MCP-1600
Encyclopedia
The MCP-1600 was a multi-chip microprocessor
made by Western Digital
in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Used in the Pascal MicroEngine
, the original AlphaMicro system, and the DEC
LSI-11 microcomputer, a cost-reduced and compact implementation of the DEC PDP-11
.
There were three types of chips in the chip-set:
The chips used a 3.3MHz four phase clock and four power supply voltages (+5V, +12V, -12V, and -5V). Internally the MCP-1600 was a (relatively fast) 8-bit processor that could be micro-programmed to emulate a 16-bit CPU. Up to four MICROMs were supported, but usually two or three could hold the needed microprogram for a processor.
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
made by Western Digital
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world. It has a long history in the electronics industry as an integrated circuit maker and a storage products company. Western Digital was founded on April 23, 1970 by Alvin B...
in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Used in the Pascal MicroEngine
Pascal MicroEngine
The Pascal MicroEngine was a series of microcomputer products manufactured by Western Digital from 1979 through the mid 1980s, designed specifically to efficiently run the UCSD p-System...
, the original AlphaMicro system, and the DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
LSI-11 microcomputer, a cost-reduced and compact implementation of the DEC PDP-11
PDP-11
The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a succession of products in the PDP series. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years...
.
There were three types of chips in the chip-set:
- CP1611 RALU - Register ALUArithmetic logic unitIn computing, an arithmetic logic unit is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations.The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers...
chip - CP1621 CON - Control chip
- CP1631 MICROM - Mask-programmed microcodeMicrocodeMicrocode is a layer of hardware-level instructions and/or data structures involved in the implementation of higher level machine code instructions in many computers and other processors; it resides in special high-speed memory and translates machine instructions into sequences of detailed...
ROMRead-only memoryRead-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
chip (512 – 22 bit words)
The chips used a 3.3MHz four phase clock and four power supply voltages (+5V, +12V, -12V, and -5V). Internally the MCP-1600 was a (relatively fast) 8-bit processor that could be micro-programmed to emulate a 16-bit CPU. Up to four MICROMs were supported, but usually two or three could hold the needed microprogram for a processor.