Homebrew Breadboard Computers

Custom CISC computer on breadboards built using only basic ICs and discrete components.

• Designed and built a Von-Neumann-style CISC 8-bit computer on breadboards with discrete components and logic ICs.
• Implemented core CPU components including registers, program counter, ALU, control logic, and RAM with a stack.
• Designed a custom CISC instruction set with arithmetic, branching, stack, subroutine, and interrupt-control instructions.
• Wrote microcode generation scripts in C++ to program Control Logic EEPROMs with an Arduino Nano
• Wrote a custom assembler (labels; immediate, in/direct, base-offset addresing modes) in Python for machine code generation
• Iterating on a more advanced architecture to support external peripherals (e.g. PS/2 Keyboard, LCD Screen, SD Card) through device interrupts.