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Now I want a scavengers' guide to identify machines that might have a compatible microprocessor within them, because I haven't seen a Commodore or Apple II in a
by jeffchien 1y ago
Now I want a scavengers' guide to identify machines that might have a compatible microprocessor within them, because I haven't seen a Commodore or Apple II in a long time. Arcades with older cabinets obviously have them, but if most post-apocalyptic media are prophetic, they'll probably be occupied by a gang of young ne'er-do-wells. I suppose, thanks to the College Board, Ti-83s (Z80) are still quite common in the US. Are there toys, medical equipment, or vending machines that still use these chips?
I wonder if ESP32s and Arduinos might be more commonly found, though I could see the argument that places with those newfangled chips may be more likely to become radioactive craters in some scenarios.
- nkali 1y agoI tried to do something like that in my free time. ARMs are everywhere, PICs are very common as well: https://github.com/ninakali/chip_scavenger/tree/main/src https://github.com/ninakali/chip_scavenger/tree/main/src
- kragen 1y agoHey, this is fantastic, thanks!
- thesuitonym 1y agoThe Z80 is still an insanely popular microcontroller, that can be found it so, so many devices. Head down to your local Walmart's toy aisle open some of the electronics there (Post-collapse, of course) and you'll certainly find a few. That's not as easy as just dropping a full computer on your desk, but having a low power processor that's easy to find replacements for would be useful. That is, of course, if you spent the time pre-collapse to learn how to make a useful system out of those components, which I suspect is the real goal of Collapse OS.
- kragen 1y agoCan you name two such devices? Because the only thing I've ever found a Z80 in is an S1 MP3 player. I've found ARMs, 8051s, and weird Epson microcontrollers they seem to have never published the instruction set for, but never a Z80.
- zimpenfish 1y agoAccording to [0], TI were launching new graphic calculators with Z80s as late as 2016 - the TI-84 Plus CE-T Python edition (which is still available on Amazon UK[1][2]!) Not a hugely compelling argument for "the z80 is still a popular microcontroller", mind. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Texas_Instruments_graphing_calculators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Texas_Instrument... [1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-CE-T-Python/dp/B08F3PBLCL/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-CE-T-Python... [2] Mild cheating going on though because it runs the Python on an ARM copro.
- kragen 1y agoWell, Z80-compatible but more efficient processors, sure. That pretty well counts because you can still run your own software on them, such as KnightOS, but KnightOS can't compile itself, and I don't think CollapseOS will run on a TI-84.
- kjs3 1y agoThey only stopped making them last year. Someone was buying them, enough to keep the production lines going, and not to run CP/M. TI uses them in one of their calculator lines. I've seen gobs of them as embedded controllers in invarious industrial systems (I have family in manufacturing). I understand a lot of coin-op games (think pinball or pachinko) use them. I've seen them in appliance controller boards (don't recall the brand).