The Fairchild F8 is an 8-bit microprocessor system from Fairchild Semiconductor, announced in 1974 and shipped in 1975.[1][2] The original processor family included four main 40-pin integrated circuits (ICs); the 3850 CPU which was the arithmetic logic unit, the 3851 Program Storage Unit (PSU) which contained 1 KB of program ROM and handled instruction decoding, and the optional 3852 Dynamic Memory Interface (DMI) or 3853 Static Memory Interface (SMI) to control additional RAM or ROM holding the user programs or data. The 3854 DMA was another optional system that added direct memory access into the RAM controlled by the 3852.
A minimal system containing a 3850 and 3851 also included four 8-bit data ports, 64 bytes of RAM, and a user program on ROM. This allowed microcontroller applications to be built using just two chips. Doing the same on more traditional designs like the Intel 8080 or Motorola 6800 normally required seven. It also meant that any application that did not fit the simple requirements generally required at least three 40-pin ICs, the CPU, PSU and either the 3852 or 3853 along with additional memory chips. As a result of these tradeoffs, the F8 series found widespread use in the microcontroller market but saw less use as a CPU in general-purpose computers. It is relatively obscure today, as its embedded uses rarely revealed the F8 inside.
In 1977, Mostek released a greatly improved single-chip implementation, the Mostek 3870. It merged the 3850 and 3851 and reduced the number of power supply voltages. More important, Mostek re-arranged the assembly line so user code in ROM was added at the last step, greatly reducing the cost of customizing the design for controller use. The 3870 replaced the original Fairchild versions and was produced by several companies in the US and Europe. In Europe, STMicroelectronics continued producing variations of the design into the mid-1990s.
^CPU 2013.
^"The Fairchild F8". The Antique Chip Collector's Page. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
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home console, the Fairchild Channel F released in 1976, based on the FairchildF8 microprocessor. The Channel F also established the use of ROM cartridges...
two-chip FairchildF8 (3850 + 3851) into a single chip, introduced in 1977. William Bradley designed a host of custom products based on the 3870. Fairchild later...
appears to have seen little use. The FairchildF8 was introduced at about the same time, aimed at the same markets. The F8 had a number of advantages over...
sampling (statistics) Program Storage Unit, a chip as used e.g. in the FairchildF8 microprocessor Projective special unitary group, a mathematical quotient...
Features Programming Reference" (PDF). Intel. January 2018. F8 Guide to Programming (PDF). Fairchild MOS Microcomputer Division. 1977. "Nios II Classic Processor...
producing competing single-chip CPUs including the Motorola 6800 (1974), the FairchildF8 (1974), the MOS Technology 6502 (1975) and the National Semiconductor...
known as the "Big 3." Past console manufacturers have included Atari, Fairchild, Mattel, Coleco, Sega, NEC, 3DO, Fujitsu and SNK. A home video game console...
MPSoC, and where software is often tuned to one hardware configuration. FairchildF8 of 1975 contained 64 bytes of scratchpad. The TI-99/4A has 256 bytes...
Boris was one of the first chess computers to be widely marketed. It ran on a FairchildF8 8-bit microprocessor with only 2.5 KiB ROM and 256 byte RAM....
utilizing the FairchildF8 microprocessor – which also sold poorly. In January 1976, Mirco entered into an agreement with Fairchild Camera & Instrument...
by Umtech Incorporated, starting in 1977. It is based on the Fairchild Semiconductor F8 CPU. It was not a large commercial success and was discontinued...
it as a combination of the FairchildF8 and RCA COSMAC, in that it had the scratchpad memory and overall concept of the F8 with the multiple general purpose...
10. The F24 was designed to be lighter and smaller than the F8 camera of 1919, but the F8 continued to be used in less demanding installations. The main...
on state funding. Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, San Jose Facebook F8, San Jose Silicon Valley Comic Con, San Jose Silicon Valley Pride, San Jose...
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