3 ms·

reddit thread says its just the DIP packages being discontinued, there's other Z80 MCU parts still be made after this

AnimalMuppet 3y ago
Yeah, but... how can you have a chip without DIP? More seriously, the DIP package was within the ability of semi-skilled randos to solder or wirewrap. That lead to all kinds of things being developed that would not have been if the barrier to entry had been higher. So I see this as the end of an era. You can get the Z80 in other ways, but the loss is real. (Yeah, I know, if you have an idea that you want to try to implement, you probably don't reach for a Z80 now, and haven't for decades. Still... this is the closing of a frontier, or at least an acknowledgement that the frontier has already closed.)
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilog_eZ80 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilog_eZ80 for what be my absolute favorite sequel processor which is available in many SBC such as https://www.tindie.com/products/lutherjohnson/makerlisp-ez80-lisp-cpm-computer/ https://www.tindie.com/products/lutherjohnson/makerlisp-ez80...
  - jblang 3y ago
    Or a more affordable option: https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/open-source-hardware https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/o.... There is also this version: https://heber.co.uk/agon-console8/ https://heber.co.uk/agon-console8/ This is available on Mouser and Digikey and it has started to develop a good community around it. I've just been porting the plasma demo that I wrote for a Z80+TMS9918 video chip to it (still WIP): https://github.com/jblang/z80demos https://github.com/jblang/z80demos
- JohnFen 3y ago
  The lack of a DIP package isn't really a big handicap for hobbyist use. Soldering SMT things isn't hard (and often is even easier than through-hole.), it just requires different techniques. Kids are doing this stuff in their bedrooms every day. You can't wire-wrap them, of course, but wire-wrapping hasn't been commonly done by hobbyists for a long, long time now. But if you have your heart set on doing that, you can almost certainly get a Z80 on a breakout board with headers that can be wire-wrapped.

Yeah, but... how can you have a chip without DIP? More seriously, the DIP package was within the ability of semi-skilled randos to solder or wirewrap. That lead to all kinds of things being developed that would not have been if the barrier to entry had been higher. So I see this as the end of an era. You can get the Z80 in other ways, but the loss is real. (Yeah, I know, if you have an idea that you want to try to implement, you probably don't reach for a Z80 now, and haven't for decades. Still... this is the closing of a frontier, or at least an acknowledgement that the frontier has already closed.)

PaulHoule 3y ago
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilog_eZ80 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilog_eZ80 for what be my absolute favorite sequel processor which is available in many SBC such as https://www.tindie.com/products/lutherjohnson/makerlisp-ez80-lisp-cpm-computer/ https://www.tindie.com/products/lutherjohnson/makerlisp-ez80...
- jblang 3y ago
  Or a more affordable option: https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/open-source-hardware https://www.olimex.com/Products/Retro-Computers/AgonLight2/o.... There is also this version: https://heber.co.uk/agon-console8/ https://heber.co.uk/agon-console8/ This is available on Mouser and Digikey and it has started to develop a good community around it. I've just been porting the plasma demo that I wrote for a Z80+TMS9918 video chip to it (still WIP): https://github.com/jblang/z80demos https://github.com/jblang/z80demos
JohnFen 3y ago
The lack of a DIP package isn't really a big handicap for hobbyist use. Soldering SMT things isn't hard (and often is even easier than through-hole.), it just requires different techniques. Kids are doing this stuff in their bedrooms every day. You can't wire-wrap them, of course, but wire-wrapping hasn't been commonly done by hobbyists for a long, long time now. But if you have your heart set on doing that, you can almost certainly get a Z80 on a breakout board with headers that can be wire-wrapped.