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the N8

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The N8 is intended to be a “home brew” style computer in the style of early 1980's all-in-one home computers with a usable set of features such as color graphics, audio, an assortment of mass storage options, a variety of ports, etc. Although a bus expansion is supported no additional boards are required.

The N8 is designed so builders can assemble it themselves using common tools such as basic soldering iron, VOM, etc. It is a simple two-layer board construction using all commonly available plated-through-hole (DIP and PLCC) components without requiring any SMT skills, programmable logic devices, etc.

A quick summary of the N8 features:

ProcessorZ8S180 CPU (Z80 compatible, 33MHz max)
Memory1MB SRAM and 512K Flash boot ROM (in-circuit reprogrammable)
VideoTMS9918 Composite Color Video
SoundAY-3-8910 Sound Generator
Keyboard/MousePS/2 Keyboard and Mouse
Mass StorageIDE drives (including CF adapter) port, Floppy drives port (3.5“ @ 1.44M/720K, 5.25” @ 1.2M/360K), and SD socket
Expansion I/OTwo Serial ports, Parallel Printer port, Two MSX compatible Joystick ports, RTC w/NVRAM (configuration data), RS-485 networking port
OtherVarious diagnostic LEDs, “front panel” status indicators, buttons, with optional debugging hex display and keyboard (DSKY)

ROM Support included in

  • UNA BIOS
  • ROMWBW
  • C-BIOS MSX Compatible BIOS
    • Various MSX Game Cartridges supported by C-BIOS

NOTES:

  • On release 2312 of the PCB the SD circuit was changed, so the MSX CBIOS needs to be recompiled with different settings to work with older boards
  • There have been reports of fragile/missing traces on the 4314 boards (U11-17 to U8-1) and on the 2312 boards (U68-13 to U24-2) both in the SD card circuit
  • The version of the MSX CBIOS has been tested ont the 2312 and 2511 versions of the board, if there are any working on the 4314, please update!

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n8-2511_-_jumper_locations.jpg

n8-2511_-_cpm_jumper_locations.jpg

n8-2511_-_io_connector_locations.jpg

N8-2511 Jumper Settings Listing of the various Jumper Settings
N8-2511 BOM BOM for release 2511
N8 Schematc Schematic
N8 Board board
MSX BIOS MSX BIOS Software (SD card now works with all versions of board, ROM is compiled for 2312 or newer)
YMPlayer YPlayer software
AVTest AVTest Software


boards/sbc/n8/n8.1504981297.txt.gz · Last modified: 2017/09/09 14:21 by danwerner
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