news@zodiac.UUCP (USENET News) (03/03/89)
From: pkahn@meridian.ads.com (Philip Kahn) Path: meridian!pkahn Similar to a previous posting by someone else, I am looking for a microprocessor development system for my MacII. For example, I want to control a motor, so I want to use a simple 8-bit microprocessor, with a small ROM, RAM, and perhaps and RS-232 chip. To develop this system, I need a compiler (or, less attractively, an assembler) for the microprocessor, preferably a MacII-based simulator to debug the code with, and an interface between the microcontroller and the Mac. This stuff is all standard fare in the PC/XT/AT world, but I hate IBM, I own a Mac, and I want to keep it that way. Can anyone suggest a product(s), companies, or anything to support this type of venture. I am leaning towards the 8080A, Z80, or 6502, but anything that is well-supported and uses a low-cost microprocessor (i.e., 8-bit) is fine with me. thanks, phil...
hpoppe@bierstadt.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (03/04/89)
In article <7051@zodiac.UUCP> pkahn@ads.com (Philip Kahn) writes: >From: pkahn@meridian.ads.com (Philip Kahn) >Path: meridian!pkahn > >Similar to a previous posting by someone else, I am looking for a >microprocessor development system for my MacII. For example, I want >to control a motor, so I want to use a simple 8-bit microprocessor, >with a small ROM, RAM, and perhaps and RS-232 chip. To develop this >system, I need a compiler (or, less attractively, an assembler) for >the microprocessor, preferably a MacII-based simulator to debug the >code with, and an interface between the microcontroller and the Mac. >This stuff is all standard fare in the PC/XT/AT world, but I hate IBM, >I own a Mac, and I want to keep it that way. > >Can anyone suggest a product(s), companies, or anything to support >this type of venture. I am leaning towards the 8080A, Z80, or 6502, >but anything that is well-supported and uses a low-cost microprocessor >(i.e., 8-bit) is fine with me. > You don't say whether this is for your personal use or for a product the company you work for is developing. Since I don't have big bucks to spend on my own projects, I've not made it a point to become familiar with systems (if any) that are used for "professional" microcontroller development. Like you, I am interested in controlling a motor fom my Mac. For this purpose I use a single-chip microcomputer (=microcontroller), not a microprocessor with support chips. These devices are more suitable for this kind of an application because they include such things as timers onboard the chip. I control the speed of my motor using pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques. Varying the duty cycle of the square wave output gives one a varying average voltage across the motor (this is a DC permanent magnet motor). I use the timer to generate the square wave. This allows me to simultaneous communicate with the Mac via the chip's onboard serial port. I use a version of the Z8 microcontroller from Zilog. The version includes a (very) simple integer BASIC interpreter in the chips ROM. The Z8 is mounted on a PC board with 4K of pseudo-static RAM (to hold the program), an address latch to demultiplex the address for the RAM, RS232 drivers/receivers and some glue chips. I purchased the board from MicroMint about 5 years ago. To program this system in BASIC, I just use a terminal emulator on the Mac. For my current project, I can't used interpreted BASIC, it is too slow. I do use it however as a "monitor" to download a machine language program to the chip. I use a spreadsheet to write the assembly language and then hand assemble the code into machine language. I use the spreadsheet to convert the hand assembled code into a form I can download to the Z8. This form is similar to doing an "immediate" POKE in other forms of BASIC. As you can well imagine, hand assembling code is a royal pain. I am looking to use a cross-assembler to do that job. A company called: Micro Dialects Dept U PO Box 30014 Cincinnati, OH 45230 (513) 271-9100 makes Mac based cross-assemblers that support COP400, RCA 1802, 6502, 6801/6800, 6804, 6805, 6809, 68HC11, 8048, 8051, 8085, 8096, Z8, and Z80 microcontrollers and microprocesors. Each cross-assembler costs $129.95. Which is more than I care to spend since I'm interested in using other microcontrollers as well as the Z8. (By the way, there are freeware Mac cross-assemblers for Motorola's line of chips available on their bulletin board. Unfortunately, these are old and don't seem to work with HFS. I was able to successfully assemble a few line of code on an MFS disk.) My current plans are to obtain the source code for a "universal" cross-assembler and port it to the Mac. I don't know of anyone making simulators (like Avocet's that run on the PC) that run on the Mac. I don't know of any cross-compilers, either. Even on the PC, there are none for the simpler chips. In addition to the Z8 chip that runs BASIC (the 8671, now about $8 through JAMECO) there is the INTEL 8052AH BASIC that runs a version of BASIC more suitable for process control. MicroMint has (had?) a version of FORTH on ROM that plugged into a piggyback version of the Z8. There is also a company that sells a version of the 68HC11 with FORTH in ROM. Rockwell also has a FORTH microcontroller with an instruction set similar to the 6502, if I remember correctly. All of these chips are more suitable than the 8671 for process control. Several companies make pre-assembled systems based on these chips. Each family of microcontroller may have many members. There is usually one or two members in each that are designed for development or small production runs. Normally these devices are used to prototype a design that will be used to mask the ROM of another family member that will be produced in the 100,000's. The development versions may have no ROM (you use these like a microprocessor with off-chip ROM and/or RAM but still have the benefits of on-chip timers, parallel ports, UART, etc.), EPROM, or EEPROM. The EPROM versions are a pain to develop for because of the erase/program cycle. The EEPROM versions are relatively new, and are the most expensive. I'd like to get my hands on an MC68HC805C4. This version's EEPROM can be programmed (via an on-chip bootstrap loader in ROM) via its serial port. ROMless chips can be very inexpensive: chips like the 8031 and 6803 are priced in the $4 range. Best of luck! Herb Poppe NCAR INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (303) 497-1296 P.O. Box 3000 CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET Boulder, CO 80307 UUCP: hpoppe@scdpyr.UUCP
bruce@quick.COM (Bruce Hemingway) (03/06/89)
In article <7051@zodiac.UUCP>, news@zodiac.UUCP (USENET News) writes: > Similar to a previous posting by someone else, I am looking for a > microprocessor development system for my MacII. For example, I want > Can anyone suggest a product(s), companies, or anything to support > this type of venture. I am leaning towards the 8080A, Z80, or 6502, > but anything that is well-supported and uses a low-cost microprocessor > (i.e., 8-bit) is fine with me. A Manx Aztec C is available as a cross- development system for the Mac environment. Versions support 680x0, 8086, 6805, 6502, Z80 and perhaps others, if memory serves. I recently purchased the 68020 system to do cross-development. The system produces S-record format code which downloads to many eprom programmers. The only disadvantage (in my opinion) is that it does not run under MPW shell. Instead it uses the Aztec shell which replaces the finder and will not run under multifinder. Bruce Hemingway .
