Difference between revisions of "Fairchild F8"

From Chessprogramming wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
 
Line 83: Line 83:
  
 
=F8 Chess Computers=  
 
=F8 Chess Computers=  
The original [[CompuChess]] <ref>[http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/CompuChess CompuChess] from [http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Hauptseite_En Schachcomputer.info - Wiki] by [[Mike Watters]]</ref> and its [[Clones|clone]], the [[Novag]] [[Chess Champion MK I]] had the '''3850''' CPU and the '''3853''' SMI, addressing a 2 KiB 2316 compatible ROM, and 2 x 2111 <ref>[http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/125751/NSC/MM2111.html MM2111 pdf, MM2111 description, MM2111 datasheets, MM2111 view]</ref> 256x4 each, in total 256 byte SRAM <ref>[http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Novag_Chess_Champion_MK_I Novag Chess Champion MK I] from [http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Hauptseite_En Schachcomputer.info - Wiki] (German)</ref> . [[Boris]] also used the 3850/3853 approach with 2 x 2112 for 256 byte SRAM, and 2 x 2 KiB ROM <ref>[http://alain.zanchetta.free.fr/docs/AppliedConcepts/BorisKitAssemblyManualUS.pdf Boris assembly manual] (pdf) hosted by [[Alain Zanchetta]]</ref> . [[David Kittinger]] had to solve the 128 byte challenge (including scratchpad) for the [[Novag Micro Chess]] with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostek#Microprocessor_second_sourcing_deals Mostek 3870].
+
The original [[CompuChess]] <ref>[http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/CompuChess CompuChess] from [http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Hauptseite_En Schachcomputer.info - Wiki] by [[Mike Watters]]</ref> and its [[:Category:Clone|clone]], the [[Novag]] [[Chess Champion MK I]] had the '''3850''' CPU and the '''3853''' SMI, addressing a 2 KiB 2316 compatible ROM, and 2 x 2111 <ref>[http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/125751/NSC/MM2111.html MM2111 pdf, MM2111 description, MM2111 datasheets, MM2111 view]</ref> 256x4 each, in total 256 byte SRAM <ref>[http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Novag_Chess_Champion_MK_I Novag Chess Champion MK I] from [http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/index.php/Hauptseite_En Schachcomputer.info - Wiki] (German)</ref> . [[Boris]] also used the 3850/3853 approach with 2 x 2112 for 256 byte SRAM, and 2 x 2 KiB ROM <ref>[http://alain.zanchetta.free.fr/docs/AppliedConcepts/BorisKitAssemblyManualUS.pdf Boris assembly manual] (pdf) hosted by [[Alain Zanchetta]]</ref> . [[David Kittinger]] had to solve the 128 byte challenge (including scratchpad) for the [[Novag Micro Chess]] with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostek#Microprocessor_second_sourcing_deals Mostek 3870].
* [[Boris]]
+
* [[:Category:F8|Category:F8]]  
* [[Chess Champion MK I]]
 
* [[Chess Champion Pocket Chess]]
 
* [[Chess Partner 2000]]
 
* [[CompuChess]]
 
* [[Novag Micro Chess]]
 
* [[SABA Videoplay 20]]  
 
  
 
=Publications=
 
=Publications=

Latest revision as of 11:06, 21 March 2020

Home * Hardware * Fairchild F8

Fairchild F8,
an 8-bit multi-chip microcontroller by Fairchild Semiconductor introduced and launched in 1975. The F8 consists of the 3850 CPU with 8-bit ALU, 64-bytes scratchpad RAM and two 8-bit I/O ports, the 3851 program storage unit (PSU) with 2 KiB ROM, the 3852 dynamic memory interface (MI), and 3853 static memory (or ROM) interface (SMI) chip, the optional 3854 DMA controller, and the 3861/3871 parallel I/O (PIO) chips. A minimal system could be build from a 3850 with either a 3851 or a 3853 with external ROM. The Mostek 3870 was a 3850/3851 single-chip implementation with some extra 64 bytes RAM, launched in 1977 [1] .

