NetCPU or DotNetCPU DB200 anyone?

I did some searching and found this link...

which has a link to a "website"

Which takes me to...

You might try asking them about it. They seem to be making CPU modules and motherboards so maybe there is some compatibility still... ? But this is a 10 year old product. You could probably have more fun (and less frustration) with a rPi or something.

--

Rick

(snip, I wrote)

(snip)

I think I found that, too, but it didn't seem to have anything related to a DB200.

Thanks. Yes, I haven't tried one of those yet.

From some other search, there is a hint that it might be an ARM7 CPU (as I said, the CPU isn't there). Anyone know if they come in a 32 pin DIP? (Seems a rare package size to me.)

-- glen

Hmmm... 32 pin DIP? I don't recall ever seeing a 32 pin DIP at all. ARM7 sounds right for the time frame. Makers from that time would include Atmel, NXP and a German company I can't recall. I don't think Atmel produced DIPs, maybe NXP. I believe the German company produced DIPs. I'll see if I can find the name. They were making automotive units.

--

Rick

Going by one comment in the Slashdot thread, it would have been a BGA chip mounted on a carrier board:

-a

Temic semiconductors, maybe?

--------------------------------------- Posted through

No, that doesn't ring any bells, but maybe this bell is old and makes very little noise anymore. I want to say they had a narrow product line mostly around automotive. They used bigger packages and 5 volt supplies. They may have been absorbed by now.

--

Rick

Anyone notice the "~450,000 instructions per second"? That is pretty slow even by Z80 standards. Must be a mistake.

--

Rick

(snip, someone wrote)

There is something about a processor directly executing C# code, or compiled C# code.

It might be the 450,000 instructions/second isn't bad if they are complicated enough instructions.

-- glen

The speculation in the same thread was that this meant CIL bytecode instructions.

-a

You could probably have more fun (and

The ultimate hacking paradise, in my opinion, is the Beagle Bone! LOTS of gpio pins, the only thing that is doesn't currently support well is 3D graphics acceleration. I've used the earlier Beagle Boards in some one-off projects, and now the Bone in a couple, and they are really great. The new Bone board has two 200 MHz (200 MIPS) 32-bit microcontrollers in it, that can do fast I/O. I used this in my latest project to replace a very old PC using a DMA board.

Jon

I have been wanting to get into the BBB, but I know *nothing* about Linux and I don't see nearly as much "getting started" info for the true newwbies. I'd really like to roll an I/O card and see if I can get it to take off, but I would need support for the software.

I'm not sure the rPi is much better for *real* support I guess. I've been nosing around the rPi forum and other than pissing off a few of the regulars I have not gotten much info. Someone pointed me to a project written up in Magpi about interfacing a fast ADC, but the guy sets up a

10 MHz clock for the ADC sample line and then goes into a tight loop reading the data with *no* synchronization.. what???

I used to belong to the BB support Google Group until I quit using Google groups. Even the group owner hated GG because they keep changing stuff and breaking it for him. But he won't find another way to do his support.

--

Rick

nothing about linux as in never used it or as in never looked at the technical details?

You might want to look at what there is around for working with Xilinx Zynq on MicroZed for example

I knew nothing about linux except having used unix at uni many years ago, b ut it wasn't *that* hard with the help of google to figure out how to build linux kernels, tweak drivers, and talking to the hardware

-Lasse

I have zero interest in working with the Zynq. My understanding is they lock you to their tools for many aspects of the design, a rather autopilot thing. It's also everything about FPGAs that I have little interest in, physically large, power hungry, expensive...

When it comes to compiling Linux stuff my experience has been that there are so many details that aren't given that it is a chore figuring out. Maybe I'm just old and cranky anymore. I like working next to the metal where I can read the manual about the registers and figure it out. It just seems like the software side these days has gotten much more complex than it needs to be.

--

Rick

ue

Zynq

You wouldn't have to use Zynq my point was that there seems to be many reas onably straight forward description on how to get linux up and running i.e. download these repositories from github, set the variables to do cross compiling, here's how to compile the kernel, a driver, uboot, make a devic etree and where to put the resulting files on an SD card to get the thing running

The tools to use the Programmable logic is obviously Xilinx only, all FPGAs are

But everything else seems to be open source stuff and gcc

The Zynq on a microzed is a 400pin bga, about the same as most other dual c ore ARMs, the one I have running her eon the table uses ~1W running linux

o, but it wasn't *that* hard with the help of google to figure out how to b uild linux kernels, tweak drivers, and talking to the hardware

I hear you, but those big chips with heaps of peripherals are complex so wh ile it seems like it I'm not sure the software is really more complex than needed.

-Lasse

Uh, why do you list all that as if it is all trivial?

I haven't looked myself, but I was told that they require you to use Xilinx tools to load the code. Maybe that is to load the code from the bitstream.

Yes, that is large and power hungry. I don't typically do project that use such large devices.

--

Rick

n:

true

it

x Zynq

ey

reasonably straight forward description on how to get linux up and running

ross compiling, here's how to compile the kernel, a driver, uboot, make a d evicetree

ning

what would you consider trivial? even the smallest mcu you have to figure o ut how to compile, link, program etc.

PGAs are

only making the bitstream, but you don't need a bit stream to run linux and use the buildin peripherals, thought number of IOs are very limited if you don't use the programmable logic and while you have to use Xilinx tools to make a bitstream, their free tool s supports everything but the very biggest Zynqs

al core ARMs, the one I have running her eon the table uses ~1W running lin ux

Then what do you need linux for?

-Lasse

I think we have gotten off target. Your use of Google groups makes it impossible to read the thread in this message.

I think I said I was interested in the BeagleBone and that morphed into the Zync. BeagleBone is a board, not a chip. I'm looking at the potential for building a daughter card for it.

--

Rick