Purpose is to realize a relatively simple and economic card allowing the development of applications real-time FORTH by using a computer host (PC, MAC or the other one) as mass memory. The main characteristics of this card are the following ones:

• a processor MC68000 put rhythm to 8 or 10 MHZ according to availability,
• a ROM of 16 KiloBytes containing a FORTH kernel (with obviously interpreter and compiler) and a real-time kernel features of which are described in this site,
• a very widely sufficient RAM of 256 KiloBytes for the most part of applications with possibility of extension to 1 MégaBytes for the greediest,
• a chip 68681 containing the clock for the real-time kernel (1 ms), an interface RS232 for the dialogue with the computer host and ports of input - output for applications (the 68681 can administer a 2-nd interface RS232),
• a link I2C using the 68681 with software management,
• a serial EEPROM ( I2C) to allow at your choice to work in a autonomous way.

The ROM is used only at the time of the initialization, its program is then downloaded in the RAM in superior performances.

Software discovers automatically if an application is accommodated in the EEPROM I2C and, if it is case, loads this application and then execute it. This allows at your choice to work in a autonomous way while keeping the possibility of putting into dialogue with the computer host for the surveillance of parameters for example.

Dialogue with the card makes by using a terminal window VTxxx of the computer host in 9600 bits by second. Software packages application software can be downloaded by simple to copy-paste.