z80 help

Is there anyone out there interested in starting a new z80 project?

Greetings,

Frank

Reply to
Frank Eggink
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Sure, are you thinking of the old 8Mhz 40-pin DIP or something more modern.

donald

Reply to
donald

I'm thinking of an old z80 processor chip.

40 pin dip version. some memory, input output. very basic actually.

Frank

Reply to
Frank Eggink

So you found some old Z80 chips and are itching to get some use out of them. ;-)

What about software ??

Assembly, C, Forth....... Looking for an OS ?? like....

Ok, you have at least my attention.

Where to now ?

donald

Reply to
donald

Yeah got hold of soms z80 chips, some pio, sio. I've been studying the microprofessor 1 system and a few more. And i need soms help getting me going with it. I also need soms routines/os like etc. What is your experience with z80?

Frank

Reply to
Frank Eggink

Sure Frank, I'm interested too. I like you have some z80 chip's floating around.

Greetings Soeren "Frank Eggink" skrev i en meddelelse news:47a07afc$0$25478$ snipped-for-privacy@text.nova.planet.nl...

Reply to
Soeren

What's your experience with z80?

Reply to
Frank Eggink

Hi Frank,

I built many systems using the Z80 in the late 1970s and 1980s.

When 16-bit cpus came out, the Z80 lost popularity.

I would like to suggest checking out the Mail Station. Its a Z80 based email appliance.

Check out the hacker sites:

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I see that you want to build something with the parts you have, but this may help you get started and find a project you can build.

donald

Hi Frank,

I would like to suggest checking out the Mail Station. Its a Z80 based email appliance.

Check out the hacker sites:

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I see that you want to build something with the parts you have, but this may help you get started and find the project you can build.

donald

Reply to
donald

Actually, I've pulled a few schematics off the web because I'm looking to build a train control computer. I'm designing one with about 2-4K of ROM (2716) and the rest of the memory space with 2K SRAMs (6116). The I/O control from the chip is easy. As far as programming it, I'm thinking of writing a small monitor ROM that when the system is reset it will read from a port and use that as an address for a jump instruction. That would then jump to a routine that would read from a parallel port which would be connected to another PC. That would transfer new code to the machine from the PC. Then a different jump address would run code that would take what was just transfered over and burn it to the second 2K 2716. A third jump address would execute that code. That way it is easy to update and run new code.

The system would have lots of serial and parallel I/O. The parallel would go to D/A converters to control train direction and speed. The serial interface would go to in-track Hall Effect sensors so I could detect train position. Another serial port would be connected to a terminal or a computer so I could send commands to the controller to make the trains spped up, slow down, change direction etc.

My very first computer was a wire wrapped Z-80 TRS Model 1 Level II clone. Yes, as TRS clone! In fact I wrote a RAM disk driver so I could write to a large external bank of battery backed up SRAM. I used one bi-directional I/O port (I think it was an 8212) for the 8 bit data buss. Three 8 bit parallel ports for addressing the memory (I said lots of memory) and a fourth 8 bit port for R/W control of the memory bank. It worked great! Wish I still had the code... Even used to have the old green bar paper with the listing. Damn. Those were the good old days.

I had a friend of mine that actually wrote an OS clone of LDOS. Mike Lawson

Reply to
Mike Lawson

Anyone looking for Z80s. These folks have them and more. I'm not kidding . I'm just grateful because they had some really rare chips I needed to fix an old synth from PAIA. So I talk them up wherever.

I joined a group that supplies parts for projects. Some free, some not. Nope, this isn't spam. Just a note about a group that helps low income geeks get stuff at reduced or no cost. They seem to support older as well as new microcontrollers and CPUs and OS's. And they'll supply datasheets free or for a copy/scan cost. I was able to get some old Mostek datasheets for some chips I wound up being too chicken to power up because of their age and all the weird voltages.

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E.T.L.

I know where their website is but that would be spam if I put a quasi-commercial site in my post. I will say that I just got a z180 prototype board that they had surplus and couldn't be happier with the hardware. Now as for software I'm still going over their CPM library disk. And some sort of RTOS code from india.

Reply to
Eros Toon Lover

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