The Mark-8 Minicomputer, introduced in 1974, was one of the earliest personal computers available to hobbyists, marking a significant milestone in the history of home computing. Designed by Jonathan A. Titus, a graduate student in electrical engineering, the Mark-8 was based on the Intel 8008 microprocessor. Unlike later personal computers that came as assembled units, the Mark-8 was offered as a do-it-yourself kit, requiring users to source their own components and assemble the machine from scratch.
Published in the July 1974 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine, the Mark-8 was featured as a project for electronics enthusiasts, providing detailed construction plans and instructions. This made it one of the first computers to be marketed directly to hobbyists, paving the way for the personal computing revolution. Although only a few hundred units were ever built, the Mark-8 inspired the development of other early computers, including the more widely known Altair 8800, which was released in 1975 and played a crucial role in the rise of the personal computer industry.
While the Mark-8 itself was not commercially successful, it demonstrated the potential of microprocessors in computing and helped foster a community of enthusiasts who would go on to influence the development of modern computers. Its legacy lies in its role as an early example of a personal computer that individuals could build and program themselves, proving that computing was no longer limited to large institutions but could be brought into homes and workshops.
Make your own Mark-8 Minicomputer reproduction with this PCB set consisting of 7 PCB's - 6 original reproduction boards and 1 backplane. These boards are direct copies of the PCB layouts that can be found in the Mark-8 construction manual. That means that original errors may still exist and will need to be corrected as outlined in the Mark-8 bugs document.
The set contains the following PCBs:
Linear power supply PCBs are also available, for those interested in building their own +5v and -9v power supply for the Mark-8.
The PCB sets are available for sale at www.kalinchuk.com if anyone is interested in building a reproduction Mark-8 Minicomputer.
Once constructed, the computer will be a close reproduction of how it was made in the 1970s. In the image below, the Mark-8 is connected to Don Lancaster's TV Typewriter. TV Typewriter PCBs are available for sale at www.kalinchuk.com as well.
More details about the construction of the Mark-8, including schematics for the linear power supply, parts lists and bug fixes can be found on GitHub.
A YouTube video series is also available which outlines the build process of the Mark-8 computer.