A microprocessor development board is a printed circuit board containing a

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

and the minimal support logic needed for an electronic engineer or any person that wants to become acquainted with the microprocessor on the board and to learn to program it. It also served users of the microprocessor as a method to prototype applications in products. Unlike a general-purpose system such as a home computer, usually a development board contains little or no hardware dedicated to a user interface. It will have some provision to accept and run a user-supplied program, such as downloading a program through a

serial port In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in paralle ...

flash memory Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both u ...

, or some form of programmable memory in a socket in earlier systems.

History

The reason for the existence of a development board was solely to provide a system for learning to use a new microprocessor, not for entertainment. So everything superfluous was left out to keep costs down. Even an enclosure was not supplied, nor a power supply. This is because the board would only be used in a "laboratory" environment so it did not need an enclosure, and the board could be powered by a typical bench power supply already available to an electronic engineer. Microprocessor training development kits were not always produced by microprocessor manufacturers. Many systems that can be classified as microprocessor development kits were produced by third parties, one example is the Sinclair MK14, which was inspired by the official SC/MP development board from

National Semiconductor National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display dr ...

, the "

NS introkit NS as an abbreviation can mean: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Natural Selection (video game), ''Natural Selection'' (video game), a mod for the game ''Half-life'' * ''NetStorm: Islands At War'', a real-time strategy game published in 1997 by Ac ...

". Although these development boards were not designed for hobbyists, they were often bought by them because they were the earliest cheap microcomputer devices you could buy. They often added all kinds of expansions, such as more memory, a video interface etc. It was very popular to use (or write) an implementation of Tiny Basic. The most popular microprocessor board, the

KIM-1 The KIM-1, short for ''Keyboard Input Monitor'', is a small 6502-based single-board computer developed and produced by MOS Technology, Inc. and launched in 1976. It was very successful in that period, due to its low price (thanks to the inexp ...

, received the most attention from the hobby community, because it was much cheaper than most other development boards, and you could get more software for it (Tiny Basic, games, assemblers), and cheap expansion cards to add more memory or other functionality. More articles were published in magazines like "

Kilobaud Microcomputing ''Kilobaud Microcomputing'' was a magazine dedicated to the computer homebrew hobbyists from 1977 to 1983. How ''kilobaud'' started Wayne Green, the editor and publisher of ''kilobaud'', had been the publisher of ''BYTE'' magazine, (another in ...

" that described home-brew software and hardware for the KIM-1 than for other development boards. Today some chip producers still release "test boards" to demonstrate their chips, and to use them as a " reference design". Their significance these days is much smaller than it was in the days that such boards, (the

being the canonical example) were the only low cost way to get "hands-on" acquainted with microprocessors..

Features

The most important feature of the microprocessor development board was the ROM based built-in machine language monitor, or "debugger" as it was also sometimes called. Often the name of the board was related to the name of this monitor program, for example the name of the monitor program of the KIM-1 was "Keyboard Input Monitor", because the ROM based software allowed entry of programs without the rows of cumbersome toggle switches that older systems used. The popular 6800 based systems often used a monitor with a name with the word "bug" for "debugger" in it, for example the popular "

MIKBUG MIKBUG is a ROM monitor from Motorola for the Motorola 6800 8-bit microprocessor. It is intended to "be used to debug and evaluate a user's program". MIKBUG was distributed by Motorola in 1974 on a 1 K ROM chip part number MCM6830L7. It ...

". Input was normally done with a hexadecimal keyboard, using a

machine language monitor A machine code monitor ( machine language monitor) is software that allows a user to enter commands to view and change memory locations on a computer, with options to load and save memory contents from/to secondary storage. Some full-featured m ...

program, and the display only consisted of a 7-segment display. Backup storage of written assembler programs was primitive: only a cassette type interface was typically provided, or the serial

Teletype A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Init ...

interface was used to read (or punch) a papertape. Often the board has some kind to expansion connector that brought out all the necessary CPU signals, so that an engineer could build and test an experimental interface or other electronic device. External interfaces on the bare board were often limited to a single

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' ('' data terminal equipment'') suc ...

current loop In electrical signalling an analog current loop is used where a device must be monitored or controlled remotely over a pair of conductors. Only one current level can be present at any time. A major application of current loops is the industry ...

serial port, so a terminal, printer, or Teletype could be connected.

List of historical development boards

* 8085AAT, an Intel 8085 microprocessor training unit from Paccom * CDP18S020 evaluation board for the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

CDP1802 microprocessor * EVK 300 6800 single board from American Microsystems (AMI) * Explorer/85 expandable learning system based on the 8085, by Netronics's research and development ltd. * ITT experimenter used switches and LEDs, and an intel 8080 *JOLT was designed by Raymond M. Holt, co-founder of

Microcomputer Associates, Incorporated Microcomputer Associates, Inc., was founded by Manny Lemas and Ray Holt. It produced the low-cost Jolt Microcomputer, released in 1975. Microcomputer Associates introduces the 6502 based Jolt computer kit for $249. It was later acquired by semi ...

. *

the development board for the

MOS Technology MOS Technology, Inc. ("MOS" being short for Metal Oxide Semiconductor), later known as CSG (Commodore Semiconductor Group) and GMT Microelectronics, was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Audubon, Pennsylvania. It is mo ...

/ Rockwell/

Synertek Synertek, Inc. was an American semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1973. The initial staff consisted of Bob Schreiner (the CEO), Dan Floyd, Jack Balletto, and Gunnar Wetlesen and Zvi Grinfas. Schreiner, Floyd, Balletto and Wetlesen were all forme ...

6502 microprocessor. The name KIM is short for "keyboard input monitor" ** SYM-1 a slightly improved KIM-1 with better software, more memory, and I/O. Also known as the VIM ** AIM-65 an improved KIM-1 with an alphanumerical LED display, and a built-in printer. **The KIM-1 also lead to some unofficial copies, such as the super-KIM and the Junior from the magazine Elektor, and the

MCS Alpha 1 Music * Motion City Soundtrack, a pop punk / rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota Science and technology * Matrix cable system, submarine communications cable connecting Indonesia and Singapore * Megawatt Charging System, electric vehicle charg ...

LC80 The educational computer LC80 was a single-board computer manufactured in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and intended for teaching purposes. It was the first computer that retail customers could buy in the GDR. History and development ...

Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt VEB Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt was an important manufacturer of active electronic components in East Germany. It should not be confused with the more well-known VEB Kombinat Robotron Dresden which used integrated circuits from Kombinat M ...

* MAXBOARD development board for the Motorola 6802. *

MEK6800D2 The MEK6800D2 was a Microprocessor development board, development board for the Motorola 6800 microprocessor, produced by Motorola in 1976. It featured a keyboard with hexadecimal keys and an LED display, but also featured an RS-232 asynchronous se ...

the official development board for the

Motorola 6800 The 6800 ("''sixty-eight hundred''") is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System (latter dubbed ''68xx'') that also included serial and paral ...

microprocessor. The name of the monitor software was

* MicroChroma 68 color graphics kit. Developed by Motorola to demonstrate their new 6847 video display processor. The monitor software was called TVBUG *

Motorola EXORciser The 6800 ("''sixty-eight hundred''") is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System (latter dubbed ''68xx'') that also included serial and paral ...

development system (rack based) for the

Motorola 6809 The Motorola 6809 ("''sixty-eight-oh-nine''") is an 8-bit microprocessor with some 16-bit features. It was designed by Motorola's Terry Ritter and Joel Boney and introduced in 1978. Although source compatible with the earlier Motorola 6800, the 6 ...

Microprofessor I The Micro-Professor MPF-I, introduced in 1981 by Multitech (which, in 1987, changed its name to Acer), was the first branded computer product from Multitech and probably one of the world's longest selling computers. The MPF-I, specifically design ...

(MPF-1) Z80 development and training system by

Acer Acer may refer to: * ''Acer'' (plant), the genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples * Acer Inc., a computer company in Taiwan ** Acer Laboratories Incorporated, a subsidiary company of Acer, Inc., that designs and manufactures integrate ...

* Tangerine Microtan 65 6502 development system with VDU, that could be expanded to a more capable system. * MST-80B 8080 training system by the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

featuring the SC/MP, the predecessor to the Sinclair MK14 *

NRI microcomputer NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...

, a system developed to teach computer courses by

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referen ...

and the National Radio Institute (NRI) * MK14 Training system for the SC/MP microprocessor from Sinclair Research Ltd. * SDK-80 Intel's development board for their 8080 microprocessor * SDK-51 Intel's development board for their Intel MCS-51 * SDK-85 Intel's development board for their 8085 microprocessor * SDK-86 Intel's development board for their

8086 The 8086 (also called iAPX 86) is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and June 8, 1978, when it was released. The Intel 8088, released July 1, 1979, is a slightly modified chip with an external 8-bit data bus (allo ...

microprocessor *

Siemens Microset-8080 Siemens AG ( ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal ...

boxed system based on an 8080. * Signetics Instructor 50 based on the Signetics 2650. *

SGS-ATES STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred as ST or STMicro is a Dutch multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the French stock market. ST ...

Nanocomputer z80. *

RCA Cosmac Super Elf The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

. a 1802 learning system with an RCA 1861 Video Display Controller. * TK-80 the development board for NEC's clone of

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...

i8080 The Intel 8080 (''"eighty-eighty"'') is the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. It first appeared in April 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibil ...

, the μPD 8080A * TM 990/100M evaluation board for the

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...

TMS9900 * TM 990/180M evaluation board for the

TMS9800 * XPO-1 Texas Instruments development system for the PPS-4/1 line of microcontrollers

DSP evaluation boards

A DSP evaluation board, sometimes also known as a DSP starter kit (DSK) or a DSP evaluation module, is an electronic board with a digital signal processor used for experiments, evaluation and development. Applications are developed in DSP Starter Kits using software usually referred as an

integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools a ...

(IDE).

and

Spectrum Digital A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a Continuum (measurement), continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describ ...

are two companies who produce these kits. Two examples are the DSK 6416 by Texas Instruments, based on the TMS320C6416 fixed point digital signal processor, a member of C6000 series of processors that is based on VelociTI.2 architecture, and the DSK 6713 by Texas Instruments, which was developed in cooperation with Spectrum Digital, based on the TMS320C6713 32-bit

floating point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be r ...

digital signal processor, which allows for programming in C and assembly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Microprocessor Development Board Early microcomputers History of computing hardware Telecommunications engineering

History

Features

List of historical development boards

DSP evaluation boards

See also

References