Discussion specific to the DIP and TQFP packaged ZX devices like the ZX-40, ZX-44, ZX-32 and ZX-328 series. The differences between these devices is primarily the packaging and pinout so most issues will apply to all devices.
mikep wrote:The source is reliable but they only have a few in stock. Leadtime from ST is quoted as 16 weeks. And there is no telling if ST will continue to make these chips. Those are the problems with single sourcing of components.
Mouser quoted 18 weeks but actually delivered the 100 I ordered in 2 weeks from a plant in the Phillipines.
I decided to buy a relatively small quantity and mount them on a header board as a service to other ZX users. Unfortunately no-one has yet decided to buy one
My project is not meant as a commercial venture but is intended as a service to the Home Automation community. At best, I try to recover out-of-pocket costs - I think I'll suffer a substantial loss in this case - it's a good thing I work cheap.
Another alternative to your problem is to use a mega128/mega1281-based ZX device that has up to 60K of program memory in the AVR flash. Oak Micros' ZX-128e/ZX-1281e are socket friendly which I believe is a requirement for roZetta. I could supply these devices without the RAM extension if desired. The ZX-128e/ZX-1281e offer one RS232 compatible serial channel and another high-speed hardware UART as well as the standard ZBasic software-based serial channels (COM3-6). Unfortunately it would require some slight redesign of your board.
I'd rather port it all to Tibbo's EM1000 which has ethernet, 4 ultrafast UARTs, tons of memory and oodles of DIO pins. It would require a new board and additional hardware to handle ADC but that's no biggie. I'm waiting for them to document their Interrupt object and SPI interface to decide.
dlh wrote:Arrow Electronics has the M95512-WMN6P [SOIC-8] for $1.44 and accepts low quantity orders.
Arrow also charges $8 for postage which is a lot if you only want one chip. Oak Micros can mount the SOIC-8 chips on a 0.1" header board and offers regular USPS first class mail.
