# UK hobbyist builds 8-bit computer from 460 vacuum tubes

> A retired tinkerer in the UK has constructed a working 8-bit computer from recycled Soviet vacuum tubes, wired as logic gates and mounted on a wall panel.
- Title: UK hobbyist builds 8-bit computer from 460 vacuum tubes
- Summary: A retired tinkerer in the UK has constructed a working 8-bit computer from recycled Soviet vacuum tubes, wired as logic gates and mounted on a wall panel. A…
- Keywords: tube computer, vacuum tubes, 8-bit computer, diy electronics, flight simulator, hobbyist project, soviet technology, retro computing, technology, hobbyist, builds, 8-bit
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/pro/this-8-bit-computer-plans-to-run-flight-sim-and-generates-a-pleasant-homely-aroma-by-burning-dust-off-1950s-vacuum-tubes-oh-and-it-can-explode-at-any-time
- Published: 2026-09-18T23:10:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: tube computer, vacuum tubes, 8-bit computer, diy electronics, flight simulator, hobbyist project, soviet technology, retro computing, technology
## A wall of glowing tubes
A retired UK hobbyist called Mike has built an eight bit computer from four hundred sixty recycled vacuum tubes, mounted on a brick wall in his home over a one hundred ninety by one hundred thirty centimetre acrylic panel.
## Soviet tubes wired as logic gates
The machine uses nine hundred twenty triodes packed into four hundred sixty Soviet designed six N three P double triodes, each wired as an identical NOR gate. The tubes sit on forty six ten tube plug in boards across five backplanes.
## What the computer can do
The instruction set supports sixteen operations. The arithmetic logic unit adds, XNOR, increment, NOT, and carry. A carry register lets the eight bit machine chain sixteen, thirty two, sixty four, and even one hundred twenty eight bit arithmetic, slowly.
## Safe enough to touch
Mike keeps the high tension supply below one hundred volts, well under the one hundred fifty volt anode rating for the tubes and far below the several hundred volts typical of legacy tube equipment. This lets him pack components two millimetres apart.
## The pleasant homely aroma
About a minute after switch on, the tubes glow red from the side and the room fills with the smell of hundreds of double triodes burning off their dust. Mike describes this as a pleasant homely aroma.

> pleasant homely aroma
## Explosions and a fire extinguisher
Earlier iterations of the machine have gone bang at least twice. The first time Mike pulled plugs in a panic. The second time his wife Judy carried on decorating the Christmas tree, later buying him a fire extinguisher as a precaution.
## Flight simulator still in progress
The machine currently drives a bank of ex British Rail flip digit displays made by Bodet for nineteen eighties station clocks. It is expected to power a rudimentary flight simulator system that Mike has already coded but the hardware is not yet ready.
## Determined to finish
While the flight simulator remains a work in progress, Mike seems determined to see his project, which encapsulates technology from the previous century, through to completion despite the risks.
## Key takeaway

A retired UK hobbyist has built a functioning eight bit computer from four hundred sixty recycled Soviet vacuum tubes mounted on a wall panel, designed to eventually run a flight simulator.