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The 100 MHz 6502!

Looks a bit beyond my skill at the moment (working on that), but if they come up for sale before I get to that point...
 

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Yea I saw this. It was very clever.

It plugs in to the 6502 socket, replicates the signals, and essentially just maps all of the memory mapped I/O, and internalizes everything else.

The actual system bus out of the chip is "normal speed" (for assorted values of normal). Everything else runs inside at full speed.

So, if you were, say, to put this in a PET, you'd map the PIO ports and the shared video memory. I imagine you also map the ROM.

Once it starts up, it then read the entirety of the memory space (skipping I/O ports), which included internalizing the ROM, and then it only chatters to the external ports.

It's really neat.
 
You know it would be nice if these projects offered them built for sale. I build most of the projects myself. But honestly it seems its becoming ALL of them these days. I dont have the time to buy all the parts needed to assemble it from many different vendors. Why cant they just offer a kit or prebuilt and raise money for themselves?
 
Speaking as someone guilty of doing this a couple of times (shameless github plug; more is coming!), I think it's a bit like asking why people who post their favourite recipes online don't open a restaurant. The work of procuring, packaging, payment+tax, shipping, support, returns etc. sounds like the kind of thing that would take time away from me working on other hobby projects. My top tip is to make your gizmo interesting enough that somebody else adapts it into a product* :cool:

* I get no cut from this, my designs are released into the public domain. I'm glad to see it out there and appreciate the work the seller puts into it!
 
stepleton said:
Speaking as someone guilty of doing this a couple of times (shameless github plug; more is coming!), I think it's a bit like asking why people who post their favourite recipes online don't open a restaurant. The work of procuring, packaging, payment+tax, shipping, support, returns etc. sounds like the kind of thing that would take time away from me working on other hobby projects. My top tip is to make your gizmo interesting enough that somebody else adapts it into a product* :cool:

* I get no cut from this, my designs are released into the public domain. I'm glad to see it out there and appreciate the work the seller puts into it!
Click to expand...

Ah they stole your aphid huh?!
 
VERAULT said:
Ah they stole your aphid huh?!
Click to expand...

It is impossible to steal that which cannot be owned, unless maybe you're writing a soap opera or something.

I was actually asked if I minded, but (a) I don't and (b) it doesn't matter anymore. Public domain means that I don't get any say, and that's how I like it for these sorts of projects. It's a personal choice --- I don't mean to say everyone should do it like that.

But Al is not kidding. It's a great time these days for software projects.
 
(Juergen has given me permission to post his responses to me.)

Fri., Oct. 15

Many thanks for reaching out! Yes, I have been thinking about supporting the
VIC-20, which should be a more realistic proposition than the C64 (with its
6510 and memory banking trickery...)

But I will probably look into an upgraded version of the 65F02 first, most
likely based on the Spartan-7: As I add more host computers, I am running
into timing bottlenecks in the FPGA. The address decoder (which has to
decide when to route a bus access to the fast internal RAM or to the
external bus) sits on a timing-critical path, and starts to get in the way
of 100 MHz internal operation. I could also do with the larger RAM available
in the Spartan-7, to properly support bank-switched host designs.

Since the Spartan-7 pinout is quite different from the Spartan-6, and it
also needs different supply voltages (and one more), this means a complete
redesign of the PCB. So it will take a while, unfortunately. But looks like
a good winter project, so I hope to get it done eventually!

Sat. Oct. 16

To avoid creating false expectations, it is probably worth adding that the
chances of making the 65F02 available to a broader audience are
unfortunately pretty slim. I have explored options last year to have it
produced in quantities of 100 or so, and found that

(a) The numbers don't work out; the 65F02 would need to be more expensive
than people expect.
(b) Since I am based in Europe, the compliance hurdles are a pain in the
neck. (EMC measurements, anyone?)
(c) Managing the production and distribution would not be fun at all --
certainly not my idea of a hobby, and a job I already have...

Hence, while I very much appreciate the interest and the feedback, I don't
want to create expectations that this will be available on Tindie or
elsewhere any time soon. And on the other hand, the required BGA soldering
will unfortunately mean that only very few hobbyists could build their own
65F02.

Best regards,
Juergen
 
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