On Jun 28, 6:07 am, Steve Calfee <stevecal...@nothotmail.com> wrote:
> linnix <m...@linnix.info-for.us> wrote in news:1182900881.267983.219870
> @m37g2000prh.googlegroups.com:
>
> > On Jun 26, 3:16 pm, Eric <englere_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > The LMI board is good for high performance device. If you want the
> > absolutely lowest cost USB device, the AT90USB82 ($1.50) would be
> > best.
> > A 4K USB boot loader is perloaded, so you can write a 4K application
> > without any external hardware. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be
> > available for a few more months.
>
> > See:http://linnix.com/ukey.jpg(with AT90USB162).
>
> I once knew a mechanical engineer who would recomend items made of
> "unobtanium". Seems similar to your device.
We have working boards, but the chips are not available until Sept
(according to Atmel).
>
> Even if the chip was free, a student, (and most people trying to do
> something) want something on a working board.
>
> I recommend getting one of the keyspan usb/rs232 dongles. It has a FX1
> and can be programmed with SDCC.
The At90USBs have on-board boot loader, which can be activiated by two
switches (REST on, HWB on, REST off, HWB off). The two switches are
on the back of the board. There are eight I/O pins plus Power/Ground
on the 10 pins header.
There are sample programs from Atmel for generic HID device, keyboard
and mouse device, and a CDC (virtual com port) device. The CDC/VCP
works on 2000/XP and Linux.
> Look for "hacking the keyspan" on
> google. It is not trivial, but Cypress has a downloadable devkit. You
> can get a keyspan for $20 to $40 dollars at Fry's.
I don't know what our client would charge (as part of a complete
system), but it costs about $5 total to make.
Reply by Steve Calfee●June 28, 20072007-06-28
linnix <me@linnix.info-for.us> wrote in news:1182900881.267983.219870
@m37g2000prh.googlegroups.com:
> On Jun 26, 3:16 pm, Eric <englere_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> The LMI board is good for high performance device. If you want the
> absolutely lowest cost USB device, the AT90USB82 ($1.50) would be
> best.
> A 4K USB boot loader is perloaded, so you can write a 4K application
> without any external hardware. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be
> available for a few more months.
>
> See: http://linnix.com/ukey.jpg (with AT90USB162).
>
I once knew a mechanical engineer who would recomend items made of
"unobtanium". Seems similar to your device.
Even if the chip was free, a student, (and most people trying to do
something) want something on a working board.
I recommend getting one of the keyspan usb/rs232 dongles. It has a FX1
and can be programmed with SDCC. Look for "hacking the keyspan" on
google. It is not trivial, but Cypress has a downloadable devkit. You
can get a keyspan for $20 to $40 dollars at Fry's. I don't know where
you are in the world, but mailorder will also work - there are several
models of keyspan, verify the one you want has a ezusb/fx chip. Probably
the free Keil demo will work for your project and will be much better
than trying to roll your own with SDCC.
By far the hardest part of your project will be understanding and
getting to work a windows .inf driver link.
Regards, Steve
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Reply by linnix●June 26, 20072007-06-26
On Jun 26, 3:16 pm, Eric <englere_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> If you want an 8051 MCU, why not try a cheap Silabs Toolstick? These
> are dirt cheap and highly capable.
>
> http://www.silabs.com/tgwWebApp/public/web_content/products/Microcont...
>
> Get the starter kit for $24.99. There's no way to get a lower cost,
> fully operational dev system that can leverage USB.
>
> Or maybe you'd like an msp430 USB stick (16 bit low-power MCU):
>
> http://focus.ti.com/docs/toolsw/folders/print/ez430-f2013.html
>
> It's a bit more of a challenge to use the USB from a user program with
> the msp430 (I'm not sure if it can be done - it may only be used for
> programming/debugging?). The Silabs Toolstick makes that easier and
> their F360 docking board has super-good A/D and screams along at 100
> Mhz.
>
> If you want a bit more muscle, the Luminary ARM USB device is cool,
> and it lets you leverage the USB in your own programs as a virtual COM
> port, in addition to using it as an "emulator" programming/debugging
> device. This is a 32-bit processor that runs at 50 mhz with no wait
> states. Because of 32 bit data paths and a linear address space, this
> can out-perform a 100 Mhz 8051 by a wide margin in most applications.
