[Coco] FPGA the future of coco?

[Al Hartman]

Have you looked at the Replica I board? No sacrifices were made. He included 
the Apple I bus connector.

http://www.brielcomputers.com/wordpress/?cat=17

There is also a ZX Spectrum Clone that implemented the ULA in discrete 
logic. It's not priced out of the atmosphere, and it has the Spectrum 
expansion bus.

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37746

Here's a simple 6809 computer that even uses a modified Coco BASIC. I doubt 
it would take much work to make this into a Coco 2 clone, and then add 
support for modern peripherals on board.

http://searle.hostei.com/grant/6809/Simple6809.html

You keep trying to say that what others have accomplished on other computers 
is impossible for the Coco. It's not impossible. Nobody has tried to do it 
yet, that's all.

I think the FPGA route involves too many compromises. Discrete components 
allow for a much more faithful recreation.

-[ Al ]-



-----Original Message----- 
From: Nick Marentes
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2014 4:55 PM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [Coco] FPGA the future of coco?

What do you need the cartridge port for? I think most of the needed
hardware addons can be programmed in and almost all software is
available as a dsk image.

There may be other FPGA boards out there that will provide extra
expansion to implement a cartridge port but then you'll find the price
jack up which will lead to a lower uptake.

Sometimes, we have to sacrifice some of our wants in order to actually
see a product at the end.

Nick


On 14/09/2014 6:44 AM, Al Hartman wrote:
> MiST doesn't have a Coco Cartridge port, so it wouldn't work for me.
>
> Vince Briel sells the Replica 1 pretty cheaply. I don't see why a cloned 
> Coco 3 wouldn't come in at a similar price point.
>
> -[ Al ]-
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Nick Marentes
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2014 4:29 PM
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [Coco] FPGA the future of coco?
>
> That's what the FPGA CoCo3 has. It just needs to someone to pick up the
> project where it's stalled.
>
> I keep saying this but... the most cost effective way to create a
> "CoCo4" or at least a "CoCo3+" is to tap in to an existing FPGA design
> so as to eliminate the need to design/build a new board.
>
> The MIST board is a good option and has a wide market potential since it
> taps into various other markets to achieve a wider cost distribution
> than a design which relies on the weight of the small CoCo market alone.
>
> Nick
>
>
> On 14/09/2014 4:25 AM, Al Hartman wrote:
>> I would just like to see a Coco 3 version of a Replica I. A reproduction 
>> of the Coco 3 that has VGA output, uses PS/2 or USB keyboards, 512k on 
>> board minimum, real RS-232 (Deluxe RS-232 Pack compatible), all the other 
>> ports, and has a cartridge port for backward compatibility with Coco 
>> Hardware.
>>
>> Possible enhancements could be an ethernet port, stereo sound (Speech and 
>> Sound Pak compatible), hi-res joystick interface (CocoMax), SD-Card port, 
>> parallel port, 80-column Wordpak compatibility, and anything else 
>> appropriate for an old 8-bit computer.
>>
>> We need something that will run existing software, not a new incompatible 
>> platform that few will code for.
>>
>> -[ Al ]-
>>
>
>


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