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A Lab to Build an Altair Clone on a Breadboard

This paper describes a hardware lab where computer science students build a computer from scratch on a breadboard. The design is inspired by hobbyist-built 1970s computers, such as the Altair, and the finished computer runs the original Altair BASIC. The lab uses mostly period-appropriate but easily obtainable components, and is accompanied by a detailed writeup that takes the students step-by-step through construction. The lab was assigned to a History of Computing elective class, and every student, regardless of previous hardware experience, successfully completed it.