I need help finding a good z80 In Circuit Emulator - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: DaveHardy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 04:17:26 am
content: Hello, I'm looking for a good Z80 in circuit emulator. There's a company called Lauterbach that is still in business and has them for sale. Unfortunately, they don't have prices posed on their website, so I assume they're ridiculously expensive. However, there is tons of Lauterbach stuff on E-bay for $20 - $100, but I don't have a clue what parts to buy. Does anybody have experience with this company or other suggestions?

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 06:08:29 am
content: I designed and worked with a Z80 project a number of years ago, had an emulator and a simulator, I ended up just using the simulator and debugging my code on that. I never ended up needing to use the emulator.

author: fchk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 09:08:26 am
content: Do you need to support old/classic/retro systems? Yes, there were some ICEs, but VERY expensive and useless without the software.However, Zilog still makes eZ80, and these eZ80s are not only much faster (up to 50 MHz), but still 100% binary compatible, and they have an ZDI Debugging interface. This is the interface:https://www.zilog.com/index.php?option=com_product&task=dev_tool_detail&DevToolKit=ZUSBASC0200ZACGfchk

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 09:46:16 am
content: Quote from: DaveHardy on June 03, 2023, 04:17:26 amWhat for?

author: DaveHardy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 04:35:45 pm
content: Hi, thanks for the comment. Yes, I need support for classic systems. I just checked out Zilog, and their entire product line appears to be at 3.3v. I need 5 volt tolerance. My goal is to get some sort of kit where I can plug the adapter in to the Z80 socket and step through memory, programs, etc.

author: radiolistener
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 09:01:09 pm
content: there is no sense in such adapter. Just make memory snapshot and put it into some Z80 emulator, then you can debug it, watch memory changes, add breakpoints, etc

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2023, 09:33:29 pm
content: Lauterbach is absolutely top of the line in ICEs and yes, damn expensive.IIRC, you need a main emulator rack where you plug in "personality modules" like Z80. But it's many years since I worked with them.

author: biff
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2024, 06:43:28 pm
content: Quote from: radiolistener on June 03, 2023, 09:01:09 pmA very good reason for such an adaptor is for debugging old hardware - from the inside out.

author: oPossum
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2024, 06:52:58 pm
content: http://ferretronix.com/nice/

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2024, 11:01:27 pm
content: You may need to tell us exactly what you want to do with this emulator, so we can suggest alternatives. Because indeed, true ICE for Z80 will be expensive, or hard to find, or you may run into very old, unsupported, maybe non-functional equipment.Yes, as suggested before, maybe a pure software emulation would work in your case?If not, what do you need to inspect on a hardware level? Maybe a simple board with a real Z80 would do, if you just need access to external signals.It could otherwise be implemented in some FPGA, there are open-source Z80 cores out there (like the T80), that would give you the most flexibility in terms of what you want to do, but extra work which could become a rabbit hole.