EDUC-8 Project

[teenix]

Hi all,

Not really calculator related but I've been sent away working remote again, so to fill in some free time, I created an emulator for the EDUC-8 microcomputer.

This was originally designed by Mike Rowe when working for the Electronics Australia magazine around the time of the HP65 (1974) and was almost the first home build computer project. It was pipped at the post by the Mark-8 computer based on the Intel 8008 processor. The EDUC-8 did not have a processor, just a lot of TTL chips, and 32 bytes of memory which was expanded to 256 by the time of publication due to falling prices. I still remember buying those magazines back then and reading about this project but at the time it seemed a bit complex project for a school lad and it a bit costly too, quoted at around $300. It was named a "micro" computer because of how "small" it was. Not really battery compatible, as it drew around 15 watts.

I have included a code compiler, memory viewer and interfaces for the OCTAL LED display, Keypad and Paper Tape Reader.

As far as calculators go, it would surely be a coding challenge to get this old girl working as one, but if I get time, I might try and interface it to the HP97S just for the exercise.

It is Windows based and available at

http://www.teenix.org/EDUC8.zip

cheers

Tony