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Forget the Altair! Remember the Mark-8! [Hackaday]
Calling any one computer the first hobby computer is fraught with peril. Most people think the MITS Altair 8800, first featured in Popular Electronics back in January 1975, was the first. Some might argue that others were first, but there is no doubt that the Altair started the hobby computer revolution from a practical standpoint. However, there was another computer that almost took the crown. It, too, appeared in a magazine — Radio and Electronics. But it was in the July 1974 issue. That computer was the Mark 8, and [Artem Kalinchuk] is building a replica that you can see started in the video below. This isn’t some Arduino work-alike. He has a pile of parts and some almost authentic-looking PCBs.
The Mark 8 used the 8008, not the 8080, so it was less powerful. [Artem] has been building a replica Altair, too. Check out his YouTube channel if you are interested in those.
Finding all the parts for such a project is a bit tricky. The schematics available have some errors, but others have created boards you can purchase, and they’ve been corrected. Some components will require modern replacements. However, he did find a CPU and some of the oddball logic and memory chips. We were curious about the total bill and if it was more or less than the original after adjusting for inflation.
The original article back in 1974 was just a teaser. You had to send in $5 for the complete plans. [John Titus], the designer, estimates that 7,500 plans were sold and about 400 sets of PCBs. If you could source the parts, build the boards (with no plated-through holes and, presumably, no solder mask), and troubleshoot the errors in the originals, you could have a working computer.
The project is just starting, but we are sure [Artem] will complete it, so stay tuned to see his progress. There are already videos about the backplane, the power supply, and the LED register display. The boards, by the way, are the ones we’ve seen from [Henk Verbeek]. If you want to use a 8008, but don’t have the stomach for the full build, try a clock.