LPC2101 development kit, which one?

Given that I know (from the msp430 list) that you want the ADC, you could go for the LPC-H2138 from

A lot more ROM and RAM than 2101, but it has the ADC, and it's always good to have extra headroom when developing. Should be under $100, shipped to you with JTAG adapter.

The new Keil board might be better. The LPC2104/5/6 are the oldest LPC2000 chips, and the LPC2101/2/3 are the newest, with quite some differences.

Karl Olsen

That's the one I have.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

Joerg,

right now the Keil Board as mentioned is definitely the best choice (the only one on top of that ;-). You can order one here:

for $99. LPCtools ships usually next day from CA, so you might have a board in 2 days. p.s. you do NOT want to use the LPC2104/5/6 board because those devices do not have an ADC nor a 32 kHz Real-Time Clock nor Counter inputs nor Fast I/Os nor a buffered SPI.... As Karl mentioned, the 2101/2/3 are the newest Philips ARM chips, the

2104/5/6 the oldest.

An Schwob

Hello Clifford,

Sparkfun has that one in the US for $65. But you'd need a USB programmer. Those 'new and improved' laptops are USB only.

The 2101 also has the ADC but it's not in the data sheet (yet?). The whole section 6.8 where its TOC says the ADC is spec'd was missing from the data sheet on the Philips server. Really strange.

Regards, Joerg

Hello Karl,

Working directly with the 2101 would be best indeed. Any version above

2103 is off limits for most of my projects because of prohibitive cost.

I'll check that out. Keil has no pricing on their web site so one has to go through the stone age quoting rigamaroo. A bit strange, oh well.

Regards, Joerg

Hello Spehro,

How do you program it? Through the Keil ULink USB adapter?

Regards, Joerg

Hello Spehro,

Most laptops don't have any ports other than USB. That often puts a crimp into things.

Anyway, what do you think about ARM? I was never interested because of the high prices until someone on the MSP430 forum pointed out the new Philips devices that can be had for around $2. If that kind of pricing sticks maybe this could become the next 8051 generation.

Regards, Joerg

Actually, I misspoke. I have the mcb2130, which has a serial port for download. Have not picked up the ULink USB JTAG.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

I don't yet have to do serious development work with a laptop. Maybe next year. My main development machines all have a full complement of real PS2/USB/Serial and parallel ports. Some development boards have PS2 etc. ports on them just to suck power out of the computer.

The 8051 (and PICs) are like roaches; they'll be around for a very long time. But I think, from a designer's pov, the ARM is a very nice complement to 8-bit and 8/16 micros such as the MSP430. At 0.18u the new Cortex M3 (Thumb mode only) will be only 0.35mm^2, they say. The existing ARM7 core units are a bit slow at some math operations, and system cost is going to be a bit higher than 8-bit micros in some cases (low output drive and voltage, multiple regulators etc.) but they are already pretty much in a different class, and there's an upward migration path.

Also, like the 8051, they're on their way to having a large number of manufacturers and a large number of variants on the market. So, I'm bullish on them.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

Hello Spehro,

The newer LPC dev boards are a bit strange in this respect. They use a USB link only to suck power, it doesn't connect to anywhere but the regulator input. Programming is either via JTAG or RS232.

Hmm, slow on math? That would be a concern since I have to run lots of filters. Multiplication is the reason why the MSP430 won't fly since only the luxury editions (lots of $$) come with a HW multiplier.

Yes, the dual supply on the ARM is a pain. If I use them it'll probably be one switcher and a linear regulator, or two switchers. Whatever is more economical. One switcher would be needed anyway no matter which uC since it's battery operated and anything other than a couple AA cells is not really practical.

That means longevity, to some extent. This is why I had never used anything but 8051 in the past. Stuff needed to be able to remain in production for at least a decade.

Regards, Joerg

You don't need ULINK. Use onboard RS232 port and internal bootloader. Software is free and available at philips site.

Best regards, Slawc

Hello Slawc,

Yes, if I had RS232. But the PCs around here are mostly USB only. Maybe some converter box would work. But I remember that it didn't with the MSP430 programmer so I had to get the USB version for that one. I just want to avoid having a gazillion of these boxes flying around, like one for every uC family.

Regards, Joerg

Apparently you can do in-circuit debugging through the JTAG port, with real breakpoints, and you can single-step, examine register contents and so on, which I suppose is worth something-- not quite a real ICE, but on the cheap.

In the past, I've found simulation of the tricky stuff preferable-- the "window" through with you see the micro is bigger and more responsive, and ICD probably grabs some resources, but when you need hardware debugging you probably *really* need it bad. Fortunately, that's seldom.

Keil has integrated stuff like code coverage analysis into the debugger interface, so maybe it's not as primitive as some I've used.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

OK, just get the manufactures to all agree on a programming / debugging platform that will take care of all present and future processors.

I am sure you have the clout to ask them all for this little request.

Donald

USB to serial port will work (or so I've heard, since you can get away with just Tx and Rx running the other lines manually I don't see any reason to doubt it). They can be programmed with either. You do sacrifice fewer pins with a serial update but if you are already using the JTAG anyway....

Robert

Joerg,

to get going fast this is the best choice right now. MCB2103 with ULINK ordering at

(no quoting just get your credit card out of your pocket) Combo price $249, that's not exactly free but well worth the money, considering that the KEIL C-compiler can be used for projects up to 16k code and unlike the trial version of the 51 generates code that is located at the Reset Vector. The ULINK is a USB to JTAG device that gives you quite some nice debugging options. For the same functionality in tools in the 51-world you would probably pay more :-)

Your intentions to use the ARM running at 70 MHz for algorithms, expect it to be up to 100 times fast than a 12 MHz 51 if using 32-bit integers and probably similar for float. Not really a fair comparison but still a valid one.

An Schwob

p.s. for pricing idea, the devices are already listed at Digikey. At

100 pieces, the LPC2101 is already below $2, one off is a ridiculous $3.15 (not including shipping ;-)

Joerg wrote:

this seems too much expensive for a small project like this. Under $100 USD is what I think it should worth.

Sam

Sam,

don't knwo where you are but Joerg is in the USA. As a consultant $249 is a few hours worth of time, never ever is it possible to make this kind of enviroment using such short time. On top of it you save hours debugging the first project.

You really don't need to buy it, besides, is your name Joerg?

An Schwob

sam wrote: