Home
JAQForum Ver 24.01
Log In or Join  
Active Topics
Local Time 02:04 22 Nov 2025 Privacy Policy
Jump to

Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me.

Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : I don't need no stinkin' 16 bits .....

Author Message
hitsware2

Guru

Joined: 03/08/2019
Location: United States
Posts: 735
Posted: 10:54pm 27 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

F W I W
my site
 
scruss
Regular Member

Joined: 20/09/2021
Location: Canada
Posts: 95
Posted: 12:41am 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Not 16 bits, but 32 bits! It uses a 240 MHz ESP32 as its graphics processor
 
Mixtel90

Guru

Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8304
Posted: 11:07am 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

I want to refuse cookies so I'll not bother with that site.
It also runs like a slug. I have better things to do with my time.
Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs
 
robert.rozee
Guru

Joined: 31/12/2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 2466
Posted: 12:29pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

looks like cost is 50 euro from olimex:
https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/open-source-hardware
unfortunately, this is hardly cheap     for that sort of money one could buy a couple or three RPi zeros. while unpopulated PCBs are available, i expect that 'rolling your own' is going to be much cheaper than the olimex price.

you have to dig quite a bit to find out details of the internals. it seems to be:
- enhanced 18MHz clocked Z80 with 512k of paged RAM available,
- ESP32 I/O and graphics processor with 520k of on-die RAM,
- the ESP32 also has 8mb of QSPI attached RAM available via an APS6404L-3SQR,
- runs a simple OS with BBC Basic (c) R.T. Russell, 1987
   (see: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TheByteAttic/AgonLight/main/Agon%20light%20Quick%20Start%20Guide.pdf)

no doubt it is a neat bit of design, but not miles ahead of 2x RP2040's coupled together with one running MMbasic while the other acts as a graphics terminal. or a RP2040 using a RPi zero as a graphics terminal.

it will certainly be interesting to see what direction the project develops in.


cheers,
rob   :-)
Edited 2023-02-28 22:41 by robert.rozee
 
IanRogers

Senior Member

Joined: 09/12/2022
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 152
Posted: 02:34pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

  Mixtel90 said  I want to refuse cookies so I'll not bother with that site.
It also runs like a slug. I have better things to do with my time.


LOL.. Your signature links Zilog... This is a Z80 running at 18Mhz... A speccy lovers paradise...  I might get one just to play!!
I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous
 
Mixtel90

Guru

Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8304
Posted: 03:22pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Ah, but my sig links Zilog when it was "proper" stuff, not some new-fangled monster! 6MHz was *really* fast!

Seriously - there's no excuse for web sites that don't give an option to refuse cookies (never mind that it's illegal under EU law) and run like a slug on downers. It's very silly design.
Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs
 
hitsware2

Guru

Joined: 03/08/2019
Location: United States
Posts: 735
Posted: 05:03pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

  Mixtel90 said  
there's no excuse for web sites that don't give an option to refuse cookies (never mind that it's illegal under EU law) and run like a slug on downers. It's very silly design.


No sign of that here ( Raspberry Pi / Chromium )
my site
 
hitsware2

Guru

Joined: 03/08/2019
Location: United States
Posts: 735
Posted: 05:06pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

  robert.rozee said  
a neat bit of design, but not miles ahead of 2x RP2040's coupled together with one running MMbasic while the other acts as a graphics terminal. or a RP2040 using a RPi zero as a graphics terminal.


Except for working " out of the box "
my site
 
matherp
Guru

Joined: 11/12/2012
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 10633
Posted: 05:21pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Seems pointless to use an 8-bit processor and then tack on a 32-bit modern one. Why not just code everything on the  ESP32? It is perfectly capable of running a Z80 emulation along with the other things it is doing. I understand (vaguely) things like modern incarnations of C64 that are true to the original design but this isn't any more retro than the PicoMite or CMM2 and Basic on the Z80 will be much slower - pretending 18MHz is fast is ridiculous compared to modern processors.
It won't run C64 games or anything "useful" like that so why hobble performance with a defunct processor?
 
al18
Senior Member

Joined: 06/07/2019
Location: United States
Posts: 231
Posted: 07:10pm 28 Feb 2023
Copy link to clipboard 
Print this post

Looks nice. I checked with Mouser (an Olimex distributor) last month and they are not yet carrying the board. Olimex apparently will ship to the states.
 
Print this page


To reply to this topic, you need to log in.

The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia.
© JAQ Software 2025