[ale] so im crazy

[Irv Mullins]

On Wednesday 19 December 2001 02:48 pm, Cade wrote:

> "Simple single-board micro"? what is that, sounds like a good educational
> device? got an url or a name brand or something?

There are dozens of different kinds. Anything from an Atmel MegaAVR 
single-chip micro ("only" 128k flash memory, 4k eeprom, 4k ram) for 
about $14.00, all the way thru real IBM compatible PC's on tiny boards. 
There's a bewildering array of stuff available, from 8-bit to 32-bit 
processors, but mostly the small micros have some things in common:
 
1. a lot of i/o lines, both serial and parallel, plus maybe a built-in uart. 
2. small size, anywhere from 1" x 2" to  4 x 6" or larger pc boards.
3. low-power operation.
4. no video or keyboard. You can usually add an LCD for output.
5. small amounts of memory (still probably more than you'll need, if you 
   write your programs in assembly language)
6. few or no extra parts required, besides a few resistors and a regulated
   power supply, to get them working.
7. Most can be programmed via your PC's serial or parallel port. 
   Programmers range from free (couple of pieces of wire) up to 
   rediculously expensive.
8. There's usually a free compiler for the chip available somewhere on the 
    web - gcc can be used for the Atmel chips, for example. There are also 
    C, BASIC, Jal (a Pascal-like compiler), and other languages available,
    sometimes free, sometimes outrageously expensive. Searching pays off.

Here are some places to look:
Nuts & Volts magazine  http://nutsvolts.com
Atmel: http://www.atmel.com/atmel/products/prod23.htm
68HC11/12 micros: http://www.technologicalarts.com
Several different micros: http://emacinc.com
PIC's up to more powerful stuff (32-bit) http://vestatech.com
Lots of tiny boards: http://dontronics.com
SBC's that run Linux: http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT2614444132.html
8051 board with assembler, etc: http://www.elexp.com/tst_mp51.htm
http://www.vikon.com/indexsbc.html
The Digi-Key catalog has a lot of these chips, http://www.digikey.com

Someone who is comfortable working with a proto board could wire up their 
own for very little money. Some of the educational SBC's available are way 
overpriced. Maybe that's why they call them 'educational' - the main thing 
you learn is that you paid way too much ; )

Regards,
Irv

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