curry@garth.UUCP (Ray Curry) (03/08/89)
In article <311@quick.COM> bruce@quick.COM (Bruce Hemingway) writes: >In article <7051@zodiac.UUCP>, news@zodiac.UUCP (USENET News) writes: >> Similar to a previous posting by someone else, I am looking for a >> microprocessor development system for my MacII. For example, I want >> Can anyone suggest a product(s), companies, or anything to support >> this type of venture. I am leaning towards the 8080A, Z80, or 6502, >> but anything that is well-supported and uses a low-cost microprocessor >> (i.e., 8-bit) is fine with me. >A >Manx Aztec C is available as a cross- development system for the >Mac environment. Versions support 680x0, 8086, 6805, 6502, Z80 and >perhaps others, if memory serves. I recently purchased the 68020 >system to do cross-development. The system produces S-record format >code which downloads to many eprom programmers. The only >disadvantage (in my opinion) is that it does not run under MPW >shell. Instead it uses the Aztec shell which replaces the finder and >will not run under multifinder. > Bruce Hemingway > The last version of Manx's Aztec C I received does run under MPW. I am getting a little disturbed at Manx however since I am a long term user and bought upgrade subscriptions at $100 for the last two years and received no upgrades. Aztec C has been a little funny in the Mac world because of the console driver equivalent used. Code would run under the Aztec shell or had to have the con added to the system. (Now it runs under MPW but you loose some tools like the vi editor). For cross development, it wouldn't present a problem.
nick@druco.ATT.COM (nick) (03/08/89)
In article <311@quick.COM>, bruce@quick.COM (Bruce Hemingway) writes: > Manx Aztec C is available as a cross- development system for the > Mac environment. Versions support 680x0, 8086, 6805, 6502, Z80 and > perhaps others, if memory serves. Bruce, Manx does sell development systems for the 80x86,680x,z80x, However, these are MS_DOS based. The only system they sell that runs on the Mac is the 680x0 system. It's a pitty they have not ported the other cross comiplers/assemblers to Mac. I'm also interested in what's available. Nick
paco@oakhill.UUCP (Paco) (03/15/89)
In article <3800@druco.ATT.COM>, nick@druco.ATT.COM (nick) writes: > In article <311@quick.COM>, bruce@quick.COM (Bruce Hemingway) writes: > > Manx Aztec C is available as a cross- development system for the > > Mac environment. Versions support 680x0, 8086, 6805, 6502, Z80 and > > perhaps others, if memory serves. > > Bruce, Manx does sell development systems for the 80x86,680x,z80x, However, > these are MS_DOS based. The only system they sell that runs on the Mac > is the 680x0 system. It's a pitty they have not ported the other cross > comiplers/assemblers to Mac. I'm also interested in what's available. > > Nick Motorola offers Mac based cross development systems. Our department has an MC68020 system on the market... An MC68020 compiler/assembler/linker along with emulator software for the HDS-300 hardware development station and MC68020 emulator module that provides source level debug and bus analysis. We have a M68K Family Assembler for the Mac that's just about ready to be released. On the low-end of Mac based development, somebody could use the assembler and utilities to covert executables into S-records. We have work in progress on Macintosh cross compilers and emulator software for other processors in the M68K family. Those will support other emulator modules for the HDS-300 station and its successor. Contact a local Motorola sales office for prices or email to me for technical information. paco. ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- Macintosh Software Developer Motorola Microprocessor Products Group Austin, Texas email: cs.utexas.edu!oakhill!devsys!paco paco @ Generic BBS 201/389-8473 disclaimer: author is responsible for all statements author-of: Menstat, CS-1 @ Stanford, MacGroup @ AT&T, emulators galore... quote: "Tiger smells blood."