It took me eight months of part-time work to restore all 168 pounds of a Heathkit “H-1.” I would like to share a few of the trials and tribulations I went through to resurrect this beast.
In the beginning, computers were very large and took up a lot of space. These days, single-board computers have gotten quite small. So, could an older Intel 8080 compatible computer be built to today’s smaller size standards? Why yes! It can!
Over the years, I have accumulated a bunch of chips from before the era of true PCs when computers with names like Altair, KIM-1, and Cosmac ELF were popular. I’ve been looking for a way to use them in new projects, so I designed a system around a 40-pin PIC16F887. I figured this would put some of my historic chips to work and be a great learning tool for understanding how a microcomputer works.
I love restoring old electronic equipment. A while ago, I was excited to find a vintage Heathkit EC-1 analog computer for a reasonable price on eBay. It definitely needed a little TLC. Here’s how I brought it back to life.
The most powerful computer in the universe is actually the simplest. Explore the concept of Turing Machines and experiment with a simple Turing Machine simulator.
The Raspberry Pi represents a breakthrough in low cost computing power. Get a piece of this popular DIY action by learning how to cook up your own RPi to start experimenting with.
