Re: Rabbit Semi boards was RE: Terry's DRSSTC - HFBR Optical Tx/Rx

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Original poster: Terry Fritz <teslalist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

This is the kit I got:

http://www.imaginetools.com/products/MicroStarterKit.shtml

Only $99 but with the somewhat less powerful board and not the fancy 
software toys like ethernet and encryption which "I" would never use 
anyway...  I just went and got two of the 512k/512k boards too ;-))  The 
manuals were like a 1000 pages of printing!!  The firmware robotics guru 
guy I know clued me into them.  You do need their little odd serial cable 
adaptor to talk with them.

I got them because I needed that IEEE floating point math and 22MHz (or you 
can run at 50+MHztoo - or like 1Hz if you want batteries to last a 1000 
years ;-)))  They have "plenty" of room for massivly inefficient variables 
to take very poor C programs which helps too :o))  If you have a back up 
lithium cell, the RAM is just pretty permanent too!   Compared to the BASIC 
stamp, it is like a C-64 to a Cray...  And it IS $30 cheaper too!!  I am a 
little weak in the C programming area but this little thing does it 
all.  It also has a -40 to +70C temp range for my silly outdoor robot 
project ;-)))

I think it is by VERY FAR the best $50 range microcontroller out 
there!!!  It is not super simple like the BASIC Stamp stuff, but with a 
little C knowledge it can throw some very serious heavy computer power into 
a project!!!

I am sure DigiKey sells the 2x20  0.1 inch connectors "somewhere".  I have 
not played with them nearly as much as I have wanted too since I have been 
so "busy".  Maybe I can combine these tasks some ;-)))

I am thinking it would be cool for inside the DRSSTC to interface an 
external computer to manipulate the primary currents and such in real time 
at a very fine level...  Months ahead of myself here, but "dreaming" 
;-))))  There are also super cheap PIC options too!!  But "I" am too dumb 
to live without floating point math and lots of big variables....  The 
Basic Stamp IIp I have in the controller now sure is nice!!  It makes all 
that timing stuff just simple programming and I can change it all at a whim...

I think microcontrollers and DRSSTCs are going to get along very well 
together ;-))))


Cheers,

        Terry



At 06:09 PM 1/11/2005, you wrote:


> > The RCM3600 processor 
> > (http://www.rabbitsemiconductor.com/products/rcm3600/rcm3600.pdf) is only 
> > $49 but it can play WAV audio files with pulse modulation with a little 
> > C-program ;-)  Maybe a disruptive type talking coil!  There are super 
> > nice little cheap short range RF transmitters I have too but they can't 
> > touch 1++MHz data transfers.  Those antennas also take a hit only 
> > "once"...  Maybe the super versatile RC microcontroller down "in the box" 
> > talking back to remote higher powered computers and toys.  I am thinking 
> > way ahead here, but if the lead times for this stuff is like 3-6 months I 
> > had better get them on order...
>
>
> I've used the Rabbits a lot.  While the coremodules might only be $50, 
> there's an issue of connectors and stuff. Rabbit does sell the mating SIP 
> connectors.  There's also a surprising amount of useful glue on the eval 
> board, so all in all, you might be better off blowing $100 more to get 
> eval boards with the core module already bolted on.  For instance, the 
> eval board has the IrDA transceiver on it.
>
> Rabbit also sells a line of ethernet core modules, which I've 
> used.  They're quite nice.  I see that they have some that will connect to 
> a 802.11b wireless interface as well.
>
> There are also a number of 802.11b to bidirectional printer interfaces 
> around.