>  Hello,
>
> Sorry, forgot a proper subject for this post :-(
>
> While working on my current projects, I like to think ahaead about new
> technologies that I might be able to use in the (near/far) future.
> One of these areas is attaching disk-storage to a pic.
>
> I know there are several examples around that show how to connect
> (hardware and software) an IDE-disk to a pic, but I was wondering if
> the new serial ATA could contribute anything. The advantage (less
> pins/wires) looks attractive.
>
>  I haven't studied the subject to any level, I am merely curious how
> you all feel about this. Are there eg. SPI/SerialATA chips around
> already?

        I seriously doubt it. The technology is very new, and since it's designed
for high performance you'll only see high performance chips out there.
Serial ATA is VASTLY different from PATA, in every way. It runs in the GHz
range therefore you can't directly interface a PIC to it (yet...). As for
chips it'll be a while before a solution will come out that allows you to
interface to one at a slower speed.

        If you're REALLY serious about interfacing to a SATA drive then you could
build a sort of "bridge" with an FPGA, the signals are LVDS which is
something FPGAs have and the speeds are at the upper limit, but within the
capabilities of some of the newest FPGAs. I haven't confirmed this but am
going on "gut" feeling. TTYL

----------------------------------
Herbert's PIC Stuff:
http://repatch.dyndns.org:8383/pic_stuff/

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