I'm not a specialist, so my vocabulary may be not appropriate to explain this :
I'm looking for a replacement of this microcontroller (SAMSUNG S3C7544X). It does not seem to be available on the market anymore, and the programming tools are not widely available.
The intended purpose is to take the absolute code of an encoder (6 pins go to the chip, 0 or 1). From this, I want to emit a pulse from the chip, on a time basis. The duration between two pulse is a function of the encoder binary code (6 bits code). (think, for instance, of a metronome). There is a quartz giving a clock base to the chip.
Any idea ?
Thanks in advance.
Didn't find your answer? Ask the community — no account required.
H
Hal Murray
Why did you pick that particular chip?
It may be simpler to write new software for a chip that is easy to program. Both PIC (Microchip) and AVR (Atmel) are popular and hobbiest friendly. Various 8051 chips are also popular but I haven't used them. All come in many packages with all sorts of ram/rom and I/O configurations.
Assuming you want to build a metronome that runs at audio frequencies, the code is simple: read input pins lookup X in table wait X cycles make a click repeat
You need 2 pins for pwr/ground, 2 for an xtal, 1 output, and 6 inputs. That's 11 pins. You will probably end up with a 14 pin package.
Digikey has the PICKit-1 for $36. I think that has everything you need. (But check for yourself.)
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam.
Y
yfh2
.
ing
go
n a
Thanks very much, Hal, for this. This confirms more or less what I thought, but it's easier when it comes from someone knowledgeable.
Regards
Emmanuel
J
JeffM
The fact that you pickled a device that is not only obscure but is obsolete is a good clue how out of your depth you are.
There is a large number of extant, supported microcontrollers:
formatting link
WRT Hal's comment, many people despise the PIC's architecture (but the mailing list
formatting link
*is* a good support source). Atmel (the Nordic company who produce the AVR family) constantly looks like they may go belly-up at any moment but their stuff has a nicer core. Texas instruments' MSP430 is also popular, but you will likely hear reports of support difficulties (especially for hobbyists). ARM-based devices (e.g. Freescale's) are gaining popularity (if you plan to continue doing uC projects).
Finding a dedicated (Yahoo?) group is a good first step before committing to a device.
I also suggest you go over to comp.arch.embedded (the group for microcontrollers) and look over several weeks of posts.