Z80 Emulation Using the RP2040

[granz]

Sorry, I thought that you were saying that you did not remember the Pico microcontroller itself. Earlier in this thread, I described how RunCPM is the full self-contained implementation of the Z-80 microprocessor, and none of the SD card is needed for the Pi OS. That is because the Pico is not a "real" computer (although it can, and does with RunCPM, emulate one) but is rather a microcontroller. With the entire emulation in the microcontroller's ROM, the only space on the SD card is for the Z-80's operating system, CP/M. As you alluded to, this is a deviation from Raspberry Pi's normal range of full-on computer products.

Yes, most of my Pico-related posts are about the BASIC language for the Pico. PicoMite is the port of MMBASIC to the Raspberry Pi Pico (and Pico 2, and the W variations of both.) That version of BASIC is an incredible version, and makes the Pico extremely easy to program in a very powerful language.

That Explaining Computers video is a very well-done video. He has a lot of other good videos, too. Here is one where he builds a stand-alone boot-to-BASIC computer using a Pico:

Everything is built-in to the PicoMite BASIC, even the keyboard and video drivers. You don't even need to load libraries for any of that stuff. Although PicoMite does include the ability to create, and use, libraries, you do not need any for most of the hardware that you need for most applications.

[Chris Savage]

I will take a better look at this tomorrow. I've had a very busy day with website stuff, yard work, etc. But you definitely have my attention. One of the reasons I got the 3D Printers was to be able to make custom enclosures and parts for my own controller designs. I wanted to be able to easily create the mounting holes and cutouts for ports.