The parts have finally arrived! Well, at least most of them have as they sent me these plastic pieces instead of 74ls377s as they were supposed to...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/054987_ea06de53e8fc49c389b7ffd3e0fc99bb~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/054987_ea06de53e8fc49c389b7ffd3e0fc99bb~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg)
Luckily, I had some spare ones as I had ordered some previously because I thought that they would be a useful thing to keep around and it turned out that I was correct! Anyway, here is the blank slate: a four piece breadboard which should be about the perfect size for a circuit of this magnitude.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/054987_03e15c7c27404c45adfe6fcad982292a~mv2_d_3264_2448_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/054987_03e15c7c27404c45adfe6fcad982292a~mv2_d_3264_2448_s_4_2.jpg)
It took quite a while to figure out this layout, and it is probably not the most efficient setup ever, but it seems to minimize the length of the bus wires that I will need to run.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/054987_62668aa6c0e14c2ba15be094cd3a0ef6~mv2_d_3264_2448_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/054987_62668aa6c0e14c2ba15be094cd3a0ef6~mv2_d_3264_2448_s_4_2.jpg)
The top blank space is for the LCD display and the other output devices, the middle area is for the microcode ROMs/Program ROMs, and the clock oscillator will go in the bottom empty slot.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/054987_823439af18dc4ff5bed17febec458ab2~mv2_d_2448_3264_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/054987_823439af18dc4ff5bed17febec458ab2~mv2_d_2448_3264_s_4_2.jpg)
I have put in a placeholder for the LCD and labeled the ROMs but this has taken quite a lot of time, most of it being consumed by stripping all of those power connectors so this is all I will be doing today.