This card provides 32K of RAM, mapping in two blocks: the low memery expansion at >2000-3FFF and the high memory expansion at >A000-FFFF. The memory consists in sixteen MK4116 DRAM chips, each of 16Kx1 bits.
MK4116 pinout
Additional circuitery
Timing diagrams
Electrical charateristic
+---+--+---+
Vee |1 +--+ 16| GND
D |2 15| CAS*
WE* |3 MK 14| Q
RAS* |4 4116 13| A6
A0 |5 12| A3
A2 |6 11| A4
A1 |7 10| A5
Vdd |8 9| Vcc
+----------+
Power supply
Vcc +5V
Vdd +12V
Vee -5V
Gnd Ground
Control bus
WE* Write enable
RAS* Row address select: The chip is a matrix of 128x128 bits.
To
access a bit, the row address is placed on A0-A6, then RAS* goes low to
latch the row address. This also refreshes the whole row.
CAS* Column address select. Once the row is selected, the column
address in placed on A0-A6 and CAS* goes low, which selects a given bit
in the chip. If WE* is low, the bit will be given the value of D. If
WE*
is high, the bit value will be output on Q.
Address bus
A0-A6 Row address / column address. Multiplexed via the RAS*
and CAS* signals.
Data bus
D Data bit in.
Q Data bit out.
A complicated circuitery is in charge of refreshing the DRAM chips by composing all the row addresses one after the other, when the card is idling (i.e. when MEMEN* is high). This circuit comprises:
3 74LS74 dual-D flip-flop
1 74LS109 dual JK flip-flop
1 74LS161 4-bit counter
1 74LS393 dual 4-bit counter
1 74LS244 dual 4-bit buffer, 3-state
The selection logic is achieved by a proprietary chip.
The PE-Box address bus is buffered by two 74LS244 buffers, then lines A2 through A15 are multiplexed as 2 times 7 bits via 2 74LS257 quad 2-to-1 multiplexers. An extra 74LS244 buffers the control bus, and a 74LS245 buffers the data bus (its direction is controlled by the DBIN line of the control bus).
The LED indicator is controlled by a 3964 transistor driven by a 74LS123 one-shot multivibrator.
Note that the card does not contain any ROM, nor does it have a CRU interface.
These diagrams come from the Mitsubishi equivalent: M5K4116P,S-3 (200 ns).
| >375 ns |
\ 200-1000 ns />120 ns\ RAS*
| >200 ns | | |
| 25-65 ns | >135 ns | |
| \ >135 ns /| > -20 ns | \_ CAS*
| >120 ns | |
| >0 | >25 | |a |>55 ns| |
XX row XXX column XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A0-A6
| |>0 | |>0|
XXXXXXXXXXXX/ | <135 ns | | \XXXXXXXXXXXXX R/W*
| <200 ns | |<50|
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZX data XZZZZZZZZZZZZ DOUT
a) > -10 ns
| >375 ns |
\ 200-1000 ns / >120 ns \ RAS*
| >200 ns | | |
| 25-65 ns | >135 ns | |
| \| >135 ns /| > -20 ns | \_ CAS*
| | | |
| >120 ns | | |
| >0 | >25 | |a| >55 | | |
XX row XXXX column XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A0-A6
| | >85 ns | |
| | >70 ns |
| |<-20| >55 |
| \ >55 ns / \ R/W*
| >120 ns |
|b| >55 ns |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX data XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DIN
| >55 ns |
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ DOUT
a) > -10 ns
b) > -20 ns (data setup time before CAS*)
| >375 ns |
\ 200-1000 ns / 120 ns - 2 ms \ RAS*
|
| >0 | >25 |
XX row XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A0-A6
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ DOUT
These are the characteristics of the Mitsubishi equivalent: M5K4116P.
