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STEbus 68000

68000 processor board renovation

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Renovation of a tried and tested commercial design. Not my own design!

This was not a best seller.

I suspect the PAL chips are a lot more complex than the 68008 or 68020 designs. They must interface the CPU's 16-bit data bus to the 8-bit STEbus. There is a 74LS646 instead of the usual 74LS245 bus data buffer.

I saw one for $995 on eBay which was way beyond my budget. I recently saw one for $220, still not trivial but I bought it.

From the ASCII text in the firmware, I believe this board came from an OS-9/68000 system made by VG Elemental, and a product called the PlasmaQuad. 

https://www.precisionglassblowing.com/product/vg-plasmaquad-2/

VG Elemental seem to have been absorbed by Thermo Scientific.

J191-V1-I3-U11-AMDPALCE22V10H-25-CS10F72.EQN.txt

Logic equations for data bus interface manager.

plain - 3.92 kB - 03/29/2022 at 15:16

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J191-V1-I3-U7-Cypress-PALCE16V8-15P-CS51C5.EQN.txt

Logic equations for interrupt priority encoder.

plain - 1.94 kB - 03/29/2022 at 15:16

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J191-V1-I3-U24-Cypress-PALC22V10D-15PC-CSA6F3.EQN.txt

Logic equations for RAM and ROM address decoder.

plain - 2.27 kB - 03/29/2022 at 15:16

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J191-V1-I3-U23-AMD-PALCE22V10H-25PC-CSAB47.EQN.txt

Logic equations for large-scale address decoder.

plain - 3.30 kB - 03/29/2022 at 15:16

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J191-V1-I3-U13-Lattice-PAL16V8D-25-CS5DC1.EQN.txt

Logic equations for bus arbiter.

plain - 2.20 kB - 03/29/2022 at 15:16

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  • Catalogue page

    Keith03/14/2026 at 14:38 0 comments

    SC68000 68000 Target CPU with SRAM

    The SC68000 is a low power CMOS CPU for STEbus, based on an 8- or 16 MHz 68000, with extensive on-board memory for optimum performance. This provides a powerful foundation for implementing real-time systems, additionally offering a straightforward upgrade path for users of the SC008 68008-based CPU (with an approximate four-fold speed increase).

    The board comes with up to 256 Kbytes of zero wait-state battery-backed static RAM, and two sockets to house up to 512 Kbytes EPROM configured for the 68000's 16-bit wide data bus.

    Two serial ports are provided by a 68681 UART, these can be configured as RS232 channels or as one RS232 and one RS485 channel. Utility functions include a battery-backed real-time clock and a software watchdog timer. Interrupts can be generated from the UART, real-time clock, and any of the STEbus' attention request lines (with connections via jumpers for flexibility).

    The boards interface to the STEbus supports word accesses, allowing users to run the 68000 in 16-bit mode for optimum performance. System Clock and Reset facilities are provided, and the CPU can act either as a single permanent master or in a default/potential master mode for multi-processing.

    Four LEDs are provided; one wired to indicate CPU Run/Halt status, the others are user-configurable and are driven by the UART. Software support includes the OS-9/68K operating system, together with drivers for a complete range of IO and expansion boards.

    Interface:

    STEbus permanent master or default/potential master mode.

    Power consumption:

    Typ 800mA @ 5V, 30mA @±12V

    Features:

    • 8 or 16 MHz 68000 processor low-power CMOS options
    • Up to 256Kb battery-backed zero wait-state static RAM
    • Up to 512Kb EPROM
    • Two serial ports, one configurable to RS485)
    • Real-time clock, watchdog timer
    • Permanent master or default/potential master operation
    • LED indication of Run/Halt
    • Two user-programmable LEDs
    • Flexible interrupt scheme
    • Comprehensive OS-9 and PC-hosted software support

    Ordering Information:

    SC68000-8       8 MHz 68000 CPU,  64Kb SRAM 
    SC68000-81      8 MHz 68000 CPU, 128Kb SRAM
    SC68000-82      8 MHz 68000 CPU, 256Kb SRAM 
    SC68000-16     16 MHz 68000 CPU , 64Kb SRAM 
    SC68000-161    16 MHz 68000 CPU, 128Kb SRAM 
    SC68000-162    16 MHz 68000 CPU, 256Kb SRAM 
    SC68000CM-8     8 MHz 68000 low-power CPU,  64Kb SRAM
    SC68000CM-81    8 MHz 68000 low-power CPU, 128Kb SRAM
    SC68000CM-82    8 MHz 68000 low-power CPU, 256Kb SRAM
    SC68000CM-16   16 MHz 68000 low-power CPU,  64Kb SRAM
    SC68000CM-161  16 MHz 68000 low-power CPU, 128Kb SRAM
    SC68000CM-162  16 MHz 68000 low-power CPU, 256Kb SRAM

  • Programmable logic

    Keith03/25/2022 at 16:54 0 comments

    I've got a bit further analysing the equations than the files uploaded on the 13th March, but for some reason I am unable to upload files as of now.

    The 68008 board PAL chips provide good hints about the logic. 

    The 68000 logic seems to be complicated by the fact the data bus interface is neither 8-bit (like the 68008) nor can it be made so by dynamic bus sizing (like the 68020).

    Instead, the logic appears to generate two 8-bit STEbus cycles for every 16-bit CPU cycle.

    One of the bytes is temporarily held in a latch (a 74ACT646) while the other passes through a buffer (a 74ACT245). These present two bus loads that are in total probably less than one LS TTL load.

  • Sourcing

    Keith02/19/2022 at 21:52 0 comments

    2022-02-19

    Spotted one for $220. Bought it. Works out to be $327.22 or £240.77 after import duty and postage. Not cheap but STEbus evangelism is my bag. Due to arrive in March, when I shall read its programmables!

  • About the PlasmaQuad 3

    Keith02/25/2021 at 13:35 0 comments

    According to https://core.ac.uk/reader/82231630

    The new VG PlasmaQuad 3 system is the "highest performance quadrupole ICPMS ever built, and the most automated" claims the company.  It introduces a range of new features, including a fully automated dual-mode plasma torch designed to operate in the standard mode for the majority of elemental determinations, and in a cool plasma mode for the determination of selected elements; the "S" option interface to dramatically increase sensitivity allowing routine determination of sub ppq levels; Super-Quant to automatically provide accurate, interference-corrected concentrations; and, AutoRange plus, an advanced detector system providing a linear dynamic range of eight orders of magnitude, increases accuracy and productivity.

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