[Coco] Smart IO interfacing on the CoCo

[Gene Heskett]

On Saturday 25 April 2020 13:09:31 RETRO Innovations wrote:

> On 4/25/2020 11:03 AM, Allen Huffman wrote:
> > On Apr 25, 2020, at 12:44 AM, RETRO Innovations 
<go4retro at go4retro.com> wrote:
> >>> Unrelated. . .  Have you done much with Microchip 24FJ64GB002?
> >>
> >> It’s a USB host controller chip that handles everything, then
> >> speaks serial. You can buy it on a proto board ready to hook up and
> >> preprogrammed for $10 shipped from England. Much cheaper to buy it
> >> from the US and program it directly, of course.
> >>
> >> USB keyboard, mouse, thumb drives, game controllers, and
> >> everything... all super cheap and easy to hook to the CoCo with a
> >> simple interface. :)
>
> Actually, it's a full fledged uC, with a USB host controller built in,
> like the AVR AT90USB647 and AT90USB1287.  So, you could, in theory,
> write the USB and the interface code in the same uC, even cheaper.
>
> Jim

The real question, Jim, is: If you proto a design and it works well, will 
it still be available a year from now for a 3rd run of 50?  Lots of this 
stuff gets replaced by newer, glossier versions everytime you load the 
washing machine with last weeks underwear.  We have, or did have, 5 year 
laws, but they seem to be routinely ignored.  Have they been sunsetted? 
IDK.


Cheers, Gene Heskett
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