Details

Circuit Diagram

F8.JPG

F8 Kit circuit diagram [2]

Registers

The 3850 CPU has an 8-bit accumulator as input and output of the ALU, as well a 5-bit status register to indicate the flags sign, carry, zero and overflow after arithmetical and logical operations, as well as an interrupt control bit to enable or disable interrupts. The 64 byte scratchpad memory allow indirect addressing mode via the ISAR (indirect scratchpad register), which could be used as a kind of stack pointer to a stack frame of 8 bytes.

16-bit progam counter, stack register, data counter (DC to indirectly address up 64 KiB of memory), and address incrementer/adder were not part of the CPU, but in each PSU and/or MI. There is no address bus from the CPU, but a set of control signals, and transfer of addresses, i.e. branch targets, via the data bus. The stack register is directly linked to the program counter and simplifies the creation of a call stack.

Instructions

Arithmetical and logical instructions work on the accumulator. Source operands are either implicit, content of scratchpad register, indirect addressed via post-incremented data counter (DC) register, or immediate :

Mnemonic Description Operation Bytes Cycles
NI ii And with immediate ACC &= ii 2 2.5
NS rn And with scratchpad r0..63 ACC &= rn 1 1
NM And via post-incremented DC ACC &= *DC++ 1 2.5

Endianess

F8 is a big-endian machine concerning the byte-order of 16-bit words in (scratchpad) memory. For instance, LR PO,Q, restore Q register contents to the program counter, has the upper byte in scratchpad register r14, and the lower byte in r15.

Sample Assembly

A answer back program in F8 Assembly as given by David Edwards, Electronics Australia [3] :

ANSWER-BACK PROGRAM FOR MOSTEK F8 EVALUATION KIT
D. EDWARDS, ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA 19/10/76

0400 20 FF       INIT,LI FF        /LOAD AC WITH FF
0402 OB               LR IS,A      /INITIALIZE ISAR TO 3F
0403 54               LR 4,A       /COPY AC INTO REG 4
0404 34               DS 4         /DECREMENT REG 4 TO FE
0405 56               LR 6,A       /COPY AC INTO REG 6
0406 71               LIS H'1'     /LOAD AC WITH 01
0407 B6               OUTS 6       /TRANSFER AC TO TIMER PORT TO ENABLE EXT INT
0408 1B               EI           /ENABLE I/O ROUTINES
0409 20 03 F3   START,PI 03F3      /CALL TTYIN SUBROUTINE
040C 4C               LR AS        /COPY CHAR INTO AC FROM RS
040D 25 OD            CI 'OD'      /COMPARE WITH CR
040F 84 06            BZ MESSAGE   /JUMP TO MESSAGE IF CR
0411 28 03 5D         PI 035D      /SEND CHAR TO TTYOUT SUBROUTINE
0414 90 F4            BR START     /LOOP BACK TO START
0416 2A 04 23 MESSAGE,DCI 0423     /LOAD DC WITH MESSAGE ADDRESS
0419 70        ANSWER,CLR          /CLEAR AC
041A 88               AM           /ADD CHAR TO AC AND INC DC
041B 84 ED            BZ START     /LOOP BACK TO START
041D 5C               LR S,A       /COPY CHAR INTO RS
041E 28 03 5D         PI 035D      /SEND CHAR TO TTYOUT SUBROUTINE
0421 90 F7            BR ANSWER    /LOOP BACK TO ANSWER
0423 OD 47 4F                      /START OF ANSWER BUFFER
0426 20 41 57
0429 41 59 2C
042C 20 49 27
043F 4D 20 42
0432 55 53 59
0435 21 OD 00                      /ANSWER MUST END WITH A ZERO BYTE

F8 Chess Computers

The original CompuChess [4] and its clone, the Novag Chess Champion MK I had the 3850 CPU and the 3853 SMI, addressing a 2 KiB 2316 compatible ROM, and 2 x 2111 [5] 256x4 each, in total 256 byte SRAM [6] . Boris also used the 3850/3853 approach with 2 x 2112 for 256 byte SRAM, and 2 x 2 KiB ROM [7] . David Kittinger had to solve the 128 byte challenge (including scratchpad) for the Novag Micro Chess with Mostek 3870.

Publications

External Links

References

Up one Level