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Getting started with USB

I have a project in mind to build a device with a USB interface. The device would store some data in an eeprom. There would be some synchronization software written for it and residing on a computer. When the device is plugged into a USB port on the computer the synchronization software would launch and send the most current data to the device, which would replace the data in the eeprom with this new data. Basically, a very common kind of paradigm, like a PDA or an ipod. Only, I'm only going to sync a fairly small amount of data, like 10KB or less.

I'm favoring AVR microcontrollers programmed in C.

My question is, where to start. What are the common USB interface chips people use for this? I'm looking for a cheap one, since the application is not demanding. I've seen USB interfaces selling for as much as $8.00 a pop, but I think that's too much for what I need.

Some of the AVR microcontrollers have USB interfaces built in. That would be great, but I think they are geared toward more demanding applications and tend to be rather expensive. I just want something standard, cheap, and simple, if there is such a thing. Also, it would be nice if the tools for it are not necessarily tied to any one OS.

Any pointers to an overview, or example projects, or anything to point me in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

Reply to
Arthur Rhodes
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USB has a pretty steep learning curve associated with it. When I last looked, there were two books on embedded USB systems available, but there are probably more now. Those two were Jan Axelson's USB complete and another book, which I can't quite remember titled something like, "Everything you wanted to know about building USB peripherals".

To get started, I would suggest getting a book on USB and trying to learn about how the protocol works. It has a lot of subtleties, nuances, and sub protocols that make it an intense topic.

Reply to
Noway2

Check out the series of USB interfaces from FTDI (

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). They handle the low level protocol for you and give various high level interfaces. The one I am using with great success is the FT232RL which exploses a TTL UART interface that is perfect for interfacing with an AVR (which is how I use it).

You can get the chips pretty cheap at SparkFun (

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) if you can manage to solder a SSOP-28 and they also offer a breakout board that makes development a lot easier (
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)

That chip is great because it has royalty free drivers available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux and you can use them either as a virtual COM port or in direct access mode. If you use the virtual COM port mode you can easily have a USB interface up and running in a matter of an hour or two.

Good luck!

Jason von Nieda

Reply to
Jason von Nieda

"Arthur Rhodes" wrote in;..

I haven't done any USB projects with the AVR yet, but I have started a project page here

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for one with the PIC18F4550.

I haven't had time to finish the project page, but working VB & PIC source files are available in .zip format on the page, with links to other references.

Regards,

Bruce

Reply to
Bruce

Thanks for the tip. I like the cross platform support and the simple serial interface. Four dollars is still more than I expected a USB interface to cost, but it's better than $8.

I came across an FT232R mounted for easy use with breadboards here:

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Looks like it would be convenient for experimenting.

Reply to
Arthur Rhodes

Thanks. I took a look on Amazon. As far as I can tell, Jan Axelson is still the leader, so I have the USB Complete book on order.

She also has a book called USB Mass Storage. I'm wondering if I might be able to just use the standard mass storage drivers for my application. I don't want my device appearing as a new drive to end user, but if my syncing application can treat it that way, it would make things pretty simple.

Reply to
Arthur Rhodes

Some people have managed to interface a ATtiny2313 (cheap 20 pin microcontroller) directly with a USB port using bit banging (software implementation of the USB protocol) 1.5Mb/s assembler source is out there. should bre adaptable to any AVR that can do 12MHz

Bye. Jasen

Reply to
jasen

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