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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Grant Searle's Multicomp computer system
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Mixtel90 Guru  Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 5711 |
Is anyone else interested in this system? Info Here Basically, you put together a "kit" of VHDL to create your own computer on a FPGA. You start with the basic VHDL file then copy blocks into it for each item that you want. Run it through the Quantus software and program it into the flash rom of the FPGA. That's it. The original FPGA board is still available, about £30 from China, I think, but it's becoming more difficult to find now - as is the Quantus II software - as both are pretty old. This isn't an emulation, it's a proper CPU built out of logic gates glued together by links in the flash rom and can run pretty fast. You can have Z80, 6502 or 6809 with either internal (only 4k though) or external RAM. You can build the Z80 system up to a 64k CP/M box. It makes a bit of a change from MMBasic. :) EDIT: An enhanced CP/M system using the same hardware can be found here.. Included are CP/M 2.2, Dos+ 2.5, CP/M 3.0, MPMII 2.1, ZSDOS 1.1/ZCPR2, ZPM3/ZCCP and NASCOM ROM Basic. . Edited 2022-09-27 00:55 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 3505 |
Hi MIck, I decline the offer. Not ready to go back to CPM.... Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 5711 |
hehe - can't say that I blame you really. :) I'm not too happy about using BASIC with line numbers either. The hardware intrigues me though. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| mclout999 Guru Joined: 05/07/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 430 |
My Mister FPGA system has a core that is called Multicomp but if it is the same as this it does not implement everything from the creators page. I will check out the core later to see if this was the basis of that core. |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 5711 |
It's an FPGA. You can make it do all sorts of things. :) That's the beauty - even if the pins are wired wrongly you can re-map them. Unfortunately the Mister FPGA uses the Cyclone IV, which is much more modern. You could probably use it in the same way but it's a much more powerful beast. Edited 2022-09-27 03:54 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| okwatts Regular Member  Joined: 27/09/2022 Location: CanadaPosts: 51 |
Just joined in to the forum as I am learning about MMBasic on the pico (both pico on serial and also with the VGA version). I have done 3 builds using the FPGA (Cyclone IIc) for retro computing using Z80 and CP/M, 6809 using code from Neil Crook and also 6502 with my version of Forth and the ubiquitous EHbasic for 6502. The first 2 are well developed and if you can locate one of the FPGA units (used to be about $18 but have jumped to $30) then you can revisit the past.) I have about 8 pcbs for that version left over from my order should anyone be interested (look at Neil's github https://github.com/nealcrook/multicomp6809/wiki/Multicomp-Construction for details). This will not compete with a PicoMite for I/O or speed but is an interesting way to do 1980's computing on much newer technology. Neil has also used this as a basis for his version of a Nascom4 which may interest you Mick. Hope to learn a great deal in this forum about the PicoMite with MMBasic. |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 5711 |
I've started building the Nascom-4 already. :) (I got the last of Neil's first batch of boards). It was one of those projects that got put on hold when more important stuff came along though. The PCB (with most of the sockets) and a nice case (almost ready to be cut) are sitting there waiting for me to carry on with them. I've even loaded the program into the FPGA. The initial delay was that I wanted two matching VGA sockets but I only had one and Neil had run out. I'd ordered some that looked similar but was waiting for them to come from China. Then life got in the way. I've been playing with a PCB design for a little Hammond case that would take the essential components for a Multicomp (but not the additional stuff for the Nascom-4). I've also been searching around to see if anyone has implemented a PIO or something similar in VHDL to use some of the spare pins but had no luck so far. I'm not sure if the FPGA has enough space left anyway. I'm very new to FPGAs and bought a spare one at the time just for playing with. :) Edited 2022-09-27 17:08 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| okwatts Regular Member Joined: 27/09/2022 Location: CanadaPosts: 51 |
I have also got Nascom4 going on the MultiComp with Neil's last version, no PIO or FD but it can use the SD card for Disk. My problem is I never had a Nascom or much Z80 stuff I was primarily 6502 and 6809 in those days. I too am very much a newb on the FPGA (VHDL or Verilog) so while there is a 65C02 core in verilog I haven't the knowledge at this point to convert it to VHDL for improving my 6502 version. There are way too many projects to play with, both hardware and software, for my age-diminished brain cells to get to in the time I have. I subscribe to the theory that having something to stretch the mind and look forward to will help forestall a precipitous decline in mental acuity. |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 5711 |
I'm not arguing with that. lol I think it does us good to keep the brain cells ticking over. That's one of the reasons I wanted to build a Nascom-4. I started off with a Nascom-1 and expanded it. I didn't get a Nascom-2 as they were too expensive - and I'd already spent what money I had! Since then I have managed to get a Nascom-2 and quite a bit of Gemini stuff. Neil's Nascom-4 is a natural progression for me and will also let me play with stuff that I couldn't possibly have afforded, like disks. It's also a *much* smaller case - and I might include a Gotek drive. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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