In message <20040421235804.GA6800_at_bos7.spole.gov>
Ethan Dicks <dickset_at_amanda.spole.gov> wrote:
> Let me recommend the INS8073 for anyone who wants that late-70s/early-80s
> BASIC experience in a bread-board computer. I think you could put one
> together on a single (large) breadboard slab. You'd need 40 pins for
> the CPU, another 24 to 32 pins for the SRAM, and some sort of RS-232
> level shifter, like a MAX-232. The rest is all caps and resistors.
There's also a Tiny BASIC interpreter available for the Intel 8052. Connect a
RAM to the 8052, add a NAND gate or two if you want to use the "CALL"
function, add the standard MAX232 and 11.0592MHz crystal and program the 8052
with the Intel Tiny BASIC interpreter hexfile. I think you can also add an
external EPROM or parallel EEPROM to emulate a disc drive.
What I would like to do at some point is get Tiny BASIC running on one of my
spare 8052s, then hook it up to a MultiMediaCard. Of course, the MMCA want
$500 for the MultiMediaCard spec. About the only thing that the MMCA spec
covers that the Renesas, SanDisk and Infineon Product Manuals doesn't is the
allocation of Manufacturer IDs - I know Sandisk use 0x02, Renesas use 0x06,
but there are at least another four MMC manufacturers around. I've got an MMC
here that's got a MID of 0x01 and a product ID of "IFX064". Hmm.
Now we get to debate the advantages and disadvantages of hooking a modern
64MB memory card up to a 1980s microcontroller. No doubt someone's going to
shout at me for suggesting it :)
Anyway, congratulations on getting your INS8073 running. One of these days,
I'll probably pull an 8052 out of my junkbox and put it to some use (just as
soon as I've built a programmer for it).
Later.
--
Phil. | Acorn Risc PC600 Mk3, SA202, 64MB, 6GB,
philpem_at_dsl.pipex.com | ViewFinder, 10BaseT Ethernet, 2-slice,
http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/ | 48xCD, ARCINv6c IDE, SCSI
... Procrastination means never having to say you're sorry.
Received on Thu Apr 22 2004 - 10:38:33 BST