Hi,

Can the Z80PIO be interfaced with an 8051 micro-controller? or is it specified to be used only with the Z80 CPU?

 

Can the Z80PIO be interfaced with an 8051 micro-controller? or is it specified to be used only with the Z80 CPU?

As you know, the Z80PIO was make by the same company as the Z80, so it was designed to work together. You will need to check the timing diagrams to see if the address and data lines are properly provided to address and send/retrieve data from the Z80PIO using the 8051 MCU. I believe that the lower address lines and the data lines are multiplexed.

 

Intel made an IC similar to the Z80PIO called the 8255 It was designed to interface to Intel processors. I have never used one but I have heard they are somewhat difficult to configure.

 

You can always bit bang the interface. It is not as fast but it can be made to work.

 

Thanks for the help. Where can I find the datasheets of these two ICs please? Because the datasheet of the Z80PIO that I managed to find is only 4 pages and does not give any specs such as power dissipation etc. And for the Inter IC, I only managed to find the CMOS version and not the standard 8255 IC.

 

Try here for Z80PIO and here for 8255.