Minimalist laptop for embedded work?

Hello Folks,

Looks like I'll have to debug code for a small uC (MSP430) in the field pretty soon. Cramped space, things can be banged around a bit, the usual. What would be a small, low cost and bare minimum laptop to do that with? Or is there a nice PDA where a keyboard can connect to?

The programmers work via USB. The bootloader I may have to provide would be RS232 but that could be handled via a USB-RS232 converter. In the lab I use a baseline Dell Inspiron. Works nicely but it is quite large and the plastic enclosure looks a bit too flimsy for such jobs.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg
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If you don't need to run the programmers (usb) in the field and can run your code on linux, consider the Zipit. With a simple mod it has an rs-232 port at 115,200 baud. Please look at an example:

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Regards,

Michael

Reply to
msg

You really think you could do software development (e.g. run a decent programmnig editor, make, gcc, gdb, etc) on a machine with 2MB of flash and 16MB of RAM?

The MSP430 toolchain requires 20MB of disk space.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  TAILFINS!!...click...
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

You should pay the attention to the LCD visibility in the sunlight and the battery life. It is very important for the work outside.

There are solid military style laptops with the titanium body, sealed keypad, etc. made by Panasonic and others. Those machines are intended for what are you planning to do however their price is in $5k range.

Vladimir Vassilevsky

DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

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Reply to
Vladimir Vassilevsky

I'm inclined to agree. Zipit is really just a toy. Go back to your minimum laptop search. I am interested in what is around also.

Don...

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Don McKenzie
E-Mail Contact Page:               http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html
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Reply to
Don McKenzie

I do it all of the time on the Zipit natively; I mirror the Zipit's toolchain on a cross toolchain and can hop between the two at my convenience (for speed the cross toolchain is preferred). Needless to say my software development work on the Zipit is done when the unit has access to an NFS filesystem, but if the O.P. doesn't need to do development but only updates, etc. in the field, it could work well.

(Notice on our site that many of the programs described were developed entirely on the Zipit natively.)

If the targets are located in areas near 802.11 access points, then full development is possible on this platform in the field (readonly nfs over the Internet and private data over VPN is quite reasonable).

Regards,

Michael

Reply to
msg

I should also point out that others have added MMC cards to the Zipit for large local stores; I prefer to use the stock device and NFS.

Regards,

Michael

Reply to
msg

Hello Michael,

Actually that was the idea, to adapt code on site. IOW a debugging process, not just the download of new code which I could probably do via a cell phone, modem and bootloader.

Mostly that's not available or I am not permitted on there.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

Hello Vladimir,

Well, $5k is what I want to avoid. Stuff like that has a habit of "growing legs"...

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

I heard mention last week, that RS232 ports are making something of a come-back and are re-appearing in some business laptops.

-jg

Reply to
Jim Granville

Yep, execs can't do without their EEPROM burners. Or do they frequently need serial console to rack servers? :)

Seriously, any reason for this supposed trend?

Reply to
toby

Good question, all we could think of was to talk to the emerging Cell Phone Modems ? [for those who don't have/trust bluetooth ?]

-jg

Reply to
Jim Granville

What about to connect to a real modem?

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Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
   Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
Reply to
CBFalconer

We use Dell Latitude D600's - get a 2nd hand one off eBay. They have a serial port and seem to be reliable, even when bumping around in the field. In Australia they are fairly cheap so, comparatively speaking, you could get 2 duds before it became more expensive than a new one!

Peter

Reply to
Peter

I would applaud that if true, but I have a real hard time believing it.

All of the ones I've seen in the past few years were USB.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I want to so HAPPY,
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

Laptops all come with built-in modems.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  .. Do you like
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

But they aren't real modems - they are often so-called winmodems. Usually useless under a real OS.

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Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
   Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
Reply to
CBFalconer

Hello Peter,

They seem to be around $370 after a brief look on EBay. My latest Inspiron was about $500 (new) but if the D600 is more rugged it could be worth it.

I am really missing the small and efficient laptop of yesteryear, my old Compaq Contura. Their Aero was the best of them all but they are long gone and wouldn't run the bloated softwares of today anyway. AFAICT there was never anything that came close in efficiency after the Contura series. Mine lasted over 5 years and got a whopping 6hrs out of its little NiCd. Then its enclosure began to crack around the perimeter after too many rough flights :-(

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

Hello Grant,

Exec market or not, a good indicator is usually Walmart. If they ain't got it, it ain't popular. They do carry a USB-parallel adapter but I have never seen any USB-RS232 adapter there.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

Hello Chuck,

But execs, marketeers and Power-Point jockeys rarely use a real OS ;-)

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Reply to
Joerg

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