6502.org

Yeah, public playing is probably not a good idea for me. I haven't practiced in a while... Well, they're right next to my computer. So I just need to pick them up and play.

I really didn't know that the 6502 is still being used that often. But it makes sense. It's simple, it's hardy, and it's "good enough(tm)" for a lot of tasks that don't need much processing power, but need more flexibility than an FPGA.

That reminds me of my early working days. Around the turn of the 80's to 90's I worked for a computer service that serviced (even at that time) old IBM PC's (you know the 8088, 640KB, two 320KB floppy type). My operating area was mostly office buildings, and old steel mills around Saarbrücken. I one time went into an old fabrication hall (I think it was close to being shut down already) where they had a raised office above the ground floor right in the middle of the hall.

They had an ole' IBM sitting there which was chugging along just fine. Just a hiccup every once in a while. When I opened the thing I almost got a heart attack. That thing was covered in metal grindings and stuff, like the whole board, the power supply, EVERYTHING.

And it was still working. Getting a bit long in the tooth, took a while to boot, but it was WORKING.

I gained new respect for these bricks from there on. Indestructible.

Just got reminded by Garth not to add too much garbage to this thread, so I will stop now.

A lack of practice doesn’t seem to stop some of the people who show up at our local weekly Bluegrass jam. 

Bass players are the best kind of people

Paula (bass, keys and megatar)

Yer preachin’ to the choir on that one. 

As one of my T-shirts says, “You hear the music.  You feel the bass.”

Oooooohhhhhyeaaaaahhhh...

Happy new year.

Hi everyone! Looks like this is where I'm meant to introduce myself!

I'm a high school senior who really enjoys low-level technology. I am entirely self-taught (so please excuse me if I don't know much terminology) and have moved from Lua to Java to C to x86 assembly over the last 5 years. I gained an interest in building my own computer from the ground up when I got bored of writing x86 MS-DOS code, and set my sights higher. I found that the 6502 is pretty much the "ol' reliable" when it comes to chips, and I did some digging and found it to be surprisingly powerful... so here I am!

I am aiming to build a simple 6502-based LCD computer with PS/2 keyboard functionality, basically a ben eater but with some more bling. I'm kind of broke and don't have a lot of tools at home, basically just a breadboard, some CMOS logic ICs, the EEPROM and SRAM I'll need, and my handy dandy multimeter! This community looks like the perfect place for me, so I'd just like to drop in and say hi before looking around.

Sounds great - welcome! Do have a good look around, feel free to start a thread if you have a question or something to say, or post to an appropriate thread if you have something to add there.

Welcome to 6502 land...
...where we ain’t got no x86. 
The modern WDC 65C02 is even more powerful (more instructions, can run faster and is less power-hungry) than the venerable NMOS 6502, so that would be the place to start.  Knowing the x86 assembly language helps, as the basic concepts of programming at the machine level are pretty much the same no matter the MPU being used.  However, I think you will quickly discover the 6502 assembly language to be more pleasant and possibly more intuitive, especially since all mnemonics implicitly tell you which register is involved in any given instruction.
Before you devote a lot of time to the Ben Eater way of doing things, I recommend you read Garth Wilson’s 6502 primer from end to end.  He covers scratch-building a 6502 contraption from A to Z, and in the process, corrects some of the errors and omissions that have been noted in Mr. Eater’s presentations.

There are topics here on diverse subjects, including the all-important one of where to source parts and how to avoid getting counterfeits (a BIG problem in the electronics industry).
You don’t need a huge investment to get started, but will likely need more than a multimeter to debug your projects when things don’t do what they should.  We have had numerous discussions around here on what tools and test gear one should have.  Some searching should find that stuff.

Welcome to the forum. There's a ton of helpful materials on the website and forum to help you with your project. Plus, the forum locals have decades of experience to help answer your questions.

The 6502 is a classic and lean computer architecture. You can build single board computers with a simple ROM monitor and learn a ton about hardware in the process.

Hey, I'm 100th_Coin. I'm making an Nintendo Entertainment System emulator called TriCNES, along with an accuracy test ROM I call AccuracyCoin. I've made a series of nontraditional Tool-Assisted-Speedruns for various NES games, such as completing Super Mario Bros. 3 in 0.218 seconds, Playing the music video for Bad Apple!! inside Super Mario Bros. via 5.8 million controller strobes, and also completing Super Mario Bros. 3 in 5 microseconds by swapping cartridges every CPU cycle as a means of running arbitrary code. That cart swapping TAS was also console verified by a friend using multiple 72-pin connectors with the required cartridges inserted, a multiplexer, and a microcontroller connecting the right cartridge to the console at the right time.

I'm also a game developer, though I've never actually made a game in 6502 yet... just a bunch of accuracy tests. I've participated in the Ludum Dare Compo over 25 times, winning a handful of awards, notably first place in audio 3 times, first place in humor once, four instances of second place in humor, and one time I got second place in innovation. I spent 8 years solo-developing a game I released in 2024.

I have a Youtube channel where I primarily talk about NES emulation and my Tool-Assisted-Speedruns.

My favorite opcode is $9B.

That pretty much sums me up.

welcome!

Welcome.
For the record, with the 65C816, $9B is the opcode for the TXY instruction.  It maps to a NOP with the 65C02.