8-bit breadboard computer kits

If you're interested in following along with my 8-bit breadboard computer videos and building your own, I've assembled kits that include all of the components I used in the videos, including the Arduino nano (used to program the LED and control EEPROMs) and a 5 volt power supply. It's a challenging but extremely rewarding project.

I broke the whole thing into four kits if you want to take things slow. But you can save $20 by buying the complete bundle:

If you'd like to start without committing to the entire project, you can also just get the individual kits:

All of these kits include the high quality breadboards and other components that I use in the videos. I've found that high quality breadboards are important for such a large project with many connections. Hunting down flaky loose connections is no fun.

Tools required

In addition to what comes with the kits, you'll need a few common tools. For kit 1, to connect the power supply, you need:

• A small (#1) phillips screwdriver.

For the remainder of the kits (2, 3, and 4) you'll also need:

• Wire cutters, preferably small ones. (e.g., these from Hakko or Lindstrom).
• Small needle-nose pliers or good tweezers; I prefer smooth-jaw needle-nose pliers. (e.g., these from Hakko or Lindstrom).
• Wire stripper that works for 22AWG wire. (e.g., these from Hakko or I really like this simple kind from Ideal).
• Box cutter, X-ACTO, or other small knife to separate the power rails from the breadboards.

I also highly recommend having some sort of basic multimeter. I hear the ANENG AN8008 is a good value, though you can spend as much or as little as you want on a multimeter and most will do the job just fine.

Finally, you'll probably want something to build the computer on so it's easy to pick the whole thing up and move it. I used a simple piece of foam board (buy it locally). But you can be creative and use whatever you have.

No soldering is required! There are several minor points in the videos where I do some soldering, but in all cases it's not required. Alternative approaches are shown on this website.

Completely optional

Some people find a logic probe to be really handy, though with the number of LEDs on the computer, most things you'll want to probe will already be visible. Some people also find an oscilloscope (even one of these toy ones) useful, though I really don't think it's necessary at all. I use an oscilloscope in a couple videos to demo a few things, but watching those demos is all you need. The computer itself runs slow enough that you can probably troubleshoot everything using a multimeter or even just using the LEDs and some persistence.