William Couture wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> The company I work for (Athena Controls) is thinking of advertising a new
> product in Embedded magazine.
>
> My boss is asking for my opinions, and I'd like to pick your collective brains.
>
> The product (though not the proposed ad) can be seen at
>    http://www.picemulator.com/emc40.pdf
> (135K) and is designed as a 4 zone temperature controller.
>
> They also want to market it as a more general purpose OEM embedded
> controller.
>
> So, the questions are:
>    * If you were going to use this as an embedded controller, what would
>      you like to see in terms of programming / libraries?  What language(s)
>      would you want supported?
>
>    * What hardware features are particularly appealing?  What does it lack?
>
>    * If the above board did not fit your requirements, would you consider using
>      Athena Controls to design your controller?  And what sort of volume would
>      you be considering?
>
>    * Would you see an advantage of a controller like this over using a PLC?
>
>    * Other comments?
>
>   
I'm consulting with a company who develops PLC-based switchgear products.

Their main consideration is that the PLC (or whatever is used) can be 
available to purchase as replacements. The
power companies that use the PLC must KNOW that the components will be 
available for 10-15 years BEFORE
they buy the item in the first place. It makes  it very hard for a 
newcomer, or one without a large name (such as Siemens)
to break into that market. I could replace that PLC in 30 days with a 
PIC16F877A and a few peripherals, but they
can't do it.

and YES, the ladder language sucks.

--Bob
> Feel free to ask questions, I'll try to provide answers.
>
> Thanks,
>    Bill
>
>   

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