Building a Home 8-Bit Computer with Vacuum Tubes in 2026

A project has turned vacuum-tube logic into an 8-bit computer you can actually play with at home. Built from dual-triode tubes manufactured in the former Eastern Bloc, the machine uses a 16-instruction von Neumann architecture and NOR-based logic reminiscent of Apollo-era computing.

It goes well beyond a logic demo: the wall-mounted system connects to old British Rail flip-digit displays and even a control panel for an airship simulator. Old computing technology is not merely preserved; it has been put back to work as a playable machine.