Posted By
DanSolo
on 2007-07-06
17:05:47
|  FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
The number of working TED based machines seems to be plummeting. I realise full documentation is probably not available, but if there's 100% accurate TED or CPU emulation available, could an FPGA be based around that code?
Just a thought.
Now shoot me.
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Posted By
Rachy
on 2007-07-07
07:38:30
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
It can be done, but lot of work because of the proper timing.
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Posted By
Bionic
on 2007-07-07
14:34:50
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Not much worse than coding a software emulator - if you know what you are doing.
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Posted By
Rachy
on 2007-07-08
03:51:02
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Which is also lot of work, if you want decent emulation... 
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Posted By
Degauss
on 2007-07-08
15:30:04
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Has anyone a good primer about FPGA-chips and how to develop something on them? url?
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Posted By
Bionic
on 2007-07-09
22:14:14
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
This is a nice site: http://www.fpga4fun.com/
And this would be a nice start for a plus/4: http://www.syntiac.com/c_one.html.. 70% of the work already done.
You can get a board that is capable of holding a plus/4 for ~100€. For example the Spartan IIIe starter kit from xilinx.
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Posted By
visitor
on 2007-07-12
01:16:44
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Gee... and here I was, about to to my summer cleaning and haul my old Plussies and stock of chips to the dump.
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2007-07-13
15:26:35
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Is there also a device emulator or you have to buy a board per se?
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Posted By
indi
on 2007-07-14
10:23:04
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Theres a whole heap of this kind of thing going on. Heres one....
http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/ZX81/ZX81_FPGA/ZX81_FPGA.htm
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Posted By
Bionic
on 2007-07-14
17:09:30
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Gaia:
You don't emulate the device, you simulate your VHDL code. VHDL can actually be compiled into executable code.
And yes, there are some simulators that come with the free HDL pagackes.
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Posted By
Bionic
on 2007-07-14
17:12:07
| Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
.. but working with the simulator is no fun. It can never be realtime. Its better to try the code on real hardware .)
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Posted By
YERZMYEY
on 2009-10-20
15:39:35
 | Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Well, if the machine is 100% ideal (well, let it be 99%) then the idea is good (if one day all 264 are dead).
Actually I have this kind of ZX Spectrum (ZX Sprinter) and it works perfectly.
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Posted By
MMS
on 2009-10-22
18:16:41
 | Re: FPGA for old chips... can this be done?
Well,I still prefer the EMualtor than the real HW.
In fact, I have a theoretical question: if the PC WOULD look like the +4 (or an Amiga, all in one in a small keyboard, but NOT laptop), and from switch-on mode it would run as a +4, would be prefer it instead of the FPGA design?
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