Chapter 232 8080 Chip

For a digitized and informationized army, it would be difficult to allocate combat terminals to the squad level with the current Soviet technology level, not to mention the computers processing massive amounts of data and the satellite positioning system that is taken for granted!

Although the pressure was not only on the 35th Institute, other scientific research institutions would also be assigned certain tasks. However, these systems all needed to be transmitted using digital systems, while the Soviet Union was still mainly analog. The basic circuit components still needed to be developed by the 35th Institute, which was a cumbersome and huge project. For example, according to the description in the project book, the combat terminal needed to have a CPU chip!

When Ogarkov heard that it would take so long, his face turned dark.

Build digital and informationized troops, first equip a division, let the top leaders experience the tremendous improvement in combat effectiveness brought about by this military reform, and then continue to implement larger reform plans. These were all things Ogarkov had already made up his mind when he became a marshal. This is a huge plan that will change the entire Soviet Union!

However, right now, this basic technical problem will take several years to solve. How can I wait that long!

"Yes, we are lagging behind in the field of electronic technology. Although we are trying to catch up, it will still take a long time." At this time, Andre said, "In this case, we might as well import some ready-made ones from the West."

Andrei's words shocked everyone. Imported from the West? How is this possible! The West completely blocked the Soviet Union from technology. How could advanced military electronic technology be exported to the Soviet Union?

"The digital and information-based equipment we need now requires a large number of microprocessors." Andre said, "The gap in our own electronic technology makes it impossible for us to overcome this difficulty. So, I think our best solution now is to buy civilian chips from the Western civilian market. For example, I think Intel's 8080 chip is quite good and meets our needs. We can still import it in the name of civilian use. If it doesn't work, we can get it from the European black market and it is also easy to get it from island countries. After getting it, we will first use these chips to develop our various equipment, and then imitate them based on this chip."

The key component is the microprocessor. Although the Soviet Union was not behind in supercomputers, those were all big ones. To achieve the goal of digital terminals, a small microprocessor was needed, and Intel's 8080 was the most suitable choice.

As the leader in the microprocessor chip industry, Intel Corporation created the first real central processing unit in human history in 1971: 4004. It integrates 2250 transistors, each of which is 10 microns apart. It can process 4 bits of data, perform 60,000 operations per second, and run at a frequency of 108KHz. The birth of this CPU marked the beginning of a new era for computers. Later, Intel launched the Intel8008.

In 1974, Intel 8008 developed into Intel 8080, becoming the second generation microprocessor. This is a relatively successful processor. Until later generations, Intel 8080 is still widely used in various application circuits and equipment as a device to replace electronic logic circuits. Just like the 51 series of single-chip microcomputers, it has tenacious vitality.

If there is a choice, Andrei certainly hopes that the Soviet Union can copy the 8086, which is the first 16-bit processor and can be said to be the ancestor of the entire Intel X86 CPU in the future. Unfortunately, this CPU will not be available until next year, and the integration level is 29,000 transistors, which is not possible for the current Soviet industry.

A few thousand transistors is the level of 8080.

Intel, 8080 chip? Susanna's eyes lit up when she heard this. This kind of chip doesn't need to be imported from foreign countries. We are already researching it!

Andrei was not omnipotent and it was impossible for him to know all aspects of the Soviet Union's situation. Historically, the Soviet Union's imitation of Intel's 8080A processor was launched in 1978 and named КР580ИК80А. The military model was named 580ВМ80.

And now, with Andrei's travel through time, the horizons of Soviet electronic technicians have been broadened. They have long begun to study new Western electronic technologies. This 8080 chip obtained from the civilian field is now available in the 35th Institute. They have long begun the research on reverse surveying and have overcome the main difficulties. If there are documents from higher authorities, they can go into mass production within a month.

Intel's technology patents? The Soviets didn't recognize them! They wouldn't pay the Americans patent fees.

"If it's this kind of chip, we can start production at any time, but." Susanna expressed her concerns: "This is an ordinary civilian chip. It can't resist electromagnetic pulses, let alone be used in a nuclear war."

The reason why the Soviet Union insisted on using electron tubes was that they could survive the strong electromagnetic pulses during nuclear explosions in nuclear wars! Although the thinking is changing and new electronic technologies are being adopted, this indicator still exists.

Nuclear war. When Andre heard the word, he was no longer as disgusted as he was at the beginning.

Andrei, who came from the future, knew that a large-scale nuclear war had never broken out. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were restrained and would not destroy the global village. However, when Andrei came to this world and experienced more than a year, he deeply realized how serious the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union was during the Cold War. There was really a possibility of a full-scale war, especially now, under Andrei's promotion, it was like being at the crater of a volcano.

However, even so, Andre was still determined. Vacuum tubes were destined to be eliminated, and integrated circuits were the direction! Let's try to build a single-soldier handheld digital terminal using vacuum tubes!

"The equipment we seized from the Americans should be enough to give us inspiration, right?" said Andre.

The EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft is full of integrated circuits. How do the Americans prevent electromagnetic pulse attacks? They must have their own way!

"The American military chips are all reinforced, with large current margins in the circuits and thick aluminum shielding shells," said Susanna.

"We will do what the Americans do." Marshal Ogarkov on the side finally spoke.