More on CUBIX - Was: newbie building a scratch-built computer

[Doc Shipley]

Dave Dunfield wrote:

> I should also point out that unlike most home-grown designs, the CUBIX system
> is very well documented. Two of the three 360k diskettes that normally accompany
> the system are filled with documentation. Over a dozen documents containing
> more than 300 pages.
> 
> What else can I say - all of the CUBIX material is available free on my site.
> If people are interested, I could organize it into a separate "building a
> CUBIX system" page with more information, additional PC tools and other related
> material. Let me know if there is any interest.

   [waves hands wildly]

   Yes, I'm most definitely interested.  Short version is that I keep 
coming back to that page with lust in my heart.  Long-winded explanation 
follows if you're bored.


   Let me put it this way - I've always been more of a mechanic than an 
engineer, from motorcycles to drilling rigs to computers.  I might be 
*interested* in the underlying principles, but I don't *need* more than 
the basics to run and repair them.  I'd have to admit that I'm 
fairly-well trained in computers, but almost completely uneducated.

   I bought & built an SBC6120 this year and am in the process of 
building a P112.  The idea originally was that they would provide 
"travelling toys", since I spend a lot of time on the road.**

   I had some trouble finding a couple of components at the prices I 
like on the SBC6120, and had to (gasp) read some datasheets to see what 
I could substitute.  That opened the can of worms; with a little glimmer 
of what some minor parts of the puzzle do, it looks like I'm stuck 
getting the education now.

   CUBIX looks like an excellent vehicle for a DIY "how computers 
compute" course, mostly because there's a truly feasible and tangible 
diploma at the end.  I'm pretty sure, with my assembly-line skills and 
capacity to paint-by-numbers, I can end up with a working CUBIX.  I 
think, given the understanding I already have, I can also end up with 
the underpinnings of a real education.  I'm pretty excited about that.


	Doc


**Turns out that the P112 may end up travelling, but I'll have to hope 
Bob makes another run of SBC6120 or similar, since I seem to have turned 
mine into an art project....