This site centralizes all my projects in the microelectronics field.
The categories that I regularly maintain are System Design, Essays and Research, Repair and Maintenance, and New Projects.
The content in the Old Projects section is kept only for historical reasons and should be treated as such.
System Design Assembled Machines
2018- | Assembled machines from self designed and made x86 hardware.
System Design PCB Encoding
2018- | Explanation of printed circuit board encoding for my system design projects.
System Design Hardware Catalog
2018- | A simple catalog of all my x86 hardware, public or not.
System Design Reflections
2018- | Impressions, thoughts, findings, reflections, and similar.
ISA PC Speaker Driver
2021-2023 | An 8-bit ISA card that implements a PC Speaker amplifier with software controlled volume.
ISA Signal View Interface
2020 | A 16-bit ISA bus signal view interface card that allows visual inspection of ISA bus signalling.
ISA Video Display Controller
2020 | A 16-bit ISA video display controller and accelerator card that implements VGA capabilities and 2 Mb of 32-bit interleaved video memory.
4Mx9 FPM/EDO 30-pin SIMM
2020 | An 8-bit data with parity, 4 Mb single in-line memory module with a 30-pin interface.
ISA Audio Interface
2020 | A 16-bit ISA audio interface card that implements a Sound Blaster compatible sound card with OPL3 FM synthesis.
IDC Data Cables
2020 | Flat ribbon data cables for floppy and hard disk drives.
ISA I/O Interface
2020 | A 16-bit ISA I/O interface card that implements a parallel port controller, dual serial port controllers, dual IDE hard disk interfaces, and dual floppy disk drive controllers. Optional ROM BIOS as well.
32-bit 80386DX ISA Single Board Microcomputer
2019-2021 | A 32-bit single board microcomputer designed to fit a 16-bit ISA slot in a system backplane.
16-bit ATX ISA Backplane
2018 | An ISA system backplane for 8-bit or 16-bit microcomputers.
Polymer Capacitors Characterization
2024 | Measuring the parameters of various solid aluminum polymer capacitors.
Electrolytic Capacitors Characterization
2021 | Measuring the parameters of various electrolytic capacitors.
80386DX SBMC - OSHPark vs. JLCPCB
2021 | Comparison between OSHPark and JLCPCB 80386DX SBMC printed circuit boards.
Adapting an 80386DX ROM BIOS for PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Support
2021 | Adaptation of an old ROM BIOS to allow for PS/2 keyboard support.
Preparing the Hewlett-Packard 16500C Logic Analysis System
2021 | Getting my logic analysis system ready to use according to my needs.
Adaptec AHA-1542CP SCSI Controller ROM BIOS Language
2020 | Converting a German language SCSI controller ROM BIOS to English.
VGA ROM Fonts
2020 | Altering the VGA ROM Fonts on a Tseng Labs ET4000/W32i ISA video card.
Symmetricom TrueTime NTS-100 NTP Server
2026 | Maintenance of a late-1990 GPS-controlled network time server.
Apple MacPro 5,1
2025 | Restoration of an Apple MacPro 5,1 mid-2010 computer.
COMPAQ Prolinea 4/66
2024 | Restoration of an old 486 desktop PC.
IBM eServer xSeries 330
2024 | Maintenance and fan replacement in an ancient server.
Hewlett-Packard 6033A Autoranging System DC Power Supply
2023 | Preventative maintenance and fan replacement in an autoranging system power supply.
12 V / 2 A Switching Mode Power Supply
2022 | Fixing and increasing the reliability of a cheap switching mode power supply.
12 V / 4 A Switching Mode Power Supply
2022 | Increasing the reliability of a cheap switching mode power supply.
Hewlett-Packard 4276A LCZ Meter
2021 | Preventative maintenance and fan replacement in a LCZ meter.
Toshiba XM-5401B SCSI CD-ROM Drive
2021 | Capacitor replacement and mechanical service of a mid '90s SCSI CD-ROM drive.
StarView SV421 KVM Switch
2021 | Capacitor replacement in a late '90s KVM switch.