Supply voltage: Vcc, Vdd, Gnd -0.5 to +20 V over Vbb
Vcc, Vdd -1 to +15 V over Gnd
Vbb max 0 V over Gnd
Input voltage: -0.5 to 20 V over Vbb
Output voltage: -0.5 to 20 V over Vbb
Output current: 50 mA
Power dissipation: 700-1000 mW
Free air temperature: 0 to 70 `C
Storage temperature: -40 to 125 `C
| Parameter | Min | Nom | Max | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supply voltage Vdd | 10.8 | 12 | 13.2 | V |
| Supply voltage Vcc | 4.5 | 5 | 5.5 | V |
| Supply voltage Gnd | 0 | 0 | 0 | V |
| Supply voltage Vbb | -4.5 | -5 | -5.7 | V |
| High level input voltage: RAS*, CAS*, R/W* | 2.7 | . | 7 | V |
| High level input voltage: A0-A6, Din | 2.4 | . | 7 | V |
| Low level voltage | -1 | . | 0.8 | V |
Ta = 0-70 `C, Vdd = 12V+/- 10%, Vcc = 5V +/- 10%, Gnd = 0V, Vbb = -5.7 to -4.5 V
| Parameter | Test conditions | Min | Typ | Max | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-level output voltage | -5 mA | 2.4 | . | Vcc | V |
| Low-level output voltage | 4.2 mA | 0 | . | 0.4 | V |
| Offstate output current | 0-5.5 V, D floating | -10 | . | 10 | uA |
| Input current | 0-7 V, Vbb=-5V, all other pins 0 V | -10 | . | 10 | uA |
| Average supply current from Vdd, operating | RAS*, CAS* cycling, 375 ns | . | . | 35 | mA |
| Average supply current from Vcc, operating | Ditto | . | . | . | . |
| Average supply current from Vbb, operating | Ditto | . | . | 200 | uA |
| Supply current from Vdd, standby | RAS* = H, DOUT floating | . | . | 1.5 | mA |
| Supply current from Vcc, standby | Ditto | -10 | . | 10 | mA |
| Supply current from Vbb, standby | Ditto | . | . | 100 | uA |
| Average supply current from Vdd, refreshing | CAS* = H, RAS* cycling, 375 ns | . | . | 27 | mA |
| Average supply current from Vcc, refreshing | Ditto | -10 | . | 10 | mA |
| Average supply current from Vbb, refreshing | Ditto | . | . | 200 | uA |
| Input capacitance: A0-A6, DIN | 1 mHz, 25 mVrms | . | . | 5 | pF |
| Input capacitance: R/W* | Ditto | . | . | 7 | pF |
| Input capacitance: RAS*, CAS* | Ditto | -10 | . | 10 | pF |
| Output capacitance | Ditto | . | . | . | pF |
| Vcc=5.25 V, Vdd=12.6 V, T=0-70 `C | - | 71 | 95 | mA | |
| Vcc=5.25 V, Vdd=12.6 V, T=0-70 `C | - | 73 | 95 | mA | |
| Supply current from Vdd | Vcc=5.25 V, FDD+OSCIN=0, T=0-70 `C | - | 14 | 24 | mA |
| Ditto, at 3 MHz | Vcc=5.25 V, Vdd=12.6 V, T=0-70 `C | - | 40 | 48 | mA |
| Ditto, at 4 mHz | Vcc=5.25 V, Vdd=12.6 V, T=0-70 `C | - | 47 | 52 | mA |
If you wanted to emulate such a card, here is a suggested circuit (not tested yet).
74LS244 |
As recommended by Texas Instruments, the PE-box bus incoming lines are buffered on the card by 74LS244 buffers.
The memory chip is a 32Kx8 SRAM chip. Using SRAM allows us to avoid the annoying requirement for a refreshing circuit. In addition, we could install a small battery on the card to keep the content of the memory intact even when the power is down... And nowadays 32K of SRAM costs nothing.
The R/W* pin is driven by the WR* line that provides a write pulse during write operations and remains high during read operations.
The data pins D0 through D7 are connected to the data bus via a 74LS245 8-bit bus transceiver, which is enabled by the card selection signal and whose direction is controlled by DBIN. (NB Since Texas Instruments numbers the pins the opposite way to everyone else, D0 corresponds to D7 and conversely. This is not strictly required in this case, though).
The 15 address pins A0-A13 are connected to the address bus lines A1 to A15. Line A14 receives a A0 [AND] A2 signal, so that the various extended memory areas map at different addresses in the chip (Thanks to Dave Nieters). The AND gate is implemented with the second half of the 74LS21 chip used for address decoding: the two unused inputs should be connected to +5 volts. This way, we have the following mapping:
Address A0 A1 A2 | A14 A13 SRAM
>2000 0 0 1 | 0 0 >0000
>A000 1 0 1 | 1 0 >4000
>C000 1 1 0 | 0 1 >2000
>E000 1 1 1 | 1 1 >6000
The address mapping is performed by a 74LS138 decoder hooked to address lines A0-A2 and enabled by MEMEN*. Each output of the decoder corresponds to a >2000 bytes block in memory. The ones we want to react to are Y1* (>2000-3FFF), Y5* (>A000-BFFF), Y6* (>C000-DFFF) and Y7* (>E000-FFFF). They are combined through a 4-inputs AND gate to produce an active low selection signal. This signal selects the SRAM and enables our data bus transceiver (74LS245). It also enables the data bus buffers at each end of the connection cable by bringing RDBENA* low via a 74LS125 3-state buffer. The '125 is required because we don't want to hold this line high when the card in not in use, since other cards may need to bring it low.
A LED indicator lights up when the card is selected. Optionally, a transistor could be used to make it shine brighter. Mount the LED so that it is visible in the slot on the front of the PE-box.
An optional switch has been added to the 74LS138, so that the card can be disabled if necessary (a good thing to have during the test phase). The memory answers when the switch is closed, and is disabled when the switch is open.
The card is powered by a standard 78L05 voltage regulator that delivers 100 mAmps at +5 Volts. It has a 22 uF capacitor on the power line, and a 0.1 uF cap on the output. Note that each chip should also have its own by-pass capacitor (0.1 uF is a good value) connected as close to the Vcc pin as possible (ideally, the current should meet the cap before reaching the chip).
1 Hitachi 55256 32x8 SRAM
1 74LS238 decoder
1 74LS21 dual 4-input AND gate
3 74LS244 dual 4-bit buffers
1 74LS245 8-bit transceiver, 3-state
1 74LS125 quad buffer, 3-state
1 78L05 voltage regulator
1 Yellow LED
1 SPST switch (optional)
1 Capacitor 22 microfarads
9 Capacitors 0.1 microfarad
1 Resistors 10 kilohms
The most expensive part will be the board itself. See my PE-Box page for the connections with the PE-box bus.