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+#+TITLE: Prototype 1
+#+DATE: <2019-03-03>
+#+SETUPFILE: ../../options.org
+
+#+BEGIN_COMMENT
+m4_define(`_REL_HEADER', `Previous: <a href="/z80/plm.html">PLM</a>
+Next: <a href="/z80/prototype2.html">Prototype 2</a>Up: <a
+href="/z80/">Z80</a>')m4_dnl
+#+END_COMMENT
+
+{{{date_place(Temuco, Chile)}}}@@html:<br>@@ Last edited: Bremen,
+Germany, February 02, 2021
+
+* Background
+
+Back in 2015 I used to watch gameplays of the just released [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_4][Fallout 4]].
+From this game the thing I loved the most was the pip-boy, so much so,
+that I had the brilliant idea, /Why don't I build my own pip-boy? I
+mean, How hard could it be?/.
+
+Unsurprisingly, it turned to be harder than expected. I only knew how
+to program at an application level (I wasn't that good at it either)
+and had basically no knowledge of electronics, assembly language, nor
+did I even have the components at my disposal.
+
+* Beginning
+
+Some time after this idea, I got myself an atmel328p and a programmer.
+I learned to instruct this AVR to draw text on a 16x4 lcd and could
+get input from buttons.
+
+But I had some challenges. First, microcontrollers are usually based
+on the Harvard architecture. This means that running programs from ram
+was virtually impossible.
+
+Added to this was the fact that the AVR had only 2K of ram and no way
+to add more. I avoided serial alternatives, because they are slower
+and can't be used as normal RAM inside C code.
+
+These problems were ultimately fixed by switching to a Z80
+microprocessor. The Z80 could in fact handle more memory and run code
+from its RAM, but with it came also the limitation of size. All memory
+had to be external to the chip's package and the processor itself came
+with no peripherals, as microcontrollers usually do.
+
+* First prototype
+
+Three years later, and with the help of many people, I finally
+managed to get all the components and build my first working
+prototype. It did not look beautiful, but it was functional.
+
+#+CAPTION: Prototype 1 together with its serial terminal
+[[https://thomaslabs.org/media/prototype1.jpg]]
+
+I wasn't satisfied with this prototype though. It was not what I had
+envisioned. I wanted to have a pocket computer and this was nothing
+like that. It was huge and full of parts.
+
+* Partial conclusion
+
+Thanks to this project I learned a lot about electronics, programming,
+circuit design and the inner workigs from a computer.
+
+Reinventing the wheel wouldn't have been the only way to acquire this
+knowledge.  But I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to
+learn about the internals of computers.
+
+This being said, I can't deny that I still have a lot left to learn.
+
+* The end?
+I wouldn't publish something on the Internet just to say I wasn't able
+to accomplish my dream. Or would I?
+
+It turned out that the idea managed to stay alive long enough, to see
+the day in which I decided to give it another try. This time, hoping
+that the collected knowledge allows me to get further.
+
+This requires its own [[local:/z80/plm.html][series of articles]] though.