Fast HP41CX *hardware* emulator? Message #2 Posted by Werner on 4 Sept 2003, 4:09 a.m., in response to message #1 by Nelson M. Sicuro (Brazil)
Hi Nelson,
that's an absolutely great idea to emulate a HP42s as a real hardware emulator with modern microcontrollers! It is an extremely valuable approach for the HP fan community.
I am more an enthusiast of the HP-41CX because it has the synthetic programming capabilities and the multiple I/O- and IL-capabilities. These allow ROM image exchanges between PC and RAMbox and M-Code programming including I/O. Would it also be possible for you to build a hardware emulator for the HP-41 with a nut processor emulation ?
I believe that many people would buy an HP-41CX-hardware emulator from you which they could place into an old original housing with the good keys. There is really a big fan community for the HP41!
The reason for this inquiry is the discrepancy of the slow performance speed with the enormous quality and brilliance of the HP-41 design (also the HP42 is of course of enormous desing quality).
There are different great emulators for PC or PDA, especially I would like to mention Jean-Francois Garnier's "EMU41", an indeed great emulator for PC/MS-DOS. His new version not only perfectly emulates the HP41 with all ROMs and also with RAMBOX for machine code programming, no, it also emulates the whole HP-IL-loop system in a bidirectional manner, i.e. the real HP-41 that is connected to a PC via HP-IL and IL/PC-interface card can “see” and control virtual mass storage devices, printers, video interfaces and more of the “inside-PC-world”.
On the other hand the PC-emulator can “see” and control the “outside world”, i.e. all the real equipment of the real IL-loop. So you can transfer ROM images, m-code programs and everything.
Already on a 600MHz-Windows notebook EMU41 is 400 times as fast as the real HP41 !
There are some great guys who support the broad HP41 community with very good new hardware, for example Christoph Klug with his great IL2000 system and interfacing solutions and Meindert Kuipers, developing a real Machine Language Design Lab Module (MLDL) for the HP41.
The only thing that is still really missing, that's a fast hardware emulator based on microcontrollers for HP41 which one could build into an original old housing.
It should be able to address a RAMbox / MLDL (internally implemented or in conjunction with Meindert's MLDL) and it should be able to address HP-IL.
High speed would mean high power consumption, but with modern Li-Ion batteries there should be a solution, what do you think ?
Nelson, would it be possible to develop such a wonderful device ?
For us HP41 fans that would be "Heaven on Earth"...
Best regards,
Werner
Edited: 4 Sept 2003, 5:51 a.m.
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