Digitalker, SP0256, and SC-01 speech chips

From: cclist at sydex.com> > Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:37:46 -0800> > From: Brent Hilpert>> > Reading the Osborne book some time ago I got the impression the SMS300> > might be considered the first (micro-)DSP. Extracts:> >> > "The SMS300 is described by its manufacturer as a "microcontroller"> > rather than a "microprocessor". This distinction draws attention to the> > very unique capabilities of the SMS300 which make it the most> > remarkable device described in this book."> >> > "The SMS300 is designed to serve as a signal processor, operating> > at very high speed. The SMS300 can handle applications of this type at> > more than 10 times the speed of any other device described in this> > book."> >> > "If yours is a high speed signal processing application, then give> > the SMS300 serious consideration; otherwise, the SMS300 is probably not> > for you.">> It's true that the SMS300/8X300 was pretty fast for the time> (instruction time was 250 nsec., consisting of 4 cycles of 62.5> nsec), the instruction set was very limited, as was the data> addressing (256 bytes each for right and left I/O register banks).>> As to the limits of the implementation, consider the benchmark> implementation in the Osborne book.>> If I had to guess, I'd say that where the 8x300 saw most of its> application was in hard disk controllers. About the only other> alternative in the day was to employ bit-slice logic or discrete TTL.>-snip-