Search found 40 matches

by steve
03 Aug 2020, 17:30
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

There is a lot to digest here and without fully simulating/implementing some of these ideas I can only provide some abstract thoughts and opinions to the discussion. Dear at67, first of all let me thank you very much for your feedback. As you know your wonderful PucMon implementation was for me the...
by steve
27 Jul 2020, 22:34
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

The OR combining would be for using two 8 bit inputs instead of nibbles on Load W. It would let you do operations where bits in the inputs would influence bits in the output further away. It would allow things like Logical rotate A Left B times. It adds no capability as such but has the potential t...
by steve
27 Jul 2020, 20:40
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

Even though the RAM requirements are not that big, it would not have crossed the minds of people in the late 70s to do it that way I think. And 64k was out of the question. The 32kB SRAM was available in the 80s in the speed that is required, but was *very* expensive of course. In a real system fro...
by steve
27 Jul 2020, 17:30
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

OK I've been staring at the diagram and thinking a lot and I understand it a lot more. That makes me think that I need to think a lot more. Feel free to ask any clarification! Using 32 bit instructions with directly embedded control lines throws the possibilities of instructions completely up in th...
by steve
26 Jul 2020, 13:50
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Load and save programs

Also to load and save programs I think that the "old school" way of using audio might be the more adequate to keep the retro original philosophy. The microtron can be interfaced with a real cassette recorder, but any audio source/recorder would then be usable (e.g. mobile phones mic/headph...
by steve
26 Jul 2020, 01:12
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

@Lerc: I've to correct the consideration for the direct memory indexing: other than the buffer on the X side of the "mau bus", it is required also to add back the one from D register to the bus, in order to leave free the bus to get the data to write or read. So 2 chips more (as the origin...
by steve
24 Jul 2020, 16:40
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

Re: microtron

You have interesting thoughts, and it is nice to see them presented in such a concise way. I'm proud that the Gigatron has inspired you, in the same way designs before the Gigatron inspired us. I like how you have taken the design goals of the Gigatron and applied them, again, to the Gigatron. The ...
by steve
22 Jul 2020, 19:16
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: microtron
Replies: 42
Views: 24366

microtron

I’m sorry for this long post, but I hope that some of you can reach the end of it appreciating the synthesis I did of more than one year of scattered thinking of the various solutions… :) **Introductory notes** Everything started more than one year ago when I saw a presentation of a guy (Walter) tha...
by steve
19 Jul 2020, 07:31
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: vCPU instruction frequency
Replies: 5
Views: 3636

Re: vCPU instruction frequency

I also created some simple code in the emulator, (that's ifdef'd out), that shows the pixel OUT instructions visually with a cursor/cross hair that is nonsensical at full speed emulation but pretty cool when single step debugging. Yes I come across it... Unfortunately just et the end, too late for ...
by steve
19 Jul 2020, 02:07
Forum: Hardware and software hacking
Topic: vCPU instruction frequency
Replies: 5
Views: 3636

Re: vCPU instruction frequency

I've also the native instructions statistics of the same session: hex frequency % cumulative 5d 231666880 37% 37% c2 43701745 7% 44% 01 33627338 5% 49% 0d 26085751 4% 54% 00 24871641 4% 58% 80 19154237 3% 61% a0 18761968 3% 64% fc 16725411 3% 66% e4 15980318 3% 69% de 15428968 2% 71% 81 13625961 2% ...