Hewlett-Packard 6624A System DC Power Supply
2021 | Preventative maintenance and fan replacement in a system power supply.
Hewlett-Packard 16500C Logic Analysis System
2021 | Repair and maintenance of a mid '90s logic analysis mainframe.
BTC 53 Series Keyboard
2020 | Capacitor replacement in an old AT computer keyboard.
Topre Realforce 104US Keyboard
2020 | LEDs replacement in an USB computer keyboard.
Lacie 5big Network 2 Network Attached Storage
2020-2022 | Capacitor replacement in an old NAS device, and its power supply.
Adaptec AHA-1542CP SCSI Controller
2020 | Capacitor replacement on another old ISA SCSI controller.
Adaptec AHA-1542CF SCSI Controller
2020 | Capacitor replacement on an old ISA SCSI controller.
Siemens 80386DX ISA Single Board Computer
2020 | D-Sub 25 connector replacement on a 386-class single board computer.
NEAT-575 Pentium ISA Single Board Computer
2020 | Capacitor and Dallas time keeper replacement on a Pentium-class single board computer.
TRENDnet TEG-S80TXE
2020 | Capacitor replacement in an 8-port Ethernet gigabit switch.
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100
2020 | Capacitor replacement in an USB digital to analog converter.
Hewlett-Packard 3312A Function Generator
2019 | Reparation of an old function generator.
ASUS RT-N16 Wireless Router
2018-2023 | Repair and improvement of a wireless router.
ISA Floppy Disk Drive and Serial Controller
2021 | Assembly of an 8-bit floppy disk drive and serial port controller.
AdLib Clone
2021 | Assembly of a 1990 replica of the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card.
Logic Probe
2020 | A simple CMOS logic probe capable of showing High, Low, Oscillating, and HI-Z signals.
Triple Power Supply
2017 | Triple linear power supply that can be used with the Hameg HM8030 function generator.
Stereo Buffer
2017 | A minimalistic stereo audio buffer with germanium transistors.
Z80 Microcomputer Power Supply
2017 | Triple linear power supply for Z80-based microcomputers with dual +5 V rail regulation.
Zeta V2 Microcomputer Assembly
2017 | Assembly of the Zeta SBC V2 microcomputer.
Nuclear Frequency Counter
2017 | Language: Romanian | An old industrial-grade Nuclear Scaler converted into a frequency counter.
Audio Sources Selector V.2
2009 | The improved version of my original 8 sources digital audio selector.
Z80 Microcomputer
2009 | My old Z80 microcomputer. Experimental project as well.
Z80 Minicomputer
2008 | My first miniature Z80 prototype computer. This is an experimental project.
CPLD Programmer
2008 | A parallel port CPLD programmer based on an original Xilinx design.
640K ROM Matrix
2008 | Experiments with larger EPROM chips.
32K ROM Matrix
2008 | Experiments with 2K EPROM chips.
Deck Mini Tachometer
2008 | This is an implementation of a miniature digital tachometer for cassette or reel-to-reel tape decks.
Audio Sources Selector
2007 | Prototype 8 sources digital audio selector.
Magic Wand
2006 | A digital microcontroller-based magic wand with purple LEDs.
Dynamic Light
2006 | I have found this LED dynamic lighting circuit in an old publication. So I build it for fun.
VFD tube VU Meter
2006 | Experiments with a dual grid time-multiplexed electro-fluorescent VU-Meter based on a Soviet VFD tube.
Digital Tachometer
2005 | A digital microcontroller-based tachometer for reel-to-reel tape decks.
Parallel PIC Programmer
2005 | Construction of a parallel port PIC programmer based on Vladimir Soso's design.
Serial PIC Programmer
2005 | Construction of a serial port PIC programmer based on FENG3's design.
The content of this site is provided on an AS-IS basis. No warranties whatsoever.
These are all hobby projects and no technical support is available other than the contents of the articles.
Copyright © 2004- Alexandru Groza
All rights reserved.
VER. 1.0 | REV. A