Looking for Microcontroller Recommendations
in [Design]
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From: RogerN on 16 Jan 2010 14:41 "krw" <krw(a)att.bizzzzzzzzzzz> wrote in message news:e524l51tm7q1rb4sk0e6v8dq8sbv8squud(a)4ax.com... > On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:38:42 -0600, "RogerN" <regor(a)midwest.net> > wrote: > >>Thanks for all the fantastic recommendations! It seems like for many of >>the >>microcontrollers it doesn't cost much to get going at a hobby level. I >>ordered a PIC18 something starter kit that comes with a PICkit2 >>programmer/debugger and I ordered a PICkit3 Debug Express. >>I also have an Atmel STK500 starter kit that I bought around 10 years ago >>and have hardly used. I downloaded Arduino software and GNU C compiler >>for >>the AVRs. >>I plan to look into the other stuff that I'm not familiar with but sounds >>interesting, such as the Texas Instruments, Silabs, Arm, etc. >> >>At work some of our electricians hacked into alarm clocks to automatically >>start their car a few minutes before the end of their shift. They have >>the >>Bulldog security remote starter and said it has an input you can use to >>start your car, where we work is too far from the parking lot to use the >>remote. That would be a nice microcontroller project, use a temperature >>sensor and RTCC, if it's freezing out, start the car so many minutes >>before >>the end of shift, the colder it is, the more warm up time is allowed. > > Be careful here. It's very easy to burn up a starter, wiring, or at > least kill a battery, when you least want a dead battery (BT). Even > professionally installed car starters cause enough problems to > invalidate car warranties. There is a *lot* to consider here. I > certainly wouldn't play with a car starter. I found it easier to move > to the South. ;-) > They have the Bulldog Security remote car starter installed and working, hopefully the bugs are worked out of it. If I understand correctly, they run the starter for a couple of seconds, if the car doesn't start, it will try again so many seconds later, running the starter for maybe 3 or 4 seconds (or something like that). Also, they said it will only run the car up to 15 minutes and then shuts off unless the ignition switch is turned on. One guy took a battery operated alarm clock and wired a transistor to the alarm, I'm not sure what the others did, but something similar. With a microcontroller you could sense temperature, if it's above freezing you may not want the car to start at all. In my position, I go to work at the same time every morning but I work over some almost every day, so starting my car based on time wouldn't work for me, starting by cell phone might though. But I don't want to have another cell phone just to set in my car to start it a few days a year. Remote starting would benefit me mostly in the morning but I'm in range to start my car from inside if I wanted to. RogerN
From: Jan Panteltje on 16 Jan 2010 14:56 On a sunny day (Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:20:06 GMT) it happened nico(a)puntnl.niks (Nico Coesel) wrote in <4b520d64.595527000(a)news.planet.nl>: >Jan Panteltje <pNaonStpealmtje(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >>On a sunny day (Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:53:57 GMT) it happened nico(a)puntnl.niks >>(Nico Coesel) wrote in <4b51dc9b.583037562(a)news.planet.nl>: >> >>>>I have Linux on a Broadcom MIPS, cross compiled from the PC. >>>>It will *not* run LTSPice in Wine see? >>> >>>So, get another spice derivative which does compile/run on MIPS. >> >>Well, there are no better Spice then LTSpice > >Except for the crappy user interface. I have no problems with that user interface. Have experienced much worse ones :-) I consider it excellent. >>>>And you have to re-compile *every* application. >>> >>>No, you don't have to recompile every application if you have enough >>>storage space to install a regular Linux distro. Flash drives are very >>>cheap these days. If you attach a flash or hard drive to your Broadcom >>>system then you can install a regular Linux distro on it. >> >>You are WRONG. >>Executable code that runs on a x86 will NOT run on a MIPS. >>That is a very silly mistake you make here, I hope you do not design embedded. > >You are even more silly to suspect that I propose to run x86 code on a >MIPS platform. I'd install the MIPS version ofcourse! Or the ARM >version. See my previous comments, the parts that need speed, likely will be compiled from C, not using the much better inline asm, so the performance will suck, not only because it is now an ARM without multimedia instructions, but also because it now runs in some compiled inefficient stuff the C complier came up with. Try ffmpeg for example, the basis of mplayer and much of the stuff I do. You need a 4 or 10 x faster processor without that asm stuff, if it runs at all. The ARM netbooks on the exhibitions recently crashed a lot. Nowhere near ready for prime time. And why bother when Atom is better? >>What do you think 'install a Linux distro' means anyways? >>What code do you think the installer uses? > >The code that is used on your platform. > >>Where does it get the MIPS version of gcc? >>Linux