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 - 5 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 …
27 Mar 2018 - 4 min read
Auxiliary Control Construction
In my last three posts I covered the design of the auxiliary control unit which will ease entering and inspecting programs in the computer’s memory. With the design ‘in the …
07 Feb 2018 - 4 min read
Auxiliary Control Design (Part 3 of 3)
This is the last post in a mini-series of three covering the design of the auxiliary control unit which will ease entering and inspecting programs in the computer’s …
29 Jan 2018 - 12 min read
Auxiliary Control Design (Part 2 of 3)
In my last post I made a start on the auxiliary control design which once completed will make it much easier to load instructions in to memory - effectively it’s a …
24 Jan 2018 - 6 min read
Auxiliary Control Design (Part 1 of 3)
My relay computer is now at the point where it can execute a program in memory without assistance. In order to do that though, of course, the program needs to be loaded into …
16 Jan 2018 - 3 min read
Fetch and Increment - Construction and Test
This is a bit of a landmark moment … at least for the construction of my relay computer. For a long time now my blog posts have been leading up to the point where my …
08 Jul 2015 - 6 min read
Sequencer Construction: 8-cycle FSM
I’m just about at the half way mark now for getting the computer to operate the MOV8, ALU and SETAB instructions. The easier cards are out of the way now … time …
26 Jan 2015 - 6 min read
So far I’ve got the design complete for the instruction register along with the initial design for the decoder and so I’m well on the way to having the computer …
19 Sep 2014 - 12 min read
Sequencing & Control Design: Overview
I’ve now got my computer to a state where I can perform ALU operations and push values around the four registers by manually operating the various control lines. …