[Coco] Re: 68B09P - Datasheet?

[Mark McDougall]

Andrew wrote:

> I was wondering if these would be worthwhile to investigate (as I could 
> likely get the boards really cheap), or if I should just stick with PICs 
> - or if the processors might be good for something else?

Depends on what sort of I/O you're going to need for your project. For 
example, if you need A/D or D/A, a few timers, multiple interrupt sources, 
comparator, edge capture, PWM, and/or GPIO, then you might be better off 
finding a PIC or other microcontroller that suits your requirements.

If, OTOH, you don't really need any of that, but could do with plenty of 
ROM/RAM, 2MHz is fast enough, and there's enough (S)RAM & (E)EPROM on the 
PCBs then they may well do the job. There may even be suitable (digital) 
GPIO if it's a gaming machine motherboard. Keep in mind you will probably 
not be programming the EEPROMS in-circuit, which can be a pain (slow) even 
with ZIF sockets on board. Having said that, a flash-based pic may not be 
that much better if it's not in-circuit-programmable either.

Software-wise, I'd prefer 6809 assembler over PIC assembler any day, though 
I can't comment on PIC BASIC. AFAIK the Zaks 6809 book is considered the 
"bible". Shouldn't be too hard to pickup 6809 if you're familiar with any 
other assembler?!?

Regards,

-- 
|              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do it
| <http://members.optushome.com.au/msmcdoug> |   with less resistance!"