>
> http://www.luminarymicro.com/products/ekk-lm3s811_evaluation_kit.html
>
> The luminary board is awesome and has a nice little graphics display
> with a pre-programmed video game! I'd recommend this if you're not
> married to the 8051 architecture. This is a good forward-looking
> technology that may help your career (ARMs have gained a lot of ground
> in recent years).
>
> Eric
The LMI board is good for high performance device. If you want the
absolutely lowest cost USB device, the AT90USB82 ($1.50) would be
best.
A 4K USB boot loader is perloaded, so you can write a 4K application
without any external hardware. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be
available for a few more months.
See: http://linnix.com/ukey.jpg (with AT90USB162).
Reply by Eric●June 26, 20072007-06-26
If you want an 8051 MCU, why not try a cheap Silabs Toolstick? These
are dirt cheap and highly capable.
http://www.silabs.com/tgwWebApp/public/web_content/products/Microcontrollers/en/USBToolStick.htm
Get the starter kit for $24.99. There's no way to get a lower cost,
fully operational dev system that can leverage USB.
Or maybe you'd like an msp430 USB stick (16 bit low-power MCU):
http://focus.ti.com/docs/toolsw/folders/print/ez430-f2013.html
It's a bit more of a challenge to use the USB from a user program with
the msp430 (I'm not sure if it can be done - it may only be used for
programming/debugging?). The Silabs Toolstick makes that easier and
their F360 docking board has super-good A/D and screams along at 100
Mhz.
If you want a bit more muscle, the Luminary ARM USB device is cool,
and it lets you leverage the USB in your own programs as a virtual COM
port, in addition to using it as an "emulator" programming/debugging
device. This is a 32-bit processor that runs at 50 mhz with no wait
states. Because of 32 bit data paths and a linear address space, this
can out-perform a 100 Mhz 8051 by a wide margin in most applications.
http://www.luminarymicro.com/products/ekk-lm3s811_evaluation_kit.html
The luminary board is awesome and has a nice little graphics display
with a pre-programmed video game! I'd recommend this if you're not
married to the 8051 architecture. This is a good forward-looking
technology that may help your career (ARMs have gained a lot of ground
in recent years).
Eric
Reply by ●June 26, 20072007-06-26
Since you want to read a single bit at low rate, there's a cheap and
simple alternative.
You can use any USB serial converter cable (<$10 US). The driver will
install a virtual COM port. When your software opens the COM port, it
can use the ioctl functions to read the state of an input pin (for
example DSR).
Typical implementations of these cables imply that you cannot read
more than 1000 times a second, so the rate is limited to 1khz max.
But it comes with driver for all operating systems, COM port
programming documentation is plentiful, and the solution is very
cheap. You might have one laying around already.
Beware that these cables are RS232, ie +-12V and reversed polarity.
They are short-circuit proof though. You can always rip one open to
get CMOS levels, or attach an external converter if you need one.
Regards,
Marc
Reply by Freelance Embedded Systems Engineer●June 25, 20072007-06-25
l3d007 wrote:
> I am still in school and would like some advice on what type of development
> board I should use from Cypress that I plan on intergrating into a device
> for a senior project.
>
> Requirements:
> mcu with general IO to accept a single bit (im thinking
> low-speed/inturrupt xfer/I want my device to be fall under the HID class
> of usb peripherals so I do not have to write device drivers)
> development enviornment: firmware
> development board:to download firmward and program the mcu
>
> I have been doing some research but putting everything in perspective is
> somewhat hard for me.
> Can anyone give me advice on the best/cheapest(our school only reimburses
> up to $500.00) solution for me. I keep hearing about EZ-USB. Does anyone
> have experience with this development kit?
>
> Am I understanding it right thinking that you plugg in one of Cypress'
> MUC's into the development board and firmware gets downloaded onto the
> chip?
