Z80 CPU Board

MICRO-COMPUTER BASED ON ZILOG Z80 - SPQ-Z80

This single-board microcomputer, being based on one of the best known hardware / software architectures in the field of microprocessors, represents a very valid tool for teaching and experimenting basic techniques in the study and development of microprocessor / microcontroller systems. The SPQ-Z80 is a single-board microcomputer Eurocard format, equipped with a powerful BASIC interpreter on EPROM (EEPROM), suitable for the realization of data acquisition systems and automation in general. It uses the Zilog Z84C000 microprocessor, well known, documented and compatible at object code level with the microprocessors of the Z80 and Z80180 family such as HD64180 Hitaci and NSC800 National. The main feature of the SPQ-Z80 is that it can be programmed in BASIC only with the aid of a PC or a video terminal. The resident BASIC allows the management of all the hardware resources of the board and can call assembler routines through the CALL instruction; Data retention is ensured by a 32k x 8 Dallas DS1644 NVRAM with real time clock. Alternatively, a powerful NoICE PC remote monitor / debugger is available for developing and debugging code in assembler. The hardware architecture of the board consists of: MPU Z84C000 Zilog clocked at 6 MHz, 32K of NVRAM / EPROM (EEPROM), an 8-bit analog / digital converter with 16 input channels and precision reference generator, a port RS-232C serial, one RS-485/422 port, one Centronics parallel port, 6 programmable 8-bit I / O ports; the board has a 64-pole DIN connector that creates an I / O bus, useful for expansions. These hardware features, combined with the flexibility of the software that makes the source program available in NVRAM for changes even in the field, make the SPQ-Z80 very versatile and suitable for the development of automation and supervision systems, even subject to frequent expansion or modification.

The software available to support the card includes: the BASIC interpreter and a micro operating system (MOS) that allows editing at the object code level, a vectorized interrupt management, a real time clock, a driver for LCD and ASCII keyboard, an autoboot and autostart system and various utilities in assembler. A NoICE remote monitor is also available for development in Assembler.

From an operational point of view, the use of the SPQ-Z80 is described by the following simple steps:

connection of the SPQ-Z80 to a terminal or PC via the RS232C serial interface; alternatively it is possible to use an ASCII parallel keyboard with an LCD display connected to the I / O ports as per the attached diagrams.
software development with the support of the BASIC interpreter residing on the board, with the possibility of writing routines in Z80 object code using the MOS utility interactive software test with any external hardware required by the application.

Technical data

Z84C0006 CMOS CPU clocked at 2, 4, or 6 MHz
RAM NVRAM 32k x 8 Dallas DS1644 with real time clock and Lithium battery> = 10 years
EPROM 32k x 8 EPROM / EEPROM
ADC0817 16-channel 0-5V analog / digital CONVERTER with built-in multiplexer, 8-bit resolution, conversion time 100 microseconds. Separate power and analog ground lines.
LM168 GENERATOR reference voltage for ADC 5.0V - 5ppm / ^ C 0, 0005% / V
MICROPROCESSOR MONITOR DS1232 power supply voltage monitor (5V + / -5%) and watchdog timer with 1.2 s period.
2 PARALLEL INTERFACES I / O industry standard 82C55 programmable, for a total of 6 8-bit TTL ports
1 RS-232C PORT (1200-38600 bps) for communication with PC
1 RS-485/422 PORT for twisted pair networks (up to 32 SPQ -Z80 cards)
64-way DIN 41612 CONNECTOR for I / O connections and expansions on SPQ -BUS
BASIC 16K Extended Interpreter preloaded on EPROM / EEPROM
DIMENSIONS 100 x 160 mm (Eurocard standard).
POWER SUPPLY 5 V (+/- 5%) 50 mA, + opt. 12V 1 mA (reference A / D converter)