Looking for unusual microcontrollers. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 06:40:17 pm
content: Hello humans.I am currently doing some hobby projects with FPGA and very impressed with it. Right now it seems like any problem can be solved with an FPGABut i am also looking forward on learning how to use an advanced microcontroller in near future.I study Nanooptoelectronics ( Master of Science), we deal more with semiconductor technology and physics behind it. But i still think hardware design and programming skills are always a good thing to mention in your Curriculum Vitae. Moreover i like to program hardware!Right now i am looking for some interesting µC , nothing like Atmel or PiC. As i started to programm my atmega 2560, i got bored, couse every schooler can prog it:)Something unique, modern, interesting and at the same time useful for my further industy career.The program language should be C (or like C) , no midage assembler please:)What i found is:Cypress PsoC 5 : FPGA like designing process , but more analog oriented( you have ADC,DAC's, OPAMPS etc). And it has ARM M3. So it is like CPLD and ARm in one CHIP. But still i read that PSOC is not that great as it seems, because you will rarely find a good design solution with its on-chip hardware. So PsoC arent really as useful as it seems.Analog Devices BlackFin: Has a cool name and logo:))) But it is also a very powerfull device. It seems to me it is more for Video/audio/touch processing. Not really something for use in science:) And it doesnt have any ADC/DAC at all. Pretty weak. But maybe i am just wrong, if so correct me:)Analog Devices Precision Analog Microcontrollers :"....The ADuCM36x family extends the precision data acquisition systems with the first fully integrated, 4 kSPS, 24-bit data acquisition system incorporating dual, high performance multi-channel sigma-delta (?-?) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), 32-bit ARM Cortex™-M3 processor, and Flash/EE memory on a single chip designed for direct interfacing to external precision sensors in both wired and battery powered applications."http://www.analog.com/en/processors-dsp/analog-microcontrollers/products/index.htmlThe last device seems to me pretty interesting. I can imagine using this device to measure/controll some badass precise process in a lab:))I am sure there should be some other interesting devices i didnt find yet.Any other suggestion?=)

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 06:56:49 pm
content: QuoteSomething useful for your career isn't going to be "unique", it's going to be common. Nobody will hire you because you can program something obscure, unless they happen to need that particular skill - and, by definition, that's highly unlikely.The parts most obviously missing from your list are the general purpose ARM Cortex microcontrollers from any of a wide range of vendors. The world + dog are using them because they're fast, cheap, low power, and available in a huge range of variants with different peripherals attached.Forget an idea of learning something just because it's different or unusual, and focus on learning something that's appropriate for the task in hand, and for which there is demand. STM32 is probably as good a place to start as any.

author: C
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 07:58:47 pm
content: I agree with andy,You could build a board that did _____.If you were going in to production you might combine to of those boards on one board.But for a lot of reasons, it would be great if the board you build was built to work in parallel with more of the same board.Think of an scope for example, one board does a channel. Want a 16 channel scope run 16 boards in parallel. You might build a board to take two of the channels in and output a combined channel. If you did not hit speed limits of the combiner, you could put some in parallel and some in serial. You would be building more universal building blocks.C

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 08:13:18 pm
content: Xmos.

author: millerb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 08:29:02 pm
content: Here's something unusual:http://www.greenarraychips.com/home/products/index.html

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2013, 08:37:56 pm
content: Thanks for replies.XMOS looks really interesting:)So does the Greenarray, but 450 Dollar ( i will pay 200 Euro max) for a Dev Board is a bit too much for me:))The unique factor is not only for industry career, but more for pioneer experience:)

author: MyCo
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2013, 04:26:44 pm
content: http://www.xilinx.com/content/xilinx/en/products/silicon-devices/soc/zynq-7000.html

author: millerb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2013, 05:04:13 pm
content: The MaxQ line is another weird microcontroller in that it essentially only has one instruction.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 04, 2013, 05:48:51 pm
content: Zynq from Xilinx is like a big Brother of Cypress PSOC. Very attraktive and unseful. But cÄmon, about 1000 Euro for Dev. Board...Maybe i will still device for Cypress Psoc 5.Anyone knows where is the diference between PsoC 5 and 5 Lp. Besides the LP is a low power one. I cant find any Psoc5 Dev boards, only 5LP on cypress webpage.

author: scarrier
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2013, 06:30:55 pm
content: Not sure if this qualify as a mcu, but I know people that use gumstix for embeded project.

author: Metalcrowe
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2013, 07:45:09 pm
content: Maybe parallax propeller

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2013, 09:59:23 pm
content: try to implement an F8 core , or a SC/MP system in the fpga. an SC/MP with 4 processor could be fun ...

