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Interessted in embedded systems; what to buy?

Hi everyone,

I've got a completely and utterly newbie question for you all, which I hope hasn't been asked a thousand times already :) I've read the FAQ of this NG, but the last time it was updated was in 1997 (at least, that's the most recent version I could find) and I think a lot of new (better?) options are available now.

Well, onto my question then. I have never done anything with an embedded system or microcontroller, apart from Lego Mindstorm's RCX (which I believe has an Hitachi R8/300 controller). I am very interested in learning and playing around with microcontrollers though and have some projects in mind which I would like to experiment with. The last couple of weeks I've been reading webpages and this NG trying to decide what to buy to get started, but I really can't decide. What's absolutely essential to me is that it has everything I need to program it, preferrably in assembly and C (although Java sounds fun too, didn't now it was available for embedded systems), ethernet connectivity (or the option of adding this) and lots of info and free or low-cost tools for it on the web.

What I've encountered so far that looks interesting:

- The TINI microcontroller from Dallas Semiconductor/Maxim:

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And specifically the DS80C400-KIT package, because of it's (as far as I can tell) complete contents to get started with when all you have is a PC, it's integrated ethernet port and the price of $109.

- The PICkit 2 Debug Express from Microchip:

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Because of the low cost (only $39.39), but I don't believe it has ethernet capabilities.

What I have in mind to build:

- Expand a (or several) smokedetector(s) so they have networking capabilities so I can be alerted by email/SMS/whatever there's a fire at my house. :)

- A simple, networked alarm system for my home.

- My ultimate goal: an integrated home automation system, with wireless controls. It would be great for example to have networking via the powerlines for connecting the sensors/actuators to a central microcontroller and controlling everything through PDA's with WiFi. (Haha, but I think I'd best start with the simple smoke detector :) )

I don't know if it's important to mention that I'm from the Netherlands, but if it's not, at least it gives my an excuses for any language-related errors I might've made :)

My apologies for the long post this has become, but I hope it gives anyone willing to answer me the info (s)he needs to do so.

Thanks in advance! Tim.

Reply to
Nammtar
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Go exploring at

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ColdFire-based hardware, development kits, and documentation of various kinds. The Wi-Fi dev kit seemed out of my price range, but I haven't comparison shopped so I may be wrong. The normal dev kit seemed cheap ($99 for sw and hw). I like the 68K family so the NetBurner kits would get a nod from me.

If you are really adventurous, buy the HW ($59 for one of their modules) and acquire gdb, gcc, Eclipse, etc from free sources and configure it for your use. The extra $40 might be well worth it in terms of time and trouble saved, however.

~Dave~

Reply to
Dave

Since you own the lego RCX system already, BrickOS might be a nice start. BrickOS is an alternative firmware for the RCX, allowing you to run native H8 C and/or assembly programs. You build the OS and applications yourself with the H8 port of the GCC compiler, like a 'real' embedded system.

Once you get the hang of the stuff - bootloaders, toolchains, kernels, firmware, et al - you can choose a nice platform with more features like ethernet for example.

Enjoy,

Ico

--
:wq
^X^Cy^K^X^C^C^C^C
Reply to
Ico

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply!

Dave wrote:

That normal dev kit does look appealing, it all looks really polished. Too bad though it doesn't include networking, as that is one of the things I'm the most interested in. Those network development kits are a bit out of my price range too at $499 :(

Would you know what the advantages of one of the kits would be over the TINI DS80C400-KIT I mentioned in my original post? Seems to me that the Netburner kits mainly are more powerful in terms of processing power and RAM capacity, but I don't know if I really need that for the applications I mentioned.

That would be a very good option, as I saw the core modules used in the network development kits are only $59. I've already used Eclipse and gcc for normal PC development, so I'm fairly comfortable using them. But where would I go about getting the proper SDK's and such? I couldn't find them on the netburner.com page. Don't you have to have a development kit with all the development software/hardware that comes with it to be able to buy and develop for these core modules?

Thanks! Tim.

Reply to
Nammtar

... SNIP ...

Hey, thanks, didn't know about that. Only fooled around a little with NQC, but this looks much more powerful! I even saw it has some networking; LNP (LegOS Network Protocol) that I could use to experiment with a bit:

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I think I just might try to hook up my smoke detector to my Lego brick :) Hah, maybe I have what I need to get started already, after all :)

Yes, indeed... for my first project, this might just be what I need. Then for the alarm system I could buy some 'real' microcontroller that I hope some people here will suggest :)

Thanks, very much! Tim.

Reply to
Nammtar

Good cheap way to start with you can then upgrade in steps. H8 controllers are used in all sorts of embedded applications.

Well for a start the H8 series has quite a lot of variants and steps up from the one in the Lego Brick is possible. All using the same gcc compilers and a path from there for most of future needs before considering anything else.

Also see sig.

--
Paul Carpenter          | paul@pcserviceselectronics.co.uk
    PC Services
              GNU H8 & mailing list info
             For those web sites you hate
Reply to
Paul Carpenter

( ... )

kijk eens rond op

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ze hebben ook een agent in NL, denk ik

Sukses! KA

Reply to
karel

Zilog has a pretty cheap development kit for eZ80 and it comes with a pretty good TCP/IP stack and a small RTOS.

Adrian

Reply to
Adrian

Thanks... hebben ze best veel zo te zien ja. Gelijk even in mijn bookmarks gezet om eens een keer rustig door te kijken.

Reply to
Nammtar

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