Junk Box Arduino

science fiction tv as the vision sensor for alien robots and talking cars.) A classic project made easier with ports.

A Little Binary With That

Further - Binary Numbers on Display How to change the sketch to display any binary number to the bar graph display, and A brief history lesson about the Imsai/Altair console

Chapter 5: Emitter, Base, and Collector

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it.

A Little More Ohm's Law with a side of Kirchoff. Resistor network theory.

A Little Transistor Theory How transistors work (in broad terms), what PNP and NPN mean, and why they matter.

Build the Transistor Tester

Further - Transistors are Cheap Transistors are cheap, and you can now test them and sort them by type. Some ideas for future projects - Full Adder, etc.

Chapter 6: Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL)

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it.

TTL, the Next Step Up What TTL chips are, What they were used for originally, what they’re used for now, and a quick intro to 74XX series TTL.

Build the TTL Tester

Further - More Chips, More Pins, Automatic Configuration Can our tester be generalized to test all or most 74xx and 4000 series logic? How you might build a standalone version if you have that many TTL chips.

Chapter 7: Logic in Motion

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it.

Build the Logic Testor/Injector

Interpreting the Results Also, how to read datasheets from logic ICs.
Further - The Stand Alone Version How you could build a standalone version using an Atmega328, some LEDs, and some protoboard.

Chapter 8: EPROM/EEPROM Explorer

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it. Also datasheets.

What is ROM/EPROM/EEPROM?

Binary, Redoux Spreading one binary address across two or more 8 bit ports.)

Build the EPROM/EEPROM Explorer

Further - EEPROM Writing How you might add the ability to write to EEPROMS (since they require no high voltages) to the explorer. Why, if you need EPROM burning, you can do better buying a burner on Ebay.

Chapter 9: ATA Explorer

Introduction ATA hard drives are everywhere. Credit where Credit is Due - Peter Fasse’s IDE documentation, existing IDE/FAT library.

The Bad Old Days RLL, MFM, ESDI, SCSI and why IDE/ATA was such a godsend.

Your ATA Drive Is a Computer An overview of ATA PIO0 Communications, registers, etc.

Build the DRAM Explorer Wiring the drive to the Arduino and what ports do what.

The Sketch Writing your own instead of using the IDE/FAT library, the functions my sketch uses and what they do, how to address the command port, why everything has a #define, and so on.

Further - Bigger and Faster LBA48 instead of 28, interrupt control, filesystems.

Chapter 10: Time Out For a Quick Game

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it. Also credit where credit is due - the expired Dragonbone patent.

Interrupts, Timers, and Arduino
Multiplexing Pins

Driving 7 Segment Displays

Build the d20 System Dice Device

Further - The Stand-Alone version How an Atmega328 might be programmed with this sketch and a stand-alone battery dice device constructed on perfboard.

Chapter 11: Microprocessors - The Heart of the Matter

Introduction The parts you need for this project and what kinds of junk has them in it, and what CPUs besides a z80 might work. Also, credit where credit is due - Blondiehacks and N8VEM

A brief history of Microprocessors

How, Precisely, Microprocessors Work Focus on the Z80, since it’s tolerant of very slow, sloppy clocks, and also common as dirt.
Build the MicroProcessor Explorer Emulate just enough of the rest of a simple z80 computer in the Cestino to let a z80 fetch and execute some instructions at a few HZ.

Further - a z80 Computer How one might go about expanding the Microprocessor Explorer into a full, z80 computer with external RAM, a shared clock, and so on.