What I like about "single-chippers" is that you have the option of looking
at them as programmable logic. They're not all as fast as CPLD's, but
they're generally not as costly as a CPLD or FPGA capable of duplicating
their function. A Z80 CPU or one of its scions compatible with its
instruction set would still require external hardware to provide the
interface to read-write memory, then the memory itself, and the decoding for
the EPROM, and then the EPROM itself, plus the drivers for anything that
requires more than a mA or two. Naturally there are exceptions, most
notably those cases where the code needed to solve the prolem is already
written for the Z80, but in general, a multi-device solution is not
desirable.
see additional remarks below, plz.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: ajp166 <ajp166_at_bellatlantic.net>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: Monitor for iSBC 8024
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard Erlacher <richard_at_idcomm.com>
>
> >Yes, you can, but you can't buy a single-chip microcontroller, using the
> >Z80 core, not some "sorta" Z80-like" thing, that requires no external
> >components except a clock.
>
> Who really cares how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. As most
> products are rarely just one chip, especially something that needs Z80
> level performance. In the end the skills needed would be Z80(or some
> other) programming.
>
It depends on the nature of the problem you're solving, of course, but
generaly, I like to keep it small enough so one has to search for it. If
it's on a 4"x5" board, it's too big. If it's in a 1" x 2" board held on the
back of the board with some double-stick foam, that's what I like.
>
> Allison
>
For an application to be of interest, it's either got to be small enough to
be glued to a board in some fashion, or it's got to take its place. There's
little room for a Z80, a PROM, a RAM, a PAL, and a clock buffer (assuming
one can steal the clock from the host board). Most modern single-chippers
have enough poop on their outputs that they don't need buffering, so all you
need is the MCU and the clock souce.
Dick
>
Received on Thu Nov 02 2000 - 20:13:38 GMT