I will use this thread to document and discuss a development board that I will be creating and printing for the community, with the help of the community of course.
I have decided to mimic an arduino-type of stackable interface for this single-board computer. The development board will contain headers on all sides to connect and communicate with other boards that will and may follow. The main board will contain the z80 CPU, 56K RAM, 8K ROM, memory decoder, power input & Regulation, crystal with debounce and user-accessible interrupt pins all pull to the appropriate high or low terminals.
The headers surrounding our board are going to be connected to each pin of the CPU and each of the expandable memory controls. I am undecided as to whether I will use many or any SMT components, though these would be preinstalled in the kit I decide to do so.
The first stackable board will contain serial, USB, PS/2 and composite video output. These are the first items to be added and will be included as part of the kit. What good would it be without these? The third stackable board, if made, will be a board that contains many tie points for modification and addition. Again, the memory addressing pins will be connected up to the third board, so adding devices into memory will be easy. SID's, YM2612's, AY-3-8910's, FRAM, floppy drive, SD adapter, etc...etc...
I am also in need of a username change. A name that may be used as a business name and or something to be proud of. I have been using Jazzmarazz since I was 13 and playing NeoPets (hit me up, lol) and it is time for a change. Clearly, you are all aware of what I like to do and what community I cater to, so put on your thinking caps.
Words I like:
Defunct
Obsolescence
micro
byte
I have no need for these words to be included, but it is a start.
Cheers,
~The artist currently known as Jazz
EDIT: Thinking about the computer and I am uncertain if I would like to do a simple dev board without the frills, a full computer or both....Problem is...I want both! I think I shall start with a bare z80, rom/ram setup. Nothing special, but fully moddable. It will cost much less and can be made to do anything, even as much as the full computer I hope to make soon afterward.
EDIT: Finishing up the main tracing and still positioning silk screens stuff. The board is not going to be just square as it is shown, so I may design a bottom half of a housing shell in CATIA. I know nothing about how we can get plastic objects printed though, so if anyone knows, tell me. Here is the basic chip placement:
Resistors will be made Surface Mount to save space and so the ground pour doesn't get chopped up so much. At this point, there are many free headers on either side of the board. Ceramic Caps will remain through-hole so that VCC may be routed on both sides more easily and to offer more coverage of GND. um...yep. That is all for now.
