using an FPGA to emulate a vintage computer

On Feb 5, 2:13=A0pm, Michael Schwingen
<news-1235297...@discworld.dascon.de> wrote:
> ["Followup-To:" set to comp.arch.fpga.]
>
> Eric Chomko <pne.cho...@comcast.net> wrote:
> > Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> > was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> > compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> > even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> There are several such projects, eg. this Atari ST clone:http://www.exper=
iment-s.de/en/
>
> so most systems from the 8-bit era should be no problem at all.
>

Sehr kewl!

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

Eric

On Feb 5, 3:10=A0pm, james <bu...@bud.u> wrote:
> On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:19:25 -0800 (PST), Eric Chomko
>
> <pne.cho...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> |Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> |was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> |compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> |even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> John Kent has done a lot of work using Xilinx chips and synthesizing a
> 6809 version of the SWTPC onto a chip.
>
> See his webpage here
>
> http://members.optusnet.com.au/jekent/system09/
>
> There is also a yahoo group that is centered around the Tandy CoCO3 on
> a Digilent Spartan 3 starter board with the XC3S1000 chip option. The
> yahoo group is known as CoCo3fpga I think.
>


I have a SWTPC 6809. I will look into John Kent's project. Looks like
lots of fun.

Eric

On Feb 5, 4:57=A0pm, glen herrmannsfeldt <g...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> In comp.arch.fpga Eric Chomko <pne.cho...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> > was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> > compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> > even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> I haven't done it yet, but I am interested. =A0I have a Digilent
> Spartan3E board for that purpose. =A0I think it is big enough for
> the whole system for many of those machines.
>

Yep, that is the idea. I run a small Vintage Computer Club near
Greenbelt/College Park, MD and one of the gusy suggested we do such a
thing, so we are trying to get ideas. This thread is really good stuff
for that purpose.

Eric

On Feb 6, 5:23=A0am, "HT-Lab" <han...@ht-lab.com> wrote:
> "Mike Treseler" <mtrese...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:7t3rmlFhriU1@mid.individual.net...
>
> > Eric Chomko wrote:
> >> Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> >> was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> >> compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> >> even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> > No fpga, but same idea:
> >http://www.grc.com/pdp-8/pdp-8.htm
>
> Looking at the PDP8 picture brings back bad memories of me helping to cle=
ar out
> the computer lab at my old University which was full of PDP8 and PDP11, i=
t all
> went into the skip......;-(
>

Ouch! Heck even the govt. facility's excess warehouse where I work
saved back the remaining PDP-11s knowing they had collector value. I
believe that they have all been sold off as of about 5 years ago.

On Feb 5, 7:57=A0pm, Alex Freed <alex_n...@mirrow.com> wrote:
> Eric Chomko wrote:
> > Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> > was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> > compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> > even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> I did. Some 8 years ago.
>
> http://alexfreed.com/FPGApple/
>
> And then a few other vintage computers.
>

Very cool.

Eric

On Feb 6, 7:35=A0am, n...@puntnl.niks (Nico Coesel) wrote:
> Eric Chomko <pne.cho...@comcast.net> wrote:
> >Has anyone created a copy machine of an old system using an FPGA? I
> >was wondering if it would be possible to take an entire SWTPC 6800 and
> >compile the schematics and have it run on an FPGA board.? Wouldn't
> >even have to be the latest Xylinx product, I suspect.
>
> Many people already did that.
>
> http://www.hat.hi-ho.ne.jp/tujikawa/esepld/esemsx2/
>

Yes, no doubt. I want to do it too, along with others in my Vintage
Computer Club. Perhaps we'll pick something that hasn't been done yet.

Eric

On Feb 6, 1:34=A0pm, Jecel <je...@merlintec.com> wrote:
> I try to keep a reasonably updated list of such projects at
>
> http://www.merlintec.com:8080/hardware/31
>
> -- Jecel

Thanks, for the link.

Eric

In comp.arch.fpga Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> wrote:
(snip)
 
> Personally, I'm very interested in seeing B5500 running again. 
> I'm hoping the MCP tapes we have in the CHM archives are 
> recoverable. I have scanned most of the software listings CHM 
> has in the archives and put them up on bitsavers.

The B5500 was the first computer I did any programming on, when
I was about nine.  Not so much later, it was sold.  I then
rediscovered programming some years later, first on an HP 9810A,
and then OS/360 Fortran. 

It would be nice to try the B5500 again, though software emulation
(instead of FPGA emulation) would probably be just fine.

(snip)
 
> Hans Pufal was working on microcode level simulation of the 360/30, 
> working from reverese-engineered microcode from the Field 
> Engineering documents.

I thought someone had copies of the microcode, but then again
maybe that is what they meant.  Are there no copies of the
actual ROS available in museums?  

-- glen
 

Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> writes:
>
> Reviving early computing dinosaurs from the surviving DNA is difficult.

That's a line that deserves to be put above the entrance to a computer
museum.
-- 
As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should
be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours;
and this we should do freely and generously. (Benjamin Franklin)

On 2/8/10 12:54 PM, Joe Pfeiffer wrote:
> Al Kossow<aek@bitsavers.org>  writes:
>>
>> Reviving early computing dinosaurs from the surviving DNA is difficult.
>
> That's a line that deserves to be put above the entrance to a computer
> museum.

Typo, this was what I actually meant to say

"Reanimating early computing dinosaurs from surviving DNA is difficult."