CFT 16-bit Mini-Computer

Here's a video from 2014. It shows the CFT running its first ever program—and without the ALU at that, since I wasn't yet testing that part.

Everything was still makeshift at this stage.

The video demostrates:

• A simple program toggled in using the front panel.
• Listing and disassembling the program via the DFP (remote control debugging/testing subsystem—this runs on a microcontroller). The DFP is the big board closest to the camera.
• The program is then executed using the front panel.

The CFT doesn't need the ALU to increment registers, so a simple counter program that also triggers a ‘test success’ message is easily possible and shows off everything but the ALU.

This is an old sub-project, but it helps show what's available. It's a microcode-level emulator of a basic CFT system. It's very slow compared to the real thing. On a good modern computer, you can get a 1 kHz clock. The CFT itself runs at 4 MHz.

But it shows what's available and how the front panel works.

Give it a try here, on the BedroomLAN site.