So I took on this project back around December of 2025. I saw a post about a front panel computer out of 74HC series logic that had the full 6502 instruction set (way too advanced for me lol). I thought it was interesting so I looked more into front panel computers. I came across the PDP-8, Altair 8800 and the nova 1210 (through usagi electrics series on him restoring one).

 So I had a go at making a design in logisim evolution. and looking back... To say it was far from how a front panel worked was an understatement! I ended up leaving the project for a bit to focus on other stuff that was going on in my life at the time. Then a while back I came across the project file on my computer, opened it and was... well... It wasn't too far from what a front panel computer should of been... but it was. SO I did some more research into accumulator based architecture computers and how front panel interface actually worked.

 Ended up making a new design which took me a few months, but still took less than the original design as I wasn't starting totally from scratch (sorry if timings are vague. I started this wayyy before I had an account here, plus I didn't keep a log stupidly).

I started compiling stuff onto a 20x30cm perfboard a while ago (again before I had this account). I wanted to use proper wire wrap sockets, but they just don't exist on the UK market in large quantities for cheap. So I am getting around it by: taking a machined DIP socket and then placing a long tailed male header parallel to the pins on the socket. Then I solder each socket pin to the header pin opposite it. Bosh! Wire wrap sockets! (it takes a while though)

Anyway fast forward to the present day. I am beginning to build it now! So the specs of the computer are as follows:

• 8-Bit accumulator based architecture
• 256 addressable bytes of memory (with some mapped I/O in there)
• Kick ass neon NE-2 lamps for blinkenlights
• 4-Bit ISA for 16 different instructions (lower nibble of full byte is used for instructions)
• Later in the design added a external bus to add I/O cards (including UART RS-232 hopefully)
• A little bit of soldering- But mostly wire wrap connections

On the left I have some photos of the program counter section of the board (Not finished yet) and a design for the front panel- front and back.