30 Nov 2019 - 3 min read
Controller Design: GOTO Instruction
With the sequencer now designed and constructed I’m much closer to getting branching working on my relay computer. The next hurdle is updating the controller cards so …
20 Nov 2019 - 2 min read
In my last couple of posts I covered off the full design for the sequencer unit. With PCBs now safely arrived in the post I can get on with soldering up the cards and giving …
11 Nov 2019 - 5 min read
Sequencer Design: Schematic & PCBs
I’ve got the designs for the 24-cycle FSM and pulse distribution in place so all that’s left for the sequencer is to bring the schematics together and then design …
02 Nov 2019 - 2 min read
Sequencer Design: Pulse Distribution
In my last post I extended the 8-cycle FSM (finite state machine) design all the way up to 24-cycles so that we can run longer and more complicated instructions. In this case …
01 Nov 2019 - 3 min read
Sequencer Design: 24-cycle FSM
Recently I’ve been looking at what’s needed to implement branching in my computer (the upcoming GOTO class of instructions). In my last post I covered the timing …
06 Oct 2019 - 4 min read
In my last post I covered the design for the GOTO opcode which will enable my relay computer to perform branching, loops and so on. Here’s where I got to last time: …
23 Sep 2019 - 7 min read
There’s been a common theme recently in the comments on my YouTube videos … people are ready to see my relay computer gain the power of branching and become a …
09 Aug 2019 - 9 min read
It’s time for the oddly therapeutic part of designing a PCB … laying out the board. In my last post I covered the schematic design and so we now have all the …
15 Jul 2019 - 8 min read
In my last couple of posts I’ve been building up to a change of approach in how I’m making the cards in my computer. This is mainly because I can’t face the …
04 Mar 2019 - 12 min read
After years of using pad/prototyping boards to build my computer I’ve decided to switch things up a bit and have a go at making a custom PCB. The thinking is that it …
14 Jan 2019 - 6 min read
In my last post I touched on how the repetitive nature of making register cards has been putting me off progressing my relay computer. If you’ve followed my blog (over …
06 Jan 2019 - 4 min read
Procrastination is the thief of time
… or so the proverb goes … and it’s fair to say I’ve been procrastinating quite a bit recently. I typically take a summer break from working on the …