OT? What 8bit Microprocessors still available new?

My question is what exactly is the goal? Do you want to run any existing operating systems?

How much work do you want to put into a paged memory system to support large amounts of memory?

At some point, why not use an open source core, and use a Xilinx? Through hole or surface mount? Monolithic system or cards for each function? Expansion compatible with any existing technology?

I ask these because I've asked myself the same questions. Somewhere in my queue is laying out a board for a 1802 system. I have amassed more than enough necessary components, and some interest has been expressed by others in it. To me, there's not much point in taking the basic Elf design and making a PC board out of it. I want to be able to load code over a serial port to it, and use remote debugging. Front panel switches are fun for a while, but they're a helluva way to debug by todays standards (I (heart) JTAG). I've also amassed a considerable amount of 6809 parts for a similiar project. How compatible to I want to be with other peoples existing code or hardware? Am I building this just for myself, or should it be useful to others? In my mind, if I'm going to have mass storage on it, I want a compact flash and IDE interface (IDE optional, CF required). How much complexity do I want in my memory manager? Finally, except for a very few parts, just about all families have readily available parts, IF you count eBay as a source. Much of my 6809 stock came from there. Mouser sells 10Mhz Z80s at reasonable prices, and there's no shortage of peripherials. In fact, that's what I used in my SOAPOC prototype (< http://tinymicros.com/embedded/Z80 actual design. But I haven't settled on how my MMU and all will work, since I'd like to support running MP/M and CP/M 3.0 on it. This isn't meant to be discouraging. I'm all for the idea, as long as it's not based on a <!-- piece of crap architecture designed by retarded monkeys --> PIC.

--jc Ron Hudson wrote: