Sam Laur wrote: > > I've heard mostly vague information, that it was created in the late > 70's as an I/O controller for the General Instruments CP1600 > microprocessor. However, I'm looking for hard facts - datasheets, > etc. Specifically, on memory (internal or external?), clock speeds, > amount of I/O lines, etc. You name it. Because I've bumped into a > chip called "PIC1650" or "PIC1650A-532" in catalogs, I have a > feeling I could still get a few for research purposes. > > Of course it would be good to know how the PICs developed, up to > the early 1990's. I have databooks from 1994 onwards, so that's > probably a good cutoff point. In my vintage *1982* General Instruments' "Microelectronics Data Catalog" there is a "PIC Series" section containing the PIC1650A (and others). >From the datasheet: 8 Bit Microcomputer User programmable Intelligent controller for stand-alone applications 32 8-bit RAM registers 512 x 12-bit program ROM Arithmetic Logic Unit Real Time Clock/Counter Self-contained oscillator Access to RAM register inherent in instruction 4 set of 8 user defined TTL-compatible Input/Output lines 2 level stack for subroutine nesting The PIC1650A appear to be a 40 pin IC. It has 32 bidirectional I/O ports i.e. there is no TRIS register for the ports. The output stage has an Open Collector/Pull up arrangement and the input buffer is always connected to the pin. To be able to read a pin the corresponding output latch must be set in the high state so that an external open collector can drive the pin low. Big troubles when using BSF/BCF to change a bit in the output... The 'A' in the chip name identify the RC (or external) oscillator up to 1MHz. There is a PIC1650XT that allows to use a crystal, resonator, LC or external oscillator. The two chips seem identical. In the same book there is a PIC1654 Preliminary, PIC1655A/XT, PIC16C55 (this one with the TRIS), PIC1656, PIC1670 (13-bit and a hack for the Read/Modify/Write on the I/O pins) and the PIC1663, PIC16C64, PIC1665 that are 64-pin with external ROM for development and prototyping. For the development tools there are: PICAL - PIC Cross Assembler "...The assembler program, written in Fortran, is usually supplied as 9 track, 1600 BPI, 80 column card image records, unblocked and unlabeled magnetic tapes in either EBCDIC or ASCII code..." (I know I'm starting the "remember the ol' good times" thread here :-) PICES II - PIC In-Circuit Emulation System "...The User Processor is a ROM-less PIC microcomputer with external RAM...The control processor is a CP1600 sixteen bit microprocessor with 12K of program ROM and 2K of RAM..." The PIC1650-532 should be a masked version of the PIC1650A/XT but I don't know the function of the chip: the -020 is an "Economega IV TV PPL Tuning System Control" and the -536 is a "TELEVIEW Autodialer/Terminal Identifier". If someone is interested I can try to scan some pages from the databook and put them on the web. On a different topic: in the same book there are also the datasheets for the AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator and the SP0256-AL2 Narrator Speech Processor (I should have some of the latter laying somewhere since I used them in a project in 1985...). Question: Is there someone on the list that happen to have (and wishing to sell, even surplus) some AY-3-8500, AY-3-860x or AY-3-8765 (they are listed in the book)? These are the chips for the (very) old videogames like: balls & paddle, roadrace, motor cycle, etc. I would just *love* to have one to build an unit... Ciao Marco ---- Marco DI LEO m.dileo@bigfoot.com http://members.tripod.com/~mdileo/