BigDumbDinosaur wrote:
Probably not a good requirement. Many of those chargers have regulation problems with any significant load. They are designed to charge a battery, which lessens the requirement for good regulation and noise-free output.
Also, the maximum output per USB spec would be 500 mA, which sounds like a lot until you add more to the basic system. Running any power supply near its maximum output rating is never a good idea. Also, running your system through the thin wiring of a USB connector inserts some resistance into a circuit that should have as close to zero resistance as possible.
So, I actually have a barrel jack footprint built underneath my USB port footprint, in case someone wants to use that instead of the USB. Likewise I have a 2-pin header nearby for VCC and GND, in case someone would rather just use a direct connection to the board (or using the board's power for other things).
My computer runs off a external phone battery for MANY hours, as discussed on a different topic here. If a phone battery can power the thing without any problem for hours and hours, I'm ok with plain ol' USB doing it's thing too. I'm not looking for efficiency, just flexibility.
cbmeeks wrote:
Can you imagine a modern 6502 running at the same 18MHz the Argon runs at?
That's one thing that's not part of my list of 'requirements', a super-fast computer, or something with a ton of RAM. I know that many of y'all here do speed-tests and all kinds of crazy things with a 6502 that just boggles my mind. Cool, but my goal isn't trying to out-perform, but to be simple and usable. I'm quite ok with 3.14 MHz and 64KB of RAM.
And maybe that's why I know many of y'all are not my target audience (if my board does eventually become a kit). Got a question, in general: Who here has bought the Dodo 6502 kit? Who plans on buying it soon? I would like to because it is a very neat design and something I've actually wanted for a while: A simple yet efficient 6502 handheld! But, at the point where I am at now, I would just build my own instead. Nothing against the Dodo, I just think it's fun to design that stuff myself now!
I do not know much about the Z80 front, but it's neat to see retro-style computers prosper at all, 6502 or not.
Thanks everyone, good discussion.
Chad