[dba-Tech] OT: Is anyone into controllers?

Lembit Soobik lembit.dbamail at t-online.de
Tue Sep 26 08:59:06 CDT 2006 

you may want to check the Olimex site. They have quite a few free CAD 
packages listed.

What do you use for simulation?
I have got TINA, which let me do quite a bit, but I have not got all the 
spice models yet.
TINA includes also a PCB package.

Lembit

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JWColby" <jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com>
To: "'Discussion of Hardware and Software issues'" 
<dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Is anyone into controllers?


> Lembit,
>
>>and then the PC board needs to be designed. have to find out which SW to
> use.
>
> A few cad packages discussed briefly
> http://www.ladyada.net/resources/pcbdesign.html
>
> I am looking at EagleCad since it seems to be widely used and lots of 
> people
> know about it.
>
> http://www.cadsoft.de/
>
> They have a FREE package that is fully functional but will only allow two
> trace layers and a smallish PCB size, still plenty big for small 
> projects -
> 100x80 mm.  And if you decide to pay, the next step up is fairly 
> reasonable
> though a bit steep at $600 for the entire schematic / router.  And... 
> There
> is a "non-profit" license (fits you I think) for $125 which upgrades the
> free to the standard version (4 signal layers and 160x100mm size).  I 
> think
> I am going to do that if I like the free version.
>
> And to top it all off, they do everything in English and GERMAN!  What 
> more
> can you ask?  ;-)
>
> As for the upload/download via USB, I think the Atmel stuff has cheap 
> boards
> already designed (for sale) and software in place to allow this, another
> reason to do the next version with those processors.
>
> John W. Colby
> Colby Consulting
> www.ColbyConsulting.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Lembit Soobik
> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:47 AM
> To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
> Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Is anyone into controllers?
>
> Thanks for the info, JC,
> for now I have completed the program ( I will add some features later).
> I will look into the ATMEL controllers also, and maybe switch for the next
> project.
>
> I really wanted to add a feature to connect the PIC to the PC for some
> up/download of data, but I found that it will be pretty complicated to 
> write
> the software on the PC which can talk to the USB port, and there are
> software packages which allow to develop USB drivers, but they want 3500 
> to
> 4500 bucks for it, so that is no good.
> maybe RS232. will have to evaluate that way.
>
> and then the PC board needs to be designed. have to find out which SW to
> use.
>
> Lembit
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "JWColby" <jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com>
> To: "'Discussion of Hardware and Software issues'"
> <dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 2:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Is anyone into controllers?
>
>
>> Lembit,
>>
>> I thought of you when I posted this, knowing that you had been working on
>> controlling your new home.
>>
>> If you are just getting started using the PIC I would highly suggest that
>> you at least consider switching to the Atmel.  The prices are about the
>> same
>> but the ATMEL AVR is a completely modern architecture and doesn't have 
>> the
>> 2kByte program space issue that the PIC has.  Plus it is supposed to be
>> much
>> faster as all instructions execute in one clock cycle, so an 8 MHz device
>> is
>> 8 MIPS.  As I mentioned, I started by looking at the PIC but when I found
>> the Atmel AVR I was hooked.
>>
>> You can get devices (though certainly not the hundreds of choices you can
>> find in the PIC) ranging from low end up to 128KBytes program space.
>>
>>
> http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/param_table.asp?family_id=607&OrderBy=part
>> _no&Direction=ASC
>>
>> Depending on the uC selected, the controllers I am using can have built 
>> in
>> UARTs, as well as 1 wire (a misnomer) comms which are often more useful
>> that
>> UART in uCs.  These are cool little widgets.  The one thing they seem to
>> be
>> missing that you can get in the PIC are D to A converters, though with
>> built-in PWM stuff you can use a PWM output and a filter to build a D to
>> A.
>>
>> Given the prices,
>>
>>
> http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1000
>> 1&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&categoryId=106010
>>
> http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&sto
>> reId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=204089&pa=204089PS
>>
>> (and you can get them even cheaper over on Digikey) I am looking at
>> building
>> functional blocks where little uCs each do one thing and they talk to 
>> each
>> other over 1 wire.  For my project I need a couple of PWM motor
>> controllers
>> talking to a central machine controller.  The motor controller software
>> could be run on the machine controller, or a little 20 pin uC could be
>> placed out on a motor controller PCB with everything required to
>> completely
>> run a motor (Hbridge power MOSFETs circuits and the PWM micro), then it
>> could just receive commands from the central controller - direction, 
>> speed
>> and softstart ramp time - as instructions sent over the 1 wire interface.
>>
>> Assembly language is indeed easy, in fact way easier than 'C' to get
>> started
>> in.  The biggest problem is that you have to really get into the
>> instruction
>> set and pneumonic for assembler whereas C shields you from that.
>>
>> There is a freeware C compiler that is available for my uC family.
>>
>> http://gcc.gnu.org/
>>
>> If you stick with the PIC you might see if it is available for that as
>> well.
>> In the Atmel toolset it was a breeze to get set up and integrated into 
>> the
>> IDE.
>>
>> I have my first C program running:
>>
>> #include <avr/io.h>
>> #include <util/delay.h>
>> void wait(void);
>> int main (void)
>> {
>> // set PORTD for output
>> DDRD = 0xFF;
>> while(1)
>> {
>> for(int i = 1; i <= 128; i = i*2)
>> {
>> PORTD = i;
>> _delay_loop_2(30000);
>> }
>> for(int i = 128; i > 1; i -= i/2)
>> {
>> PORTD = i;
>> _delay_loop_2(30000);
>> }
>> }
>> }
>>
>> Anyway, I am glad to hear you are into this and let's talk.  This is 
>> going
>> to be a lot of fun.  Makes me wich I was retired so I didn't have to do
>> real
>> work.  ;-)
>>
>> John W. Colby
>> Colby Consulting
>> www.ColbyConsulting.com
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
>> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Lembit Soobik
>> Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 4:05 AM
>> To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
>> Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Is anyone into controllers?
>>
>> YES, yes, here!
>>
>> I have been working since a few weeks on this and finished a program 
>> which
>> reads from my EIB bus and displays the results on a 2 x 16 LCD. Things
>> like
>> Window in basement is open or such.
>> It was pretty easy to get started.
>> I am using assembly language and am surprised how easy it was.
>> I have still a lot of plans with this and things that I have not found a
>> good answer for, like communication with a PC,...
>>
>> I am using Microchip. I have got the ICD2 (debugger) and PICDEM 2 PLUS
>> demo
>> board, which I am using for programming.
>> I have buildt the circuit hardware with one of these universal boards.
>> have
>> not yet made a pc-board.
>>
>> Right now I am building an Access db, which reads the .asm file and
>> modifies
>> it to insert customized message-texts.
>>
>> Microchip has forums and also a 7/24 support group (free).
>>
>> I am interested in participating in your forum.
>>
>> Lembit
>>
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