The Sinclair QL Forum

It is important to understand there is absolutely no emulation involved on the Q68. It is a pure hardware implementation. Let me try to explain it this way:

You can implement an electronics circuit either by fixed wiring with 74xx logic gates, or you can use GAL chips, where the wiring can be programmed.
Both are hardware, and the result is the same.
The same goes for a hardwired CPU chip or an FPGA, just at a higher level of complexity.

I should add that I designed the computer system around the CPU, but not the CPU itself. My work on the CPU was to find the necessary changes so it correctly executes QL code.

I made the mistake of using the term "emulation" when talking to Peter about this some time ago.

It's not a 68000 chip in there, but it's not an emulation either. It's to all intents and purposes a 68000 in a different chip, a compatible chip in essence. A chip which has been programmed to do exactly the same thing as a 68000.

I've just seen this on Facebook and wondered if you had a ballpark price that's being aimed for? Had a Spectrum and Amiga so sort of missed out on the QL the first time around.

dilwyn wrote:It's not a 68000 chip in there, but it's not an emulation either. It's to all intents and purposes a 68000 in a different chip, a compatible chip in essence. A chip which has been programmed to do exactly the same thing as a 68000.

Basically yes, and on the same chip a graphics unit with QL and Q60 modes, an SDRAM controller, QL system core, PS/2 controller, serial port, sampled sound device, two SDHC card controllers, some Flash ROM, a little fast SRAM and the drivers for an extension bus.

By this relatively high level of integration, the Q68 needed separate chips only for SDRAM, power supply, ethernet, the RS-232 driver and the buffered realtime clock.

Great stuff!
Compliments and congrats to all involved! I'm looking very much forward to the release !!!

I want one too!....
It's a very wonderful piece of hardware , congrats to developers and builders. Great works guys!!

Looks like I have to increase my Retro budget again! Nice design guys...

Great works, congratulations!! (Another "quantum leap" )

I want one too ...

By the way, this is how the Q68 case prototype looks:

Very nice indeed.

Reading the earlier spec, it appears that the PS/2 port is multiplexed between KB and Mouse.

Will the Q68 therefore use one of those KB/Mouse PS/2 splitter/Y-cable adapter that was popular on Toshiba & IBM laptops, way-back when?

What about the speeds of the Serial and I2C interfaces?