25 Jun
2012
25 Jun
'12
11:04 p.m.
That sounds like fun, but do you have a source of PGA '030s readily
available?
I haven't been actively looking in some time, but
last I checked you could
expect to shell out upwards of $30 each, which seems a little much for a
hobbyist SBC (the sockets aren't the cheapest things on earth, either).
'040s
are somewhat easier to find in quantity and are pretty
nice performers,
though I've never looked at an '040 design closely enough to tell whether
the
bus interface is that much harder.
- Dave
Hi Dave
Yes, the conversation on a hobbyist 68040 SBC is continuing on the N8VEM
mailing list. After doing some research on a notional design (MC68040 with
MC68360 in "companion mode") and some bare bones IO (using a Propeller) I
am stunned at how expensive such a design would be. I realize Motorola lost
the hardware price wars in the 1990's and now I know why! This will cost a
fortune to build!
The MC68040 is very expensive and the MC68360 is also expensive but at least
there is a "low cost" (<$30) in large SMT-only packages (QFP-240). Ugh.
Even a stripped down SBC is going to be very expensive to build and will
almost certainly require SMT devices. The MC68030 is essentially
unobtainium except for onesie/twosie deals on eBay.
I am discovering the fully 32 bit Motorola processors with MMU are not
"hobbyist friendly" by any stretch. Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks
and have a nice day!
Andrew Lynch
PS, if you are interested in the 68040 SBC discussion you are welcome to
join us on the N8VEM mailing list.