Emulators of Classic Computers - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

14 Jan 2004

...
 From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk

  I am having problems getting enough information
to make my Emulex
 SC70 masbus disk controller work. If I have to repair it, I'm will
 be in serious trouble. I doubt that I will be able to locate a
 schematic given that I am having so much difficulty locating just 
If it uses standard chips (i.e. data sheets exist), then it can be 
reverse-engineered!

  a manual. The SC70 uses a 16bit 290x bitslice
processor, so after
 those parts are no longer available, even though it would trivially
 fit into a small FPGA of the time, and even if the logic levels are
 compatible, reprogramming an FPGA to do what the 290x does will not
 be a trivial task. 
OK, the 290x chips are not simple, but data sheets exist, so it should be 
possible to make an FPGA do the same thing. 
Oh come now, the 290X parts are not that complicated. The 2901 is just
an ALU. I don't think there is anything in this series, including
the 2916 that can't be easily implemented in todays technology. In fact,
I'm sure you can even buy off the shelf models for these. I've seen
things like 8051's and 6800's for those that need that fuction in
a fpga.
Dwight

...

 Just imagine trying to repair all of the proprietary components
 in a PC or even the CAD program dongle 50 years from now. 
I knew there was a reason why I stuck to classic computers ;-)

-tony