So I have decided to create my own calculator from scratch with building blocks from the ez80.
and the reason I want to use the ez80 is because its our oh so loveable processor that we all absolutely love! anyways the calculator will be modeled after the ti-84pce and have lots of similarities such as having a colour screen, internal battery and a usb however many things will be different and ill list all the things I am either changing or adding to the calc.
I will be creating my own aperating system from scratch, I think ill call it OpenCalcOs as the whole calculator from hardware to software will be open source and the calc will be called OpenCalc.
altho I am not 100% sure what licence I want to use but prolly not public domain might choose wtfpl or the totally inappropriate gpl


A list of features for the calculator!
for one I would love to have more memory on the calc and I hear that the ez80 can handle addressing more memory so my first task is to expand the memory on the calculator
the second thing that I want to do is expand the battery capacity, why? well tbh idk but I think that the more things I change the more distinct my calculator will be from the ti84pce
the third thing I am adding is wireless charging to the calc, mostly because its cool but also because I never charge my 84pce because I always have it connected to a keyboard, this way you can connect it to a keyboard and still charge it... however that won't be necessary because....
for my fourth task is to create a usb type A female port (or equivalent) for the calculator soly for data and is to be used for things like a keyboard or USB sticks (if my hardware supports USB sticks) however I know that the 84pce supports keyboards out of the box so the calc that I use should support it too... if not then i'll have to scrap this
my fifth task is to replace the ti usb port and replace it with USB C because USB C is better lol
my sixth task is to add a backup battery and so far I have a circuit that will work with the calc to supply power when you decide to take the main battery out for replacement as idk how reliable my rechargeable batteries are, however I am considering using common camera battery packs and having a circuit that protects from overvoltage when charging, this way you can use any pack you want... assuming it fits.
my seventh task is to add a micro sd card slot for the aperating system where something is similar (if not identical) to the raspberry pi! so that you can swap out your aperating systems on the go if you wish and maybe i'll add an option to boot from flash and let the sd card be external memory... maybe i'll create 2 slots one internal and one accessible from the outside.
my eighth task is to create an official aperating system for this calc. It's gonna be a lightweight OS mostly because I don't know how to create an aperating system that is very functional. I just know how to get it to boot and run a simple program then shut off..
my tenth task is to prepare for world domination!

problems that will slow down development..
well for one I don't know ez80 asm not sure if that's going to slow things down or not but I do think that it would be helpful if I knew it instead of getting beck to help me understand certain things
secondly it would be EXTREMELY helpful if I can emulate my virtual hardware (bc I dont have a physical copy yet just things i've used to modify my current 84pce) I think that cesium would be my best bet as it would let me run my custom OS on the calc I am designing it..
third well idk I think I could do everything else hardware related by myself however its going to take me forever to make it a "thing" and release it for the public
forth I think that if I were to release it to the public I will need to figure out what patents exist and work around them as I don't plan to get in legal trouble, however I might make it a proof of concept and not actually bring it into the physical world

If you would like to help design this board please let me know!
also if you have some hindsight to something that may not work or might bring legal trouble to me then that information would be greatly appreciated

EDIT
So in IRC Mateo suggested that I use the PIC32MX470F512L instead of the ez80 because it has USB support and much more capabilities!
here is a rundown of what I like in this processor!
for starters it has integrated USB support so hooray! I don't need to stress over that!
and the second thing I like is the fact that it has legs on the chip, something that the ez80 does not have!
however if you would like to read more about it please visit the link I sent!
anyways I still haven't determined the chip I want to use bc this means I need to start all my designing all over again taking me back to square one! however I want to do this right the first time! and maybe ill create more than one version such as a dev kits where you can get raw data from the calc via a computer (however I am not familiar on how to do this and I will need to learn how to put the calculator in a state where we can do this!)

