MOS Technology TED
Encyclopedia
The 7360 Text Editing Device (TED) was an integrated circuit
made by MOS Technology, Inc.
It was a video chip
that also contained sound generation
hardware, DRAM
refresh circuitry, interval timers
, and keyboard
input handling. It was designed for the Commodore
Plus/4
and 16
. Packaging consisted of a JEDEC
-standard 48-pin DIP
.
. The TED supported five video modes:
These were largely unchanged from the corresponding VIC-II modes. However, the TED lacked the sprite capabilities of the VIC-II, making it unsuitable for most action
games. The TED did include one feature that the VIC-II lacked: luminance
control. Fifteen of its 16 colors (black being the exception) could be assigned one of 8 luminance values, thus making the TED capable of displaying a far wider array of colors than the VIC-II. The full palette of 121 colors is shown below.
, and the second could produce either a square wave or white noise
. This tone generator was designed for business applications, and did not provide the extensive sound features found in the SID
chip.
interval timers, which consist of down counters
operating at the master clock frequency. They can generate IRQs
on underflow. The chip also contains an I/O port, which is used on the Plus/4 and 16 to scan the keyboard and joystick
. In addition, it handles bank switching
, used by the operating system to maximize the amount of RAM available to Commodore BASIC
.
An undesirable feature of the chip is its well-known tendency to destroy itself though overheating. To preserve a computer which employs this chip in working order, it is desirable to improve its cooling.
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
made by MOS Technology, Inc.
MOS Technology
MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
It was a video chip
Video Display Controller
A Video Display Controller or VDC is an integrated circuit which is the main component in a video signal generator, a device responsible for the production of a TV video signal in a computing or game system...
that also contained sound generation
Sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit designed to produce sound . It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics...
hardware, DRAM
Dynamic random access memory
Dynamic random-access memory is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1...
refresh circuitry, interval timers
Programmable Interval Timer
In computing and in embedded systems, a programmable interval timer is a counter which triggers an interrupt when it reaches the programmed count.- Common features :...
, and keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
input handling. It was designed for the Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
Plus/4
Commodore Plus/4
The Commodore Plus/4 was a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite ; it was billed as "the productivity computer with software built-in"...
and 16
Commodore 16
The Commodore 16 was a home computer made by Commodore with a 6502-compatible 8501 CPU, released in 1984. It was intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20 and it often sold for 99 USD...
. Packaging consisted of a JEDEC
JEDEC
The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, formerly known as the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council , is an independent semiconductor engineering trade organization and standardization body...
-standard 48-pin DIP
Dual in-line package
In microelectronics, a dual in-line package is an electronic device package with a rectangular housing and two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins. The package may be through-hole mounted to a printed circuit board or inserted in a socket.A DIP is usually referred to as a DIPn, where n is...
.
Video capabilities
The video capabilities provided by the TED were largely a subset of those in the VIC-IIMOS Technology VIC-II
The VIC-II , specifically known as the MOS Technology 6567/8562/8564 , 6569/8565/8566 , is the microchip tasked with generating Y/C/composite video graphics and DRAM refresh signals in the Commodore 64 and C128 home computers.Succeeding MOS's original VIC , the VIC-II was one of the two chips...
. The TED supported five video modes:
- Text mode of 40×25 characters with 8×8 pixels
- Multicolor text (4×8 pixels per character, double pixel width in x direction)
- Extended background color mode (8×8 pixels per character)
- Multicolor Graphics 160×200 pixels
- Hi-Res Graphics 320×200 pixels
These were largely unchanged from the corresponding VIC-II modes. However, the TED lacked the sprite capabilities of the VIC-II, making it unsuitable for most action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
games. The TED did include one feature that the VIC-II lacked: luminance
Luminance
Luminance is a photometric measure of the luminous intensity per unit area of light travelling in a given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square...
control. Fifteen of its 16 colors (black being the exception) could be assigned one of 8 luminance values, thus making the TED capable of displaying a far wider array of colors than the VIC-II. The full palette of 121 colors is shown below.
| hue / luminance | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 1 — black | 1,0 | 1,1 | 1,2 | 1,3 | 1,4 | 1,5 | 1,6 | 1,7 |
| 2 — white | 2,0 | 2,1 | 2,2 | 2,3 | 2,4 | 2,5 | 2,6 | 2,7 |
| 3 — red | 3,0 | 3,1 | 3,2 | 3,3 | 3,4 | 3,5 | 3,6 | 3,7 |
| 4 — cyan | 4,0 | 4,1 | 4,2 | 4,3 | 4,4 | 4,5 | 4,6 | 4,7 |
| 5 — purple | 5,0 | 5,1 | 5,2 | 5,3 | 5,4 | 5,5 | 5,6 | 5,7 |
| 6 — green | 6,0 | 6,1 | 6,2 | 6,3 | 6,4 | 6,5 | 6,6 | 6,7 |
| 7 — blue | 7,0 | 7,1 | 7,2 | 7,3 | 7,4 | 7,5 | 7,6 | 7,7 |
| 8 — yellow | 8,0 | 8,1 | 8,2 | 8,3 | 8,4 | 8,5 | 8,6 | 8,7 |
| 9 — orange | 9,0 | 9,1 | 9,2 | 9,3 | 9,4 | 9,5 | 9,6 | 9,7 |
| 10 — brown | 10,0 | 10,1 | 10,2 | 10,3 | 10,4 | 10,5 | 10,6 | 10,7 |
| 11 — yellow-green | 11,0 | 11,1 | 11,2 | 11,3 | 11,4 | 11,5 | 11,6 | 11,7 |
| 12 — pink | 12,0 | 12,1 | 12,2 | 12,3 | 12,4 | 12,5 | 12,6 | 12,7 |
| 13 — blue-green | 13,0 | 13,1 | 13,2 | 13,3 | 13,4 | 13,5 | 13,6 | 13,7 |
| 14 — light blue | 14,0 | 14,1 | 14,2 | 14,3 | 14,4 | 14,5 | 14,6 | 14,7 |
| 15 — dark blue | 15,0 | 15,1 | 15,2 | 15,3 | 15,4 | 15,5 | 15,6 | 15,7 |
| 16 — light green | 16,0 | 16,1 | 16,2 | 16,3 | 16,4 | 16,5 | 16,6 | 16,7 |
Sound capabilities
The TED featured a simple tone generator that produced two channels of audio. The first channel produced a square waveSquare wave
A square wave is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform, most typically encountered in electronics and signal processing. An ideal square wave alternates regularly and instantaneously between two levels...
, and the second could produce either a square wave or white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
. This tone generator was designed for business applications, and did not provide the extensive sound features found in the SID
MOS Technology SID
The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID is the built-in Programmable Sound Generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers...
chip.
Other features
The TED includes three 16-bit16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
interval timers, which consist of down counters
Counter
In digital logic and computing, a counter is a device which stores the number of times a particular event or process has occurred, often in relationship to a clock signal.- Electronic counters :...
operating at the master clock frequency. They can generate IRQs
Interrupt request
The computing phrase "interrupt request" is used to refer to either the act of interrupting the bus lines used to signal an interrupt, or the interrupt input lines on a Programmable Interrupt Controller...
on underflow. The chip also contains an I/O port, which is used on the Plus/4 and 16 to scan the keyboard and joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
. In addition, it handles bank switching
Bank switching
Bank switching is a technique to increase the amount of usable memory beyond the amount directly addressable by the processor. It can be used to configure a system differently at different times; for example, a ROM required to start a system from diskette could be switched out when no longer...
, used by the operating system to maximize the amount of RAM available to Commodore BASIC
Commodore BASIC
Commodore BASIC, also known as PET BASIC, is the dialect of the BASIC programming language used in Commodore International's 8-bit home computer line, stretching from the PET of 1977 to the C128 of 1985...
.
An undesirable feature of the chip is its well-known tendency to destroy itself though overheating. To preserve a computer which employs this chip in working order, it is desirable to improve its cooling.