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 08:23:24 am
content: Quote from: Citizen on June 04, 2013, 05:48:51 pmPSoC5LP is PSoC5 with most of the silicon bugs ironed out, you'll find that they have better specs on their analog sub blocks and CAN bus. Basically what the PSoC5 was supposed to be but couldn't be ready in time. The CAN bus for example was in the 5 ES versions but couldn't pass certification.

author: lorth
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 01:32:40 pm
content: Epiphanyfrom Adapteva... A parallel processor...Can't wait to get myZynq + Epiphanyby the end of the summer.....

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 06:55:15 pm
content: So, why might I ever choose to use one of these unusual processors instead of using, say, an ARM or PIC for a given job? Better price/performance ratio? Wider range of useful integrated peripherals? Availability of a really excellent, cost-effective tool chain? Ability to do something practical and worthwhile that a common CPU from a tier 1 manufacturer simply can't do?

author: millerb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 07:38:33 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on June 13, 2013, 06:55:15 pmEverything has its strengths and weaknesses. The multicore microcontrollers have pretty sparse built in hw modules for things, but make up for it by implementing those features in software. Need three SPI interfaces and a UART? No problem, just add the library to your project. No need for complex interrupt schemes either, so you can often save a lot of development time.The down side is that if some unusual micro doesn't sell well, it might end up being pulled from the market leaving you having to redesign your product. You have to spend valuable time learning something new which might not even leave the prototype stage. Also could have significant trouble finding folks to hire to maintain or do additional work on your product. Management types might think you are more interested in playing with toys instead of coming up with solutions if you propose to use something unusual in the requirements phase.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 08:39:34 pm
content: Going small might be an option. Maybe try something ultra-low power like the MSP430 combined with power harvesting. One of my recent MSP430 designs exceeded the customer's spec for runtime from a battery by a factor of 3 O0If you want to combine with an FPGA you can look into Xilinx' Picoblaze. You have to program it in assembly but it only has 5 instructions or so. You can create your own peripherals to do powerful stuff. I have used this for DSP applications. I put sine tables, a-law to linear conversions, multipliers, etc into peripherals and let the Picoblaze move data around and make decissions. I'm rather sad it has been a while since I had a real FPGA project.

author: kiss_eng
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 11:35:54 pm
content: Actel/Microsemi SmartFusion - FPGA + Analog + uChttp://www.actel.com/products/smartfusion/default.aspx

author: kiss_eng
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 11:37:33 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on June 13, 2013, 08:39:34 pmHave you seen the MSP430 appnote on powering one off the energy harvested from a fiber optic line? They're pretty awesome little low power micros.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2013, 08:18:13 pm
content: Have you seen STM32F373 and STM32F4 series?Or the NXP LPC43xx (dual core) ?Or the complete opposite of those, Atmel ATTiny10.There are many choices.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 03:58:14 am
content: Thank you very much for replies. I already have choosen the Cypress PsoCAlready purchased this kit:http://www.cypress.com/?rID=51577Looks pretty interesting, but right now i am looking some tutorial videos and trying to programm my own blinking LED;)

author: lorth
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2013, 01:32:06 am
content: Quote from: Citizen on June 17, 2013, 03:58:14 amLook at their app notes and extensive example tutorials that come with the Creator...

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 08:03:45 pm
content: Unusual? Well, MAXQ is a one instruction computer, Atmel used to have until recently a 4 bit architecture.Then there are mixed systems: on a single chip you get a DSP and an ARM (or different) processor (http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/dsp/overview.page) or even several of each:http://www.ti.com/product/66ak2h12I think there was even a device which had an ARM9 and an ARM7 on a single chip.FPGAs often slap a core or two of PowerPC or ARM onto a chip.Unusual enough for you?

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 07:35:53 am
content: I don't suppose anyone has some tools for the Toshiba TMP47P443VN that they're not using any more?I bought some via eBay on a lark, figuring "I can figure out a 4-bit micro; no problem!" (the chip is a 28pin SDIP 4bit micro with 4k of OTP program memoryl a member of the TMP47 family.) As I looked into it in more detail, I discovered... No programmers, no compiler, no assembler, not very much documentation :-(

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 09:20:16 am
content: Quote from: westfw on June 21, 2013, 07:35:53 amHere is an assembler I found for the TLCS-47 family.Maybe try the Internet Archive for older versions of the Toshiba site as there wasprobably something there 16 years ago...