Neha Patil (Editor)

MCP 1600

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
MCP-1600

The MCP-1600 was a multi-chip microprocessor made by Western Digital in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Used in the Pascal MicroEngine, the original Alpha Microsystems AM-100, and the DEC LSI-11 microcomputer, a cost-reduced and compact implementation of the DEC PDP-11.

There were three types of chips in the chip-set:

  • CP1611 RALU - Register ALU chip
  • CP1621 CON - Control chip
  • CP1631 MICROM - Mask-programmed microcode ROM chip (512 – 22 bit words)
  • The chips used a 3.3MHz four phase clock and four power supply voltages (+5V, +12V, -12V, and -5V). Internally the MCP-1600 was a (relatively fast) 8-bit processor that could be micro-programmed to emulate a 16-bit CPU. Up to four MICROMs were supported, but usually two or three could hold the needed microprogram for a processor.

    A clone of the CP1611 was manufactured in the Soviet Union under the designation K581IK1 (Russian: КР581ИК1). The Soviet 581 series included other members of the MCP-1600 family as well.

  • Die photos from LSI-11 chip set
  • References

    MCP-1600 Wikipedia