Spectrum Computing

Well, that's that then.

See you guys on the Amiga forums...

Stock up now!

*Furiously trying to connect Make-a-Chip to a 3d printer*

Oh no, does this mean my Spectrum will stop getting security patches?

And what happens to my game library? Honestly, if I have to pay for Ocean's Mario Bros one more time...

What does it exactly mean?
You won't be able to buy Z80 at all? Or you won't be able to buy it from the original manufacturer?

I am poor at hardware but I guess that we have today that FPGA technology which allows you to make cheaply an analogue of any old CPU.
So you still will be able to buy some kind of Z80 from some Chinese guys, right? You can buy anything from them

Ralf wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 1:24 pm What does it exactly mean?
You won't be able to buy Z80 at all? Or you won't be able to buy it from the original manufacturer?

interpret as you wish

I' ve got only two months to finish Mutan Zone!

Alan's original message is here, but this reads like a spam mail to me? What the heck is a "Water Foundry Manufacturer"? Google has exactly three hits on this on the entire web.

Update: someone seems to have actually mistyped that, it seems to be a Wafer Foundry Manufacturer - more on https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024 ... t-launched

With an actual Twitter letter, which was probably OCR'ed resulting in the wafer becoming water.

I heard that Intel's i9 16th generation will be a drop-in replacement for the z80.

Just curious is there a programmable chip that can replace the z80 in the zx spectrum 48k box?
I mean without having an external middle-man circuit.

firelord wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 4:53 pm I heard that Intel's i9 16th generation will be a drop-in replacement for the z80.

Just curious is there a programmable chip that can replace the z80 in the zx spectrum 48k box?
I mean without having an external middle-man circuit.

I Guess this one fits the bill?

https://retrolemon.co.uk/sinclair/123-z ... ctrum.html

Oh, it's not programmable, sorry

jorgegv wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 6:02 pm I Guess this one fits the bill?

https://retrolemon.co.uk/sinclair/123-z ... ctrum.html

This is also a zilog z80.
I'm talking about another programmable chip ATMEL etc.

Sad. Somehow, I feel the calendar is running out of pages.

+3code wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:17 pm Sad. Somehow, I feel the calendar is running out of pages.

For all the tongue in cheek comments others have posted, sadness is my overwhelming emotion too.

Z80s have been part of the computing landscape for about as long as I have.

dfzx wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 8:16 pm For all the tongue in cheek comments others have posted, sadness is my overwhelming emotion too.

Z80s have been part of the computing landscape for about as long as I have.

Yep. I actually thought the original post was tongue in cheek because of the "Water Foundry" thing. At least Federico Faggin is still with us, although in his 80s.

What we need now is an adapter board that fits in the Z80 socket and that has a tiny FPGA on board that is only programmed with a Z80 core.

firelord wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 4:53 pm I heard that Intel's i9 16th generation will be a drop-in replacement for the z80.

Just curious is there a programmable chip that can replace the z80 in the zx spectrum 48k box?
I mean without having an external middle-man circuit.

I read this in facebook :

Faber Fox
They're still making more modern versions like the z180 and the supercharged eZ80. I'd suggest you guys take a look at the Agon™ Light, an open design eZ80 based single board computer that's a joy to play with

https://www.facebook.com/groups/spectru ... 096368116/

firelord wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 6:29 am

These are "just" binary compatible, aren't they? Unless I miss something, ez80 (and z180) may be good enough for CP/M, but they won't replace Z80 where timings are critical.

jamesh wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 9:14 am These are "just" binary compatible, aren't they? Unless I miss something, ez80 (and z180) may be good enough for CP/M, but they won't replace Z80 where timings are critical.

Yep, that's right. I've just bought an Agon Light, not had much chance to experiment with it yet. It has an eZ80 which offers two bus configurations and an enhanced Z80 instruction set. But it looks interesting and I'm looking forward to having time to play around with it. See here https://www.zilog.com/docs/um0077.pdf, and p.53 onwards for the new instructions.

Most of the new instructions are to simplify i/o and expanded address space programming in the ADL mode, although there are useful additions, e.g. a multiply instruction. The concepts are not a million miles away from the Z8000 and Z280 but the implementation seems a bit better. The manual above is well-written and contains quite a few examples of how to switch modes, etc., so I'm looking forward to giving them a go sometime.

Needless to say, porting a Spectrum programme to this device would be non-trivial, but if you have Z80 source code then it certainly wouldn't be impossible as there's a Z80 mode and porting a fairly generic Z80 programme wouldn't be too difficult. As per usual it would be the Spectrum specific features, particularly display/memory and interrupt timing, which would be challenging.

Needless to say I'm not planning to write an emulator any time soon! But someone might (or perhaps already has).

Kudos to TechSpot for turning it into a news item...but deary me, they really could name drop the ZX or CPC, instead of just saying it's been used in "several home computers". Of course, the consoles get a proper mention, even the silly SG-1000. The famous Yankee Bias strikes again

https://www.techspot.com/news/102684-zi ... years.html

and they still haven't implemented "EX SP, SP'". what a shame.

g0blinish wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 4:53 pm https://hackaday.com/2024/04/19/end-of- ... announced/

"What this effectively means is that after just under 48 years since its launch in 1976, the Zilog Z80 will no longer be available for sale as discrete components, which is likely to primarily impact hobbyists and people who are trying to keep retro systems going. This does not mean that it’s the end of the road for Z80, however..."

The Z80 is and will be part (a Great part) of the little History of "How our lives became changed through the digital technology in a few decades". It deserves a monument somewhere.

You were a thing, but somehow you were too a friend. Requiescat in pace.

Ralf wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 1:24 pm What does it exactly mean?

Brand new Z80 MPUs and the support chips for it that were still available will no longer be manufactured.

Yes, there are plenty of used Z80 MPUs on the grey market. But as with many things on the grey market (including trading sites like eBay) what you actually get may not be what you think you were getting. For example a Z80 rated at 20MHz may be a remarked 4MHz part...

Yes, FPGA can replace whole boards including the processor. However, native 5V FPGA are hard to find, or are expensive, as most of these have been discontinued as 3.3V or lower supply voltage chips have become the normal logic choice for the industry. And regardless, FPGA mostly cannot be used as direct replacements in original equipment.

For the immediate future, it makes repair of original equipment more tricky. In the longer term, eventually it will cause increasing difficulties, but that's many years in the future.

Mark