UPDATE:
I have started work on the PIC32MX470F512L chip board and am 1% complete
I have started looking at the datasheet and determining what the board will look like!
I have started on the CAD design on the outer case of the calculator (most of it was from the old design)
however this does mean that I will be creating a calculator for the PIC32MX470F512L chip but I don't think ill be releasing the calc till i know 100% that it works as its not fair for you to buy or build it yourself to find that it doesn't work as expected. so for right now since I am almost done the board for the ez80 ill release that first when I get my proto board and have had time to play with it and make sure it is of quality!
EDIT:
I do want some help as this alone is going to be a lot of work for myself to do alone. And right now I would be looking for someone to start on the PIC32MX470F512L design while i finish up on the ez80 model but mostly because I have no experience designing for the PIC32MX470F512L chip. but for the most part I can handle designing boards, creating 3d parts to print as a case and such its mostly the programming for the boards I make and for the PIC32MX470F512L I find that I can either drop the ez80 and start this or get some help making it while I finish the design work on the ez80 model but idk I kinda wanna do it by myself but then again I would like help XD
things that I still need to do for the PIC32MX470F512L chip is figure out a compatible (or rather something that gives no hassle) flash chip, a colour screen (I still do not know what range of colours the PIC32MX470F512L chip will be able to support however I do think that will be up to what display module I choose to use.
Why can't you use a decent processor like a PIC32 or ARM9; something that actually will be useful.
Why a pic32. You could use an esp32 processor, it is cheaper and more powerfull, it can for example run doom with psram attached to it. It also comes on a pcb, so it is easy to solder. There is also a variant with one core, with usb support. If you get your hardware setup working, I might be able to help with the os developement. I have a bit of experience in c and c#, but no os developement experince.
marcrob01 wrote:
Why a pic32. You could use an esp32 processor, it is cheaper and more powerful, it can for example run doom with psram attached to it. It also comes on a pcb, so it is easy to solder. There is also a variant with one core, with usb support. If you get your hardware setup working, I might be able to help with the os development. I have a bit of experience in c and c#, but no os development experience.


I may have little experience with arduino and the related products. I find them too easy to use and pose no challenge to my ability to think about how the project will work.. there are modules that literally slap on to the board and tada you are done! it's so easy I know of a website that does that for you and all you need to do is drag and drop. so no I don't even own any. However the whole point of OpenCalc is to make a affordable programmable calculator for the community so I will think about it and by think about it I mean yes I will do it just because it's so easy.
SeeGreatness wrote:
marcrob01 wrote:
Why a pic32. You could use an esp32 processor, it is cheaper and more powerful, it can for example run doom with psram attached to it. It also comes on a pcb, so it is easy to solder. There is also a variant with one core, with usb support. If you get your hardware setup working, I might be able to help with the os development. I have a bit of experience in c and c#, but no os development experience.


I may have little experience with arduino and the related products. I find them too easy to use and pose no challenge to my ability to think about how the project will work.. there are modules that literally slap on to the board and tada you are done! it's so easy I know of a website that does that for you and all you need to do is drag and drop. so no I don't even own any. However the whole point of OpenCalc is to make a affordable programmable calculator for the community so I will think about it and by think about it I mean yes I will do it just because it's so easy.

Where did your project go? Do you have any prior experience? Making a custom calc would be fun. I have a bit of freetime over then next couple of weeks.
marcrob01 wrote:
SeeGreatness wrote:
marcrob01 wrote:
Why a pic32. You could use an esp32 processor, it is cheaper and more powerful, it can for example run doom with psram attached to it. It also comes on a pcb, so it is easy to solder. There is also a variant with one core, with usb support. If you get your hardware setup working, I might be able to help with the os development. I have a bit of experience in c and c#, but no os development experience.


I may have little experience with arduino and the related products. I find them too easy to use and pose no challenge to my ability to think about how the project will work.. there are modules that literally slap on to the board and tada you are done! it's so easy I know of a website that does that for you and all you need to do is drag and drop. so no I don't even own any. However the whole point of OpenCalc is to make a affordable programmable calculator for the community so I will think about it and by think about it I mean yes I will do it just because it's so easy.

Where did your project go? Do you have any prior experience? Making a custom calc would be fun. I have a bit of freetime over then next couple of weeks.

been busy with life haha, I am going to look for my old schematics on my old pc to revive the project, the issue right now is that I have no experience making any software.. I am only designing the calcs boards and that only goes so far before I have to start on the software.
  
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