Yes we can add all these external chips on to do everything better BUT... do we really need it? How much can we accomplish with the basic "virtual" versions supplied by the chip, a cable, a PC with a GUI front panel and a few passives alone? Audio frequency O'Scope and signal generator, a few MHz for logic and functions, 1 or 2 variable regulated power supplies. Its enough for most work AND... it would cost what? $10.00? Right now, people are paying $30, $40, $50, $200 for PIC programmers alone and "making do" with Radio Shaft DVMs and wall warts to get started with PICs. I think we can give them much, much more for much, much less. As a professional, I can always use another 'scope channel and it doesn't have to be fast most of the time. The digital triggering and sample hold ability would be a nice complement to my analog 'scope. If the CUMP thing would take off, we could have groups of people supporting the programming of a growing list of other processors, PIC and AVR and others. Beginners like Jon can see the logic of it. I keep hearing echoes of this idea from so many different places its just impossible for me to keep my mouth shut about it. Its something the PICList community needs to come together on. Its an open source, give back to the community thing that everyone will benefit from. Somebody will make a PCB and kit and sell them and others will add routines and add ons like PLLs and external RAM scopes and better more sensitive analog front ends, etc... Someone will write and sell or give away a nice IDE style PC GUI front end program. But to start with, someone has to take a '877, take Stickleys register monitor and extend it into a full monitor, setup timing and port pin capture / function generation routines and PC display / stimulus program, add the A2D setup code, analog front end and PC front end program to display captured traces, add the PWM output and signal generator code and PC program for frequency, waveform and amplitude selection, add the regulator biasing passives and incorporate the PWM output for that with the PC program to set the voltage out and then people (come on CUMP) need to start adding the code to program other devices. ----- Original Message ----- From: Randy Glenn To: Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 20:00 Subject: RE: [PICLIST] An Idea.... > Wouldn't PLL be less processor-intensive for the function generator? I know, it requires > extra hardware, but maybe an expansion port on the development board... > > Also, won't you be needing some external RAM for the logic analyzer and oscilloscope? > > -Randy Glenn > E-Mail: PICxpert@yahoo.com > Web: http://i.am/PICxpert > > Currently wondering why I can't get in to Safe Mode - where's a Mac when you need it? > > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list > [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of James Newton > Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 6:31 PM > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: [PICLIST] An Idea.... > > > Exactly! YES YES YES. See > http://techref.massmind.org\idea\ebb.htm > especially the last bullet point under "In the CUMP project" > > The upshot is that I think a $10 board consisting of a '877, MAX 232, Analog > front end, PWM output filters and power regulators could provide the > following: > > Boot loader > http://www.picnpoke.com/demo/ROMzap.zip > http://www.htsoft.com/files/samples/bootldr.zip > > RS232 debugger / monitor? > > A port monitor > Ralph Stickley had already implemented a program to monitor register values > over an available hardware serial port. His PC software polls the PIC with > register numbers and receives a response via an ISR that consists of the > current value of that register. You can get it at: > http://www.piclist.com/stickleyregmon > [note that] one of the registers is the program counter and others are the > ports.... > > Triggered high speed copy of pins to RAM with RS232 control / reporting for > a super simple logic analyzer (20MHz max ~300x8 samples or ~5Mhz and ~2400x1 > samples per trigger)? > > A/D support for pic o'scope (20uS per sample gives 0-25kHz, ~300x8 to ~600x4 > samples ) with display on PC via RS232? > http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/shb7/posc.html Sean Hugh Breheny started > a higher end version of such a thing > http://www.bitscope.com/ is a top end version. Not worth the extra cost for > this but interesting anyway. > > DVM (0 to 5v, 10bits = ~3 digits single channel via A/D or multiple channel > at lower res. via PWM capture with simple external hardware) display on PC > via RS232? > http://www.chipcenter.com/circuitcellar/november99/c119dp1.htm PIC Base DVOM > http://www.infosite.com/%7Ejkeyzer/piclist/2000/Feb/0623.html Wagners list > of options on front ends. > > Function generator based on copy of RAM to port pins (20Mhz max ~300x8 or > ~5Mhz and ~2400x1 steps) under PC control via RS232? > > Signal generator via PWM (?Hz low useful frequency ~300 waveform steps with > simple external hardware RC) under PC control via RS232? > "Digital Frequency Synthesis" by Tom Napier in issue 99 (October 1998) of > Circuit Cellar INK. Uses a PIC as a Digital Frequency Synthesizer. Richard > Ottosen has developed an improved version for the Scenix SX > ../scenix/sxncoex.zip > > Regulated variable power supply with intelligent current limiting. > see also: > > http://www.picnpoke.com > http://www.htsoft.com > http://www.piclist.com/projects.htm > http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/9595/ > http://204.210.50.240/techref/default.asp?url=tools.htm > > Anyway, you could develop right on [this board] and then port it to a > (smaller, cheaper) target processor which [this board] programs, and > stimulate and test via [this board] after the code is basically running. > > --- > James Newton mailto:jamesnewton@geocities.com 1-619-652-0593 > http://techref.massmind.org NEW! FINALLY A REAL NAME! > Members can add private/public comments/pages ($0 TANSTAAFL web hosting) > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list > [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Jonathan Philpott > Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 06:52 > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: An Idea.... > > > I was thinking of having a standard controlling > program, that could use the idea to make a sort of > "engineers mode" for debugging etc. > > > --- Michael Rigby-Jones > wrote: > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > > I was thinking, would it be possible to have a PIC > > > that could you could "talk" to via a serial port, > > to > > > give it commands... i was thinking something like > > > this, > > > > > > When you connect to it, it just waits for input, > > and > > > gives a prompt: > > > > > > >_ > > > > > > Then you can give it a command to turn on one of > > the > > > output lines, a simple one character command would > > be > > > enough, e.g "o" for on and "f" for off, so: > > > > > > >o1 > > > > > > would turn on output line one, and f1 would turn > > it > > > off. > > > > > > Is this is possible? > > > > > > Jon > > > -- > > > > > Yes. Very easy actually, you could do this > > on a tiny 12C508 with > > room to spare, although you'd be limited to only 4 > > pins to control (2 power, > > 2 serial). A bigger PIC or a shift register could > > be used to increase the > > number of lines available. But why stop there? You > > could also have a > > command to read in the state of an input, to change > > an input to an output > > and vice versa, toggle an output. It's all pretty > > straightforward. Did you > > have an application in mind? > > > > Mike > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > > > No. > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > http://im.yahoo.com > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > > http://im.yahoo.com >