DLP Design uses the FTDIchip USB device in a number of the products and kits with a variety of microcontrollers. The costs are very reasonable, USB to Microchip PIC18F8722 24MHz for $65 or 12F683 microcontroller for $25, (but you'll need to purchase a programmer from Digikey for about $165).
http://www.dlpdesign.com/http://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/245pl.shtmlhttp://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/temp.shtml
Don't like PIC? They also have Ubicom/Parallax
I have no financial interest in DLP Design or FTDIchip,
I've just used them before successfully.
Reply by runner●June 25, 20072007-06-25
"l3d007" <l3d007@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:cpqdnZio7aVrLuLbnZ2dnUVZ_q-vnZ2d@giganews.com...
> I am still in school and would like some advice on what type of
development
> board I should use from Cypress that I plan on intergrating into a device
> for a senior project.
>
> Requirements:
>
> mcu with general IO to accept a single bit (im thinking
> low-speed/inturrupt xfer/I want my device to be fall under the HID class
> of usb peripherals so I do not have to write device drivers)
> development enviornment: firmware
> development board:to download firmward and program the mcu
>
> I have been doing some research but putting everything in perspective is
> somewhat hard for me.
> Can anyone give me advice on the best/cheapest(our school only reimburses
> up to $500.00) solution for me. I keep hearing about EZ-USB. Does anyone
> have experience with this development kit?
>
> Am I understanding it right thinking that you plugg in one of Cypress'
> MUC's into the development board and firmware gets downloaded onto the
> chip?
>
On Jun 25, 7:24 am, "l3d007" <l3d...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I am still in school and would like some advice on what type of development
> board I should use from Cypress that I plan on intergrating into a device
> for a senior project.
The cypress eval board is rather pricey, but it may be within your
school supplied budget.
Cheapest I know of is the USB2 interface module from Digilent,
intended to be used with their FPGA boards but really just the cypress
chip on a board with connectors, for around fifty bucks. Should have
plenty of I/Os for your purposes. Of course you'd be replacing their
firmware with your own (may have to remove a jumper or cut a trace to
disable their config eeprom so that it comes up as an unprogrammed
device).
Another fun option would be an FPGA board carrying that chip, such as
the Nexys. But then you'd have to put a minimal program into the FPGA
to route the cypress chip signals to one of hte connectors.
Reply by larwe●June 25, 20072007-06-25
On Jun 25, 8:24 am, "l3d007" <l3d...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Can anyone give me advice on the best/cheapest(our school only reimburses
> up to $500.00) solution for me. I keep hearing about EZ-USB. Does anyone
> have experience with this development kit?
>
> Am I understanding it right thinking that you plugg in one of Cypress'
> MUC's into the development board and firmware gets downloaded onto the
> chip?
EZUSB solutions bootstrap off the USB port. The MCU has internal RAM
for code. It can either boot off an external EEPROM (code is loaded
into RAM at POR, then the MCU resets) or the PC can load the firmware
over the USB interface. Most people use the latter method because it's
cheaper. Basically, when you attach the micro to the PC, it enumerates
as a generic Cypress device. Cypress provides a bootstrap driver that
detects the generic device, downloads your custom firmware, then
forces the device to detach and reattach. On reattach, it assumes
whatever personality (and VID/PID) you implemented in your firmware.
DeVaSys sells low-cost development kits, e.g. <http://www.devasys.com/
usbi2cio.htm> ($79). Couple this with a free copy of sdcc and you're
in business.
Reply by l3d007●June 25, 20072007-06-25
I am still in school and would like some advice on what type of development
board I should use from Cypress that I plan on intergrating into a device
for a senior project.
Requirements:
mcu with general IO to accept a single bit (im thinking
low-speed/inturrupt xfer/I want my device to be fall under the HID class
of usb peripherals so I do not have to write device drivers)
development enviornment: firmware
development board:to download firmward and program the mcu
I have been doing some research but putting everything in perspective is
somewhat hard for me.
Can anyone give me advice on the best/cheapest(our school only reimburses
up to $500.00) solution for me. I keep hearing about EZ-USB. Does anyone
have experience with this development kit?
Am I understanding it right thinking that you plugg in one of Cypress'
MUC's into the development board and firmware gets downloaded onto the
chip?