rjd@faron.UUCP (Robert DeBenedictis) (01/24/86)
I remember seeing this mentioned somewhere on the net before and I just wanted to follow up. I just went out and picked up my M68000KIT (that's the part number) from a local electronics supply place. I think it will be very interesting to play around with and it was a bargain, in my opinion. Here's a summary of what I got for $65.00 : - Nine chips: MC68000 MC68008 MC68010 MC68230 MC68440 MC68652 MC68661 MC68681 MC68901 - Complete documentation for all of the chips, including little reference cards and everything. - Lots of other technical documentation including comparisons of 68nnn parts to other competitive parts from intel and other manufacturers, schematics of recommended configurations, reprints of magazine articles etc. In case you are not familiar with Motorola's poduct line, these chips are (in order) 3 microprocessors, a parallel interface/timer, a dual DMA controller, multi protocol communication controller, a peripheral communication interface, a DUART, and a multi-function peripheral chip. One particularly interesting item is the 68010. It must have been thrown in at the last minute, since it isn't listed on the "contents" sheet. There are also some technical notes about how to replace an existing 68000 with a 68010 and what performance increase could be expected. I bet lots of Mac, Amiga, and 520ST owners might want to give it a try. I realize that most of the documentation is available for free if you ask around for it, and I'm not sure how much it would cost to purchase all of the chips, but I think it was a nice package for someone who is interested in 68--- systems. There's a questionaire in the kit and it says that if you return it they'll send you a 68020 sample and some more literature, so I guess they probably want to get your name on their mailing list. By the way, I got mine at Pioneer Electronics, 44 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA. I just called them up, ordered it, and then stopped by a few hours later and picked it up.