Preparations are starting for decoding the Intel 80286 microcode, which we will hopefully have images of soon.
We can actually start figuring a few things out already, even without the bit extraction.
The 80286 has a 35-bit microcode word. This is straightforward to determine - there are 35 outputs coming out of the microcode ROM.
35 bits is a lot larger than the microcode word of the 286's little brother, the 186. The 80186 has a 21-bit microcode word, which is no bigger than the 8088.
It's much closer to the 80386, which has a 37-bit microcode word. Suspiciously close, in fact.
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #emulation
gloriouscow
npub1dh…qud8y
2026-10-17 16:03:59 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1dhl6470pzgczhuy6yxgpf595l998vppl0jje2swukmwyk7qny6dq0qud8ySeen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2026-10-17 16:03:59 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Preparations are starting for decoding the Intel 80286 microcode, which we will hopefully have images of soon.\n\nWe can actually start figuring a few things out already, even without the bit extraction.\n\nThe 80286 has a 35-bit microcode word. This is straightforward to determine - there are 35 outputs coming out of the microcode ROM.\n\n35 bits is a lot larger than the microcode word of the 286's little brother, the 186. The 80186 has a 21-bit microcode word, which is no bigger than the 8088.\n\nIt's much closer to the 80386, which has a 37-bit microcode word. Suspiciously close, in fact.\n\n#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #emulation",
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