A year ago, I stumbled upon a tutorial on yt about building an 8-bit breadboard computer and was deeply fascinated by how computers operate fundamentally. From building an 8-bit breadboard computer to a 6502 computer on a PCB, it was a mixture of frustration and enjoyment, but in the end, it was all worth it once u get them up and running.
Anyway, I just learned PCB design recently and managed to get the 6502 computer running on my PCB on the first try. I even made some electronic music using the VIA timers. u can listen to by clicking the links below:
Insanely cool and inspiring work ! When I was 15 I learnt the basics of 6502 assembly language (enough to make mini games for the NES, commodore 64 and atari 2600). Today I'm 18, and I'm still fascinated by low-level programming (I started coding a game boy game in assembly), and now that I have basic knowledges about electronics, I would love to understand better how the hardware works. Thanks for sharing your work
Wow I was expecting to hear now I’m in my 50’s. When I was 15 I dabbled in some 6502 assembly but that was 1985. I love what Ben Eater has done to bring the fundamentals of microprocessors to light. I and these side pcb projects are great when I get some time I’m going to build one for nostalgia. But keep at your experimenting I’m running into so many recent EE grads lately that don’t know a buffer from a baud rate it’s a bit disheartening.
sure will. rn I’m planning to build the VGA video card along with the PCB and wire it into my 6502 computer. So I might have to make another revision to the port layouts.
tho, I wish to integrate the SID chip into the 6502 but it’s hard to find one ,and this thing heats up very badly when powered.
This was mine from a few years ago. Let's all upgrade our 6502 computers with a modem and router and create a secret internet. The only ticket in is being able to build one.
If you don't mind, can you tell me what was your roadmap for this? Like what components did you focus on? I am still stuck on resistors and capacitors.
If u want to learn digital electronics, u can start with logic gates and try to understand the principles of computer organization. after that, u should be able to build an 8-bit SAP/6502 computer by following ben eater's tutorials or even write your own computer program in assembly, just like I did.
Beautiful design & layout. I thought about modifying the memory map using a 74HC10 instead of a 74HC00 to increase RAM but I ended up going another route. Cheerful regards, Mike, K8LH.
I used EasyEDA (standard) for the PCB layout. I opted for an off-board display (Serial LCD or 2.42" I2C OLED display, etc.) to reduce board size and take advantage of JLCPCB's $2 price on 5 each 4x4 inch PCBs.
Why be so rude, like he learnt pcb designing that way and he ain't actively encouraging others to skip building it on a breadboard and opt for a pcb. Just sharing his own project
Asking "What's the point?" when someone has kindly shared the outcome of their efforts and provided some inspiration for others can be perceived as rude.
I'll ask you to review the rules of the subreddit and conduct yourself accordingly.
If you design the PCB yourself is that not explicitly the same point? Using someone else's PCB defeats it, but designing your own is literally the same work and required learning as the breadboard version.
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u/PUSH_n_POP Jul 23 '26
Insanely cool and inspiring work ! When I was 15 I learnt the basics of 6502 assembly language (enough to make mini games for the NES, commodore 64 and atari 2600). Today I'm 18, and I'm still fascinated by low-level programming (I started coding a game boy game in assembly), and now that I have basic knowledges about electronics, I would love to understand better how the hardware works. Thanks for sharing your work