Z8MULATOR
Frequently Asked Questions
My z8mulator won't connect with the z8mulator PC
software!
To connect
with the PC z8Mulator:
1. Press hold the z8mulator RESET button.
2. With z8Mulator RESET pressed, click on PC z8mulator [CONNECT] button and
wait
until the message "Waiting for z8mulator...." appears on your PC windows
screen.
3. Release the z8Mulator RESET button. The z8mulator PC windows software
should now
display "z8mulator connected!".
I get a program verification error whenever I
attempt to download my program.
- Is
your program set to start at 100Ch? Any program addresses start lower than
100Ch will cause a download verification error.
- If
a target circuit is connected, remove the target connecting cable from the
z8mulator and try to download again. If the error disappears, the problem is
with your target hardware and/or connector cable.
-
What z86 OTP devices the z8mulator emulates?
The P0 port is used by the
z8Mulator to access its external FLASH program ROM, and is not available to
the user. Due to this single factor, it cannot completely emulate any of the
standard z86 OTP devices.
The z8mulator has 14 basic I/Os:
8 bit P2 I/O, P31,P32,P33 inputs, and P34,P35,P36 outputs. The closest z86
device that matches in terms of available I/Os are the z86E02, z86E04, and
z86E08 microcontrollers, putting in mind the instead of P00,P01,P02, we have
P34,P35, and P36 on the z8mulator. Don’t forget the huge 60K x 4 pages of
reprogrammable program memory available to the user. Of course, if you need
more I/Os, you only have throw in a couple of cheap ICs.
Will a program written for z8mulator run on a z86 OTP?
Yes. The z8mulator uses z86E40
engine, which is code compatible with the rest of the z86 family. As long
as you take into considerations the hardware difference among several z86
devices, program porting should be a breeze. The only instance where a
program written for z8mulator becomes un-executable on standard OTPs is when
the program makes a call to the internal z8mulator routines.
Note:
- The
z86e40 has special registers which is absent with some z86 devices.
- Z8mulator
program memory starts at 100Ch. Remember to rebuild program to start at 0Ch
before transferring program to OTP devices.
- Z8Mulator
requires “pop RP” instructions at the beginning of interrupt service
routines. Remove these before rebuilding and transferring programs to OTP.
What particular z86 device should I choose on the ZDS
to open a z8mulator targeted program?
Pick Z86C90 as the target
processor for compiling and simulation.
Will the z8mulator run without a PC connected?
Once a user program is downloaded
in the z8mulator, it becomes a standalone microcomputer board with the user
program running on its own. A PC is needed only during downloading or
debugging, or if your program so requires.
Can I replace the z8mulator crystal with frequencies
other than what is installed?
The z8mulator base its PC
communication timing with the included 15.5433MHz crystal. After a
successful download, you may change the crystal frequency (up to 16MHz) if
you so desire. You should be aware that PC communications will be lost once
you change the crystal frequency!
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