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One annoying thing is that nobody makes new 68k CPUs anymore. The only real source appears to be scavenged chips from China. If you want to limit your retrocom
by phire 6y ago
One annoying thing is that nobody makes new 68k CPUs anymore. The only real source appears to be scavenged chips from China.
If you want to limit your retrocomputer design to only parts that are still manufactured, like I do: The only cpu choices appear to be: Z80, 68c02 and 68c816
- korethr 6y agoWhich is a shame. Just from high level descriptions of the 68k architecture, compared to my own (albeit very limited) experience with x86 assembly, the 68k seems a much more elegant and easier to program architecture.
- phire 6y agoSomeone else in this thread has pointed out you can still buy the 68SEC000 from digikey. But it's not recommended for new designs.
- korethr 6y agoYou are correct. I also seem to recall recently reading news that someone had started fabbing 68020s again, but can't find the source at the moment.
- enticeing 6y agoWikipedia says Rochester Electronics, and I did find it here on their site: https://www.rocelec.com/part/REIMC68020EH33E https://www.rocelec.com/part/REIMC68020EH33E
- zokier 6y agoAt $100 for '020 and $300 for '040 I don't see many hobbyists rushing for those. You can get pretty damn nice FPGA for that sort of money, even if I understand it's not quite the same. https://www.rocelec.com/part/REIMC68040RC25A https://www.rocelec.com/part/REIMC68040RC25A
- wrycoder 6y agoNXP USA Inc. MC68SEC000AA16 $19.39 for one https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/nxp-usa-inc/MC68SEC000AA16/954577 https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/nxp-usa-inc/MC68S...
- xyproto 6y agoYou can run a 68k emulator on a 64-bit x86 if you wish to program as a hobby. Or is this about professional 68k programming, or perhaps nostalgia?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- krallja 6y agoIn 2014, Rochester Electronics has re-established manufacturing capability for the 68020 microprocessor and it is still available today. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68020)
- Gibbon1 6y agoReminds me I used the 68332 68k based MCU 25 years ago. I just checked, can still buy them from digikey. Some packages are listed as not for new designs. But a couple are listed as active.
- cbmuser 6y agoThere is the Vampire 68080 which features new instructions. See: http://apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=products http://apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=products
- weare138 6y agoLooks like NXP is still making M68k CPUs, but I don't know about dev boards. https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/legacy-mpu-mcus/32-bit-coldfire-mcus-mpus:PC68KCF https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers...