Name That Chip!
Michael Harris
Does anyone know what type of microprocessor is used in the hp48gx?
I've heard it called 'saturn', but i was wondering what that actually
is. I've heard that it was a motorola 4bit chip. Any idea?
The reason i ask is that i'm desperatly seeking a c compiler for the
gx, but so far no luck. If i could figurer out the type of chip
(Without destroying my calc!) it may be possible to get a compiler
from the manufacturer.
Also, just out of curiosity, is the rom port on the gx *realy* a PCMCIA
port? Is it concievable to put a PCMCIA modem in there?
Thanks for your help.
Robert
har...@holmes.ece.orst.edu
Joel Kolstad
>Hello all.
Hi there.
>Does anyone know what type of microprocessor is used in the hp48gx?
>I've heard it called 'saturn', but i was wondering what that actually
>is. I've heard that it was a motorola 4bit chip. Any idea?
It's part of the Saturn line of microprocessors, which are 4 bit data
bus/64 bit internal register processors designed and made by HP. If you
were to rip apart an HP-48, the chip would have a nice HP logo on it.
The processor in the SX is named Clarke, also known by the number "1LT8".
>The reason i ask is that i'm desperatly seeking a c compiler for the
>gx, but so far no luck.
One doesn't exist. Nor would I want to use one without really using C++
(i.e., using AT&T's C++ --> C front end), since non-object oriented
programming on a HP-48 is pretty unfriendly.
There's lot of Saturn programming information around; try HP's SysRPL
development package which can be found on Goodies Disk #... ummm.... 4? I
think.
>Also, just out of curiosity, is the rom port on the gx *realy* a PCMCIA
>port? Is it concievable to put a PCMCIA modem in there?
No and no. It would have been nice if this were true, though. The ports
are standard memoey/data buses with a few extra signals also thown in.
---Joel Kolstad
Jerry Biehler
The name of the chip is saturn. As for a C Compiler, I dont think there
is such a thing. And the card slot, it is a proprietary system made by
HP. Also, the connector used in the HP is a card-edge type, PCMCIA uses
pins.
-Jerry
Fizban
<<Snip, Snip,...>>
>
> The name of the chip is saturn. As for a C Compiler, I dont think there
> is such a thing. And the card slot, it is a proprietary system made by
> HP. Also, the connector used in the HP is a card-edge type, PCMCIA uses
> pins.
>
Actually the card slot is a PCMCIA I slot, which can only be used for
memory expansion (RAM or ROM). The 'normal' PCMCIA slot is a PCMCIA II, which
is far more intelligent.
So in theory you can buy an ordinary PCMCIA I ram expansion and plug it in,
BUT H.P. has been so kind to change the power supply voltage from 5 volt to
3 (?) volt. So you still have to buy special cards you your HP48.
--
Martijn de Jel | I haven't lost my mind...
Dpt. of Electrical Engineering, | I backed it up on tape somewhere.
Delft University of Technology, | (I think)
The Netherlands.
Dave Arnett
--------------------------------------------------------
This posting is not an official statement of HP, and should
not be taken as such. This is friendly information only.
I hope it is useful, possibly informative. But it has not
been checked for accuracy, and has no HP approval.
--------------------------------------------------------
Robert, alias Michael Harris from across town at OSU asked
about the processor in the HP48G series of calculator. Most
of the responses were correct, including a surprising level
of detail, but a few points were in error. So I'll put in
my two cents worth.
The official name of the 48G/GX processor is 00048-80063.
We number everything here, not just the final products!
But amongst ourselves, the chip is named Yorke.
Yorke does contain a Saturn CPU. The term Saturn refers
to a processor architecture developed by HP specifically
for efficient computation, and so it has large registers
and a four bit internal bus. But the Yorke contains much
more than just the processor; it is a full Application-
Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Yorke handles all
the important functions from key detects to UART activity
to voltage regulation.
Yorke itself is an eight-bit chip: the external data bus
is byte-wide. This lets Yorke talk to standard memory
chips and cards. Yorke is definitely an HP design, and
it is used only in HP products.
The plug-in ports of the 48GX are not PCMCIA-compliant.
The PCMCIA standards (If I may call them that) were not
as widely accepted as they are now when we decided to
use the edge-type connectors we are using. I looked at
changing over to a PCMCIA connector during the GX
redesign, and found that the costs, including compatibility
with existing SX support products from HP and others,
were not worthwhile.
Jerry Beihler was quite accurate in describing the pin
vs. card edge connector differences between the '48 cards
and PCMCIA. M. de Jel (pardon if I misspelled) was not
right in describing these as PCMCIA Type I. If we think
about the differences between PCMCIA Type I and Type III
slots, we would have been very foolish staggering the
cards as we did. And I have yet to see HP go to the
trouble of deliberately kloodgeing any standard (except
the standards of spelling words like 'kloodgeing') as
he suggested when he spoke of the 5V and 3V standards.
Our cards run on 5V logic, and so I'm not sure where this
rumor started. Perhaps it's the same rumor mill which
suggests we 'crippled' our Infrared ports to stop students
from cheating on tests. (It's not true....)
We really do our best to uphold standards. Sometimes we
make honest mistakes. Occasionally we have to go outside
a standard to achieve functionality. But usually, we are
the ones creating the new technologies for which standards
must be written. We didn't create a new standard for the
plug-in cards on the '48. We used an existing standard
from another company with a good track record. When PCMCIA
attained wider acceptance, we chose to include it in our
palmtops and our superportable computers. I believe the
market for a modem card is stronger there! ;>
I'm getting well beyond Richard's original question, so
I'll rein my comments back to the topic. I agree firmly
with the respondent who suggested that C++ would be much
more appropriate for the '48. I'd add that, perhaps, part
of the difficulty in finding a compiler for C or C++ on the
'48 is the power of its native Reverse Polish LISP! I
am, of course, an unbiased observer. 8]
Dave Arnett
HP Corvallis