I am a recent graduate with a BS in Computer engineering.  I am
interested in working with embedded systems, but I have no experience
with them.  I've done basic C/C++ programming and very little ASM.

What steps should I take to learn?

I have some books and have been looking at the book recommendation in
this group, but I feel hands on learning is the best way to go.

So, I guess I am looking for a cheap development system I can use at
home to learn embedded systems and something that is popular enough
that I can use the knowledge gained to help get a job working with
embedded systems.

Any and all help is much appreciated.

thanks,
Rob

Rob Miller wrote:

> I am a recent graduate with a BS in Computer engineering.  I am
> interested in working with embedded systems, but I have no experience
> with them.  I've done basic C/C++ programming and very little ASM.
> 
> What steps should I take to learn?
> 
> I have some books and have been looking at the book recommendation in
> this group, but I feel hands on learning is the best way to go.
> 
> So, I guess I am looking for a cheap development system I can use at
> home to learn embedded systems and something that is popular enough
> that I can use the knowledge gained to help get a job working with
> embedded systems.
> 
> Any and all help is much appreciated.

Think of something simple and cool to do with a small processor then buy 
yourself a cheap Evaluation Board to play with and try and implement your 
simple cool project.

You may need to learn to solder, design electronic interfaces and things 
like that but you should have some fun doing it. There is plenty of 
material on-line that will help you out with various factors and the rest 
of the guys here are always willing to answer well formed specific 
questions.

Some links to go on with:-

   http://www.mpeltd.demon.co.uk/
   http://www.triangledigital.co.uk/
   http://www.dontronics.com/
   http://www.gumstix.com/

The capabilities of the boards on those sites varies a great deal so you 
will need to sit down and consider what you want to do and what may fit 
best to your purposes.

-- 
********************************************************************
Paul E. Bennett ....................<email://p...@amleth.demon.co.uk>
Forth based HIDECS Consultancy .....<http://www.amleth.demon.co.uk/>;
Mob: +44 (0)7811-639972
Tel: +44 (0)1235-811095
Going Forth Safely ....EBA. http://www.electric-boat-association.org.uk/
********************************************************************

"Rob Miller" <r...@coe.neu.edu> wrote in message
news:1...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> I am a recent graduate with a BS in Computer engineering.  I am
> interested in working with embedded systems, but I have no experience
> with them.  I've done basic C/C++ programming and very little ASM.
>
> What steps should I take to learn?
<snipped>

Try out the free Webcasts and VirtuaLabs at TechOnLine:
http://www.techonline.com/community/home

E.g., for the Freescale VirtuaLabs, try this:
http://www.techonline.com/community/member_company/non_member/virtualab/330

Freescale also has tutorials in its Embedded Learning Center for much of its
product lines:
http://www.freescale.com/

Register at those sites and do the tutorials and labs. There's also free
access to hundreds of Freescale manuals on its site (under Documentation)
and such if you need any documentation. You can purchase evaluation boards
for $50 to $300 from Freescale or other manufacturers.

Also, you can apply at Metrowerks.com (Freescale's software division) for
limited versions of their development IDEs or for 30-day full evaluation
versions of them.

There's a lot of resources out there...

Gary Schnabl
Detroit

Hello Rob,

Here is what I did and it's low cost:

A couple Olimex MSP430F1232 header boards (about $15 each).
Two rows of female headers for easier mounting ($1 each).
You might buy their parallel port programmer (about $15).
Download the free version of IAR Kickstart from the TI web site.

I didn't buy the parallel port tool but the USB programmer from TI which 
is more expensive (about $100), mainly because newer laptops do not have 
a parallel port anymore.

If you are in the US then Olimex parts can be bought at:

http://www.sparkfun.com/shop/index.php?shop=1&cart=189389&cat=9&;

They also carry robot kits if you are into building something that 
moves. Just browse via the menu bar at the lefthand side of the screen.

The F1232 is almost an embedded system on a chip. Except that it doesn't 
have a DAC but for slow stuff that can be accomplished via pulse width 
modulation using its timer. You can buy more capable versions though. 
The header board contains everything, even the crystal to run the micro 
controller, but you have to create a clean power supply of around 3V. 
That is easy.

The reason why to buy at least two header boards is that there is always 
that remote chance of frying one during experiments.

Of course now you'll have to build power drivers, sensing circuits and 
all that around such a header board. But this is certainly part of the 
learning curve. Only when you acquire a thorough and hands-on 
understanding of hardware can you become a skilled embedded specialist.

Then, as Paul said, pick something as a project that you kind of always 
wanted to have. Ideally something you cannot buy because that increases 
the level of joy you'll experience when it finally runs.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Get the new S12NE64 development kit from freescale (< $100) with the
BDM programmer (~ $99). You can then use the Metrowerks compiler (free
upto 4K of code) or you can get the 30 day trial from them.

The NE64 is their first Ethernet enabled micro. It does have come with
an ethernet stack. I could not get that to compile in 4k.

If you wish to spend more on the board, try the HCS08 boards. THe
metrowerks compiler is free for up to 16k of compiled code. I have
developed embedded products with less code space.

Have a ball.

Rob Miller wrote:

> I am a recent graduate with a BS in Computer engineering.  I am
> interested in working with embedded systems, but I have no experience
> with them.  I've done basic C/C++ programming and very little ASM.
>
> What steps should I take to learn?
>
> I have some books and have been looking at the book recommendation in
> this group, but I feel hands on learning is the best way to go.
>
> So, I guess I am looking for a cheap development system I can use at
> home to learn embedded systems and something that is popular enough
> that I can use the knowledge gained to help get a job working with
> embedded systems.
>
> Any and all help is much appreciated.
>
> thanks,
> Rob

I like it when people are "interested in working with embedded systems"
What does that mean?
Anything from the 8bit cpus with no OS in a mouse to 64 bit powerhouses
with RTOS's.  So you need to focus a little  small search for 8052 , AVR
or PIC. There are free and lost cost C compilers available.  Not C++ so
be sure you know C ( C++ is not the same thing).  There are books and
forum dedicated to them.  I little bigger try the ARM very popular It
will run C or C++.  Maybe look in to Micro OS II it is a book with RTOS
code.  Remember you will need some electronics knowledge you need to know
the hard ware to talk to it.  Good Luck.

That is good to know. Thanks for the info.

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 02:24:29 GMT, Neil Kurzman <n...@mail.asb.com>
wrote:

>There are free and lost cost C compilers available.  Not C++ so
>be sure you know C ( C++ is not the same thing). 

GNU gcc is free, exellent, and C++.  You're definately not limited to
C.  There are binaries available for the Hitachi processors and for
many others as well.  (I'm only mentioning the Hitachi because that's
what I'm using).

Dan

"arya" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1...@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> That is good to know. Thanks for the info.

On further review...

The HC(S)12 special edition has a 12 KB limit, I think. I don't use it since
I have the professional unlimited versions of the HC(S)08, HC(S)12, and
Hybrid 6.1.2 & 7.0 IDEs, plus the Processor Expert Bean Wizard tool.

Since your present installation has no way of knowing its code limit was
increased threefold, you should either install a newer license.dat file, OR
better yet, do another download of the entire installation which will take
care of some of the updates. Also check into the Unis Processor Expert site
and get those updates also. If you have any problems concerning how to find
them and/or install them, email me.

Gary Schnabl

On 28 Feb 2005 13:45:29 -0800, "Rob Miller" <r...@coe.neu.edu>
wrote:

> I've done basic C/C++ programming and very little ASM.

There's very little need for using assembly in embedded programming.

Dan