The great GIGATRON computer building kit to construct your own computer without a dedicated CPU.
The GIGATRON is designed by Marcel van Kervinck and Walter Belgers and is a minimalistic TTL microcomputer. It’s special in its own oddball way, because it has absolutely no complex logic chips in it, not even a microprocessor! Its CPU is built out of a handful of classic 7400-series ICs, colloquially known as the TTL logic series. These chips combined form a powerful 8-bit processor.
Besides running applications, this processor performs functions that traditionally require dedicated peripheral chips for video, sound and other I/O. By eliminating these the hardware remains small and understandable. Still the single-board system works as a full-blown microcomputer that you can play video games with.
Now you can easily build one yourself. As you build, learn what happens inside a CPU by looking inside one. See the functional units, look inside the Arithmetic and Logic Unit, see its truth tables and learn what makes up a ROM. Then go on to enjoy playing the built-in retro video games or write little programs in BASIC. You can also hack it in any way you like if you have a taste for that.
You can connect the computer to a VGA monitor en with the also included PS/2 keyboard adapter “Pluggy McPlugface” you can connect a keyboard and more.
What does the DIY Build Kit Include?
- 1 x Gigatron Mainboard
- 1 x Pluggy McPlugface Mainboard
- All required IC’s, passive components, connectors and LED’s
Also include sockets for the RAM and EPROM chips. Not included are the sockets for the rest of the IC’s which can just be soldered directly to the board.
For your convenience the instruction manual is in a tab just below this description labeled “Instruction Manual”. For additional support / questions feel free to join our Discord server.
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