτες (no translation needed here i think).

 

[HellasTechn]

collection of old uPC's on it all nicely labelled
Z 80, 6200, 8118, 6802, 286, 386 etc etc

Dave

You have z80. Very nice.

I also have a few zilog's one of them is a 5962 (data sheet says it is not a cpu but an interface).

I am going to list them all when i get some free time to do so.