distros only install binaries, and the source is available optional. >>If you want to run on an other platform then X86 then you need to compile *all* sources for that. > >No! You are so terribly wrong here! Look at this page: > >http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ OK, so they pre-compiled for a lot of processors. That still does not solve the native driver problems. It is *still* binaries, recompiled. >Several years ago I had an SGI Indy (MIPS based). Debian worked fine >out of the box. I got the sources from the Linksys site, including the cross compiler, and compile everything on the PC. The target has only 4GB FLASH, so not really space for gcc. I can just re-flash it,. I can flash it via JTAG too. As lot is highly specific related to the hardware I do not think Debian would have a chance running. For a start there is just enough space to run a busybox. However it shows a very interesting aspect of embedded design, this example: You can get a nice Ethernet module for 26 Euro; http://www.mcselec.com/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.browse&category_id=22&Itemid=1 Seems cool, no? But if you are smarter you get this for 55 Euro: http://norrod.nl/ws_a_index.asp?A_id=12472 Now you have a RJ45 connection, software, can connect to any PC, WiFi on top, runs Linux, has hidden serial port (that I use), that can be run with my e2s software, so serial to ethernet,... can be extended with an SDcard as I did, DC adaptor, many more advantages, antennas, comes in a nice housing. So if I was to design in that ethernet module I would need ++++Euro other stuff.... So, embedded that way becomes more looking for boxes that can be used in a smart way. If you hang my I/O PIC from it it has all of the sudden: 8 analog input channels with 10 bit resolution. 2 digital input channels. 5 digital output channels. 1 PWM output channel (0 to 100). http://panteltje.com/panteltje/pic/io_pic/index.html Why bother with yet an other ARM board running yet an other processor hug? I/O pic also runs from a netbook with USB to RS232 adaptor. And now you can develop on the PC, even faster without cross compiling if it is a x86 netbook. ARM is DOA.
From: Jan Panteltje on 16 Jan 2010 14:57 On a sunny day (Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:02:30 GMT) it happened nico(a)puntnl.niks (Nico Coesel) wrote in <4b520c58.595258812(a)news.planet.nl>: >Spehro Pefhany <speffSNIP(a)interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote: > >>On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:35:49 GMT, the renowned nico(a)puntnl.niks (Nico >>Coesel) wrote: >> >>>"RogerN" <regor(a)midwest.net> wrote: >>> >>>>Thanks for all the fantastic recommendations! It seems like for many of the >>>>microcontrollers it doesn't cost much to get going at a hobby level. I >>>>ordered a PIC18 something starter kit that comes with a PICkit2 >>>>programmer/debugger and I ordered a PICkit3 Debug Express. >>> >>>But be advised: as soon as you think 'I need 2 PICs for this project' >>>it is time to dump the PIC and learn to use a completely different >>>microcontroller. For more complicated projects using a PIC is like >>>eating soup with chopsticks. PIC gets you started real fast but it >>>also runs out of air real fast. >> >>What applications have you had to implement where a 40-80 MHz 32-bit >>MIPS processor with 512M of flash is so woefully inadequate? > >That is not a PIC. That is a PIC32! A whole different beast. If you >like your sanity, I wouldn't program those in assembly though (google >'MIPS one delay slot'). Sice when is a PIC32 not a PIC, of course it is.
From: krw on 16 Jan 2010 15:02 On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:36:41 +0100, Falk Willberg <Faweglassenlk(a)falk-willberg.de> wrote: >RogerN wrote: >... >> That would be a nice microcontroller project, use a temperature >> sensor and RTCC, if it's freezing out, start the car so many minutes before >> the end of shift, the colder it is, the more warm up time is allowed. > >Are you really going to waste 50% gas by blowing warm air (and harmful >gases) out of the exhaust, torture the engine by running it cold and >idle for minutes? 50%? The car isn't "tortured" by running it at idle. OTOH, it isn't good running a car at high speed until it's warmed some. The car needs to be started anyway. It may "waste" a little gas by idling a *little* longer than normal. >Why not use an auxiliary heater and control this with a micro? >That would be a smart approach. With what are you going to power this "heater". Electricity (from where?) rather than waste heat?
From: Tim Williams on 16 Jan 2010 15:08
"Nico Coesel" <nico(a)puntnl.niks> wrote in message news:4b520c58.595258812(a)news.planet.nl... > That is not a PIC. That is a PIC32! A whole different beast. If you > like your sanity, I wouldn't program those in assembly though (google > 'MIPS one delay slot'). That's a neat feature. Wikipedia says most assemblers baby you though. If delay slots are hard for you, you must've never written 8086 assembler. The inorthogonality is staggering until you get used to it. IA-32 and 64 are better of course. Tim -- Deep Friar: a very philosophical monk. Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms |