NorthStar Horizon Z80 ROM monitor/diagnostic tool

https://github.com/codesleuth7/northstar_horizon_z80_rom

The NorthStar Horizon is a S-100 bus Z80 computer from 1977. This ROM monitor
was created as part of a restoration project. The initial need was a diagnostic
to isolate and troubleshoot basic hardware problems. The minimum hardware
required for this ROM was only the Z80 CPU and console serial port. Basic
function without memory was a design goal to assist with memory troubleshooting.
Memory from this era was a common source of failure for many retro computers.

Design requirements:

  1. No RAM, which includes no stack.
  2. Relative code, no fixed addressing.
  3. Modified Z80 CPU card uses ROM 2716, 2048 bytes max size

Features:

  1. Map Memory
  2. Test Memory
  3. Display Memory
  4. Edit Memory
  5. Go to address
  6. Boot - E800
  7. Fill Memory
  8. Loop address - for testing
  9. Intel-HEX load

Assembler:

Develment environment was Ubuntu using z80asm. No preprocesser in this version which
should make it easier to port to other z80 assemblers.

For example:

$ z80asm -onsz80rom.bin -lnsz80rom.lst nsz80rom.mac

This ROM requires 2K and works with a 2716 using this on the CPU card:
https://deramp.com/downloads/north_star/horizon/roms/ZPB-A%20PROM%20Mod.pdf

2 Likes

Welcome! A RAM-free test ROM is a nice project - the Z80’s plentiful registers must be a bit of a help here.