6502-based LCD watch idea

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ccovell
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6502-based LCD watch idea

Post by ccovell »

Hi, folks. I'll just explain a daydream I was having yesterday:

I was shopping around for a new/used watch and still love the retro aesthetic of old Casio databank watches. I'd love a programmable one, like the old Seiko/Epson UC ones ( link ) but those are getting really rare and expensive.

Smartwatches are cool, but bulky as hell and have a horrible battery life.

DIY watches are even larger & usually LED & push-button to view.

I know that there are embedded 6502 cores in tiny devices like Tamagotchis & photo keychains, so wouldn't it be cool to have such a core + RTC chip + dot-matrix LCD interface to an existing watch (like a Casio databank ) + UART interface for ASM program uploading?

Coincidentally, I just discovered 2 such ideas, but using watches & chips that I find less interesting due to limited display and more HLL programming:

https://goodwatch.org/posts/introducing-the-goodwatch/ Very cool...
https://github.com/carrotIndustries/pluto Neat, but more limited.
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/oshw/diy-w ... sio-f-91w/

Anyway, is the embedded 6502 watch idea silly, feasible, etc.?
lidnariq
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Re: 6502-based LCD watch idea

Post by lidnariq »

Two random unrelated thoughts:

1- The MSP430, while designed to be useful to a C compiler, is actually a pretty fun ISA to just work with anyway

2- Natalie Silvanovich has code-injection attacks working on at least some models of Tamagotchis, which we know are running on the Sunplus 6502 variant.
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Dwedit
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Re: 6502-based LCD watch idea

Post by Dwedit »

I think the Game King was a 6502-based LCD system, but it's not a watch at all. (edit: 65C02, not 6502).
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ccovell
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Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:44 pm
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Re: 6502-based LCD watch idea

Post by ccovell »

lidnariq wrote:2- Natalie Silvanovich has code-injection attacks working on at least some models of Tamagotchis, which we know are running on the Sunplus 6502 variant.
Yes, that, and the keychain photoframe hack, was how I learnt of 6502 CPU cores existing, embedded in really small devices. I was dreaming about finding/using such a core, and was wondering if anybody knew if they were available / usable in a watch.

A programmable watch in a slim (Databank / Casio calculator) formfactor would be desirable, I think. G-Shocks are grotesque & overly thick, and Tamagotchis on a wrist would be so too.
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