Designers Kit                    prototyping, Chipracks
A Designer's Kit for Chiprack Systems
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Dowty Interconnect offers a Designers Kit for its Chiprack
interconnection system that gives you an introduction to the
high-density and fast-assembly benefits of Chiprack. You can also
customize the kit to provide processing power for a variety of
applications.
 
The Designers Kit consists of an assembled stack on a motherboard
and a power cable. The stack includes Philip's 68070 CMOS CPU
chip, an RS-232C serial interface, an application-specific IC
providing a memory interface and other processor services, 64K
bytes of one-time programmable CMOS ROM for monitor software, and
up to eight Chiprack carriers, each holding two 32K-byte by 8-bit
CMOS static RAMs. Versions of the Designers Kit are also
available with 64K, 128K, 256K, and 512K bytes. The fully
configured 512K-byte stack measures 7 by 4 by 4 cm. The
motherboard contains signal buffers for address and data lines,
signal and power connectors, and an area for user prototyping.
 
The 68070 CPU is fully compatible with Motorola's 68000
microprocessor. It is a highly integrated device with an on-chip
clock generator, a memory management unit, a two-channel DMA
(direct-memory-access) controller, a universal asynchronous
receiver/transmitter serial interface, a 16-bit timer/counter,
and two 16-bit match/count/capture registers, as well as Philips'
I2C bus interface.
 
On-board software helps you develop machine code and other
programs on a host computer, download them via the RS-232C serial
port, run them, and manipulate them in the Chiprack system.
 
You can prototype on the motherboard and then simply remove the
stack for incorporation into your equipment. Although the stack
is bolted together on the Designers Kit, another version will
feature snap-together connectors for rapid assembly. An IBM PC
interface card, for connection to an I2C port, and a cross-
assembler are also available as options.
 
Price: L525 and up.
 
Contact: Dowty Interconnect, Knaves Beech Business Centre,
Loudwater High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP10 9UT, UK,
44-062-881-0810.
 
                              --- Martha Hicks
 
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