
8OD – Arduino form-factor Intel 8086 - chuffchuf
http://tech.mattmillman.com/8od/
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userbinator
There's something funny about using a 37-year-old CPU with a chipset made 20
years later... but the 80C86 is still being made - not cheap though:

[http://www.digikey.com/product-
detail/en/CP80C86-2Z/CP80C86-...](http://www.digikey.com/product-
detail/en/CP80C86-2Z/CP80C86-2Z-ND/1976070)

As far as "DIY x86 computers" are concerned I think the newest CPU someone has
managed to use in one is a 386/486:

[http://www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/80386%20Boa...](http://www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/80386%20Board/80386%20CPU%20Board.htm)

~~~
adestefan
You can get an 8086 for $1.49 from Unicorn Electronics.

[http://www.unicornelectronics.com/IC/8000.html](http://www.unicornelectronics.com/IC/8000.html)

~~~
zokier
They are selling 68k's too, awesome.

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nezza-_-
Awesome board, looks like something I'd love to play with.

But: Currently I again and again hear things like this as a critic against
Arduino, Sparkcore etc:

    
    
        The current emphasis on highly integrated, dumbed down hobbyist/educational microcontrollers is beginning to bug me.
    

I am excited that this stuff is becoming accessible now! I loved that Lego
Mindstorms brought basic automation programming into a lot of schools, I love
that Arduino makes it possible for artists without a programming background to
create interactive art etc.pp.

While the 1337-factor might be lower than implementing your own CPU on an FPGA
and then using it to control the temperature of your coffee brewer I believe
that making this stuff easier to learn can only benefit us.

(To the author: I know you probably don't mean it that way, I just often hear
something along the lines of "These things are getting too easy, it's not
really geeky!")

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frozenport
>>These things are getting to easy, it's not really geeky!

In defense of these opinions, we need at-least somebody in the next generation
to understand how the lowest level of technology works. I am told that
everybody in my field built a radio communication system in high-school, now
its a project for a senior level class.

~~~
imdsm
Everything is becoming abstracted, and as that happens, we're spread thinner
and thinner

~~~
euroclydon
I remember a math professor I had relating a discussion he had with another
professor about whether to make the students memorize trigonometry rules. The
proponent had no comeback for: "Should students be taught to make their own
lightbulb before they do their homework at night?"

~~~
userbinator
That is funny, since I don't think many maths instructors would agree with
giving students calculators and starting with calculus in lieu of teaching
them arithmetic first - which is similar to what beginning programmers are
being taught these days.

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jhallenworld
Long ago I wrote a COFF linker so that I could use Turbo-C for x86 embedded
projects (first one was a power line monitor made from wire-wrapped x88).
Recently put it in github if anyone is interested:
[https://github.com/jhallen/joes-
sandbox/tree/master/lang/ali...](https://github.com/jhallen/joes-
sandbox/tree/master/lang/alink)

I tried to sell this through ads in Midnight Engineering, but it didn't work
out.

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paulannesley
This is really cool. Initially from the photo I thought it was just a big FPGA
emulating an 8086, but then I saw the chunky DIP chips on the other end.

The TP3465 SPI chip mentioned sounds useful — I've been building a single-
board 6502 which is CPU bit-banging SPI at 1 MHz, and takes about a minute to
fill a small 16-bit color screen. I've wanted to offload that to an SPI chip,
but hadn't found any. The downside; the TP3465 chips are about $11 each on
Mouser, and don't come in hand-solder-friendly packages.

I mostly came here to write that I'm puzzled by “reasons I shouldn’t need to
explain” here, though:

> In terms of disclosure of what is inside this CPLD – [...] Its final design
> is now almost entirely VHDL. If there’s sufficient interest I’ll do a good
> diagram of it at some point, but for reasons I shouldn’t need to explain, I
> won’t be providing the full source for it just yet.

I could only guess, from most to least likely; (a) it contains proprietary IP
that is being used without a license, (b) he considers it too messy to
release, (c) he just doesn't want to, or (c) he wants to retain the ability to
license his creation.

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gambiting
I imagine an old CPU like this would draw a lot more power than anything
recent, no? Or is it offset by the fact that it runs a lot slower?

~~~
adestefan
It depends. Newer remakes (such as the 80C86) will use less power, but if you
use original parts, then they're going to suck power.

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Famicoman
Incredibly awesome concept for a board, considering the wide spelled use of
this processor, I can only imagine the sheer number of projects that could
result if this thing ever sees mass production.

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spydum
Wow cool idea, and well presented (the whole site and all his projects are a
great read)!

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confiscate
woah this is amazing! you should write a series of blog posts describing how
you made it and share it with the world!

