Motorola MC6809 trainer

One of the items donated to the radio club by an SK estate last year (now I’ve forgotten which one) was this microprocessor training laboratory (MTL-1) from Cleveland Institute of Electronics (CIE).

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Presumably, if you had an interest in learning computer hardware and programming, you’d enroll in a class and get one of these along with class materials.  I’ve seen similar trainers in the past, but never had the opportunity to use them.  The breadboard area lets you wire up circuits that let you do things with the 6809.

This one is based on a Motorola MC6809, a contemporary of the 6502 and Z80 microprocessors.  After watching the one YouTube video I’ve found along with a bit of random button pressing, I’ve managed to figure out how to to go to different addresses and enter assembly code.  I haven’t entered anything that runs though.  I’ll have to find some time to learn 6809 assembly first.

Aside from the copyright date on the back, there’s no other indication of when this particular unit dates to.  Fun fact: 1984 was my first year of high school,

Surprisingly, I’ve found very little documentation about this particular trainer online.  I’ve found one video on YouTube where someone used it to demonstrate testing a RAM chip, and a few photos of similar units on auction sites, but nothing in the way of manuals or even course materials that might have used the trainer.

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This seems like it would be a fun thing to play with, especially for anyone with a retro-computing fetish. The hunt for documentation continues. I’ve already found a few PDFs about programming the 6809, so maybe I’ll be able to figure out enough do fun things with this.