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68000 Motherboard User's Manual
1
Intr oducti on
This project was born of no less than a childhood dream. Granted this dream had long
been somewhat vague, abstract and surviving well below the threshold of any actual
attention. But the robust desire to develop a 68000 based computer had maintained an
ever-present persistence within my hobbyist heart. And finally events have coalesced
into its fruition.
The MB68k-100 single board computer offers a platform of approachable
experimentation around Motorola's famed 68000 microprocessor. Whether inspired by
the straightforward elegance of this particular processor at its core or by a more general
interest in computer architecture overall, the MB68k-100's design philosophy is one to
emphasize clear understanding of the system at every level. With its discrete circuit
design, commented assembly language software examples and rich engineering and
process documentation, the project is intended to offer more than direct utility as an
embedded computer.
technophile dreams.
2
Desi gn M oti vati on
As microprocessor technology has advanced over the past decades, an evolving spectrum
of processors has emerged into the marketplace. Examples from the early days of the
technology were stiflingly simple and fraught with debilitating resource limitations and
programming bottlenecks. In contrast, the more contemporary end of this spectrum
presents the highly integrated and massively sophisticated architectures of more recent
years, where the designer grapples with hundreds of pages of product documentation and
hundreds of tiny pins to connect. But along this gradient of microprocessor technology
stands Motorola's 68000.
computer designs of its past, this processor is accessible to circuitry that is easily
imagined and built. Yet the 68000 is also a pioneering design in its space, offering a
clear demonstration of the future elegance of orthogonal architecture and spacious
hardware resources. The 68000 is a link, carrying the best features of both old and new
eras of processor technology.
3
Desi gn I nspir ati on
In an environment of routine obsolesce, the 68000's continuing 30 year production life
span speaks to the strength of its design. Its portfolio has ranged from advancing the
state-of-the-art upon its 1979 marketplace introduction through to its present day legacy
applications.
Its reign includes a generation of top-of-the-line computers and
workstations of the early 1980's. From there, it evolved to a commanding presence in the
embedded domain of the late 80's though to the mid 1990's. Beyond that, its sales
continue today, buried amongst the existing infrastructure of the modern world. And its
It is meant as a launching pad, bringing to fruition future
With an architecture that captures the straightforward
Page 4 of 54
Rev. A
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