Thank you for this info. I'm just starting out down the embedded path and have lots of great practical use ideas, but I'm having trouble finding the best path for my investment in debugging and test hardware.
Then, classes starting July 23 are on the fuindamentals of electronics. That's a series that's a "must attend" even if you consider yourself somewhat of an expert.
As best I can recall, you can download the AppBuilder directly from SiLabs. No software comes "with the kit" in the sense that it does not include a CD-ROM. You download everything for FREE.
I don't know of anyone who has used this board or a Precision32 MCU to boot Linux or another OS. Perhaps a Google search would turn up some helpful info.
As to low-power operating modes... Check out information on the Silicon Labs web site. There you can find the details about low-power modes and power use.
Am I a fan of Eclipse? It doesn't rteally matter to me. Some IDEs use Eclipse, some use NetBeans, and others use their own framework. As long as the tools work the underlying foundation doesn't matter much--at least to me. Perhaps Eclipse offers some benefits because people can drop in add-on programs. I have also heard Eclipse can be a pain to configure properly.
Thanks for a great intro, Jon. In answer to the moderator's question, I have used some kits from Freescale (Tower, quickstick and others and a TI MSP430 kit. Am currently experimenting with a Parallax Prepeller BOE. These are good paths for learning about the capabilities of ucontorllers, I have not done any product development yet.
Xilinx Dev kit was DARNED useful in about eight different ways -- hands on with VHDL, major multi-purpose on-the-fly-reconfigurable devices, etc.
Best thing about a development board, IMHO, has been example code for all the varieties of I/O on the board. Emulation is MUCH easier than developing from scratch.
Most dev kits aren't meant to convert into an application board, although you could use it that way by making I/O connections to the five sets of male pins. Most of the engineers I know would lay out their own board and go from there with a prototype more suited to their final design. Some boards are better than others for use in prototypes, and I'll cover some over the next sessions.
Jon,Thanks for a good talk, though I didn't know you were talking about an ARM processor til the last sentence. (Pardon my ignorance, but a little more context up front might help) -Grant Schmick
Debugging capabilities are good and complete. You can monitor variables, trace code, and so on. Pretty much the typical debug tools available. The current-measurement pi9ns let you measure current during code execution, but I don't know a way to correlate it with code unless you include an I/O "trigger" command in your code to trigger a scope and measure the current across a small resistor.
@rob: Great MC'ing, thanks for your participation. Good questions, thoughtful comments, pleasant "radio" voice, smooth timing -- you did a great job.
@jon: Good information and clear, detailed slides. You set high expectations with your earlier Digi-Key CEC session and certainly did not disappoint today.
Dev Kits provide a good headstart not just for the s/w guys, but also the h/w designers who need to test the capapbilities of a device before committing to an expensive prototype. They are also a good way to keep skills up between design projects, and to explore new technologies with low cost.
Expect to use more kits in future as chips & SW get more complex especially since some kits are so inexpensive. Fine pitch on some parts make it difficult and expensive to roll first prototype for development from scratch.
Keil (and uVision) is currently fully supported. It will run independantly of P32. If desired AppBuilder can output a uVision Project for consumption by uVision. IAR will be supported in the near future.
Kits are helpful when evaluating a potential supplier. So it depends on whether a micro supplier comes in with competitive products to get my attention.
I have and used a lot of boards (30+) but most dev boards do not have enough possibilities to evaluate all you need or want.
most of the time you want something what that board do not cover.
you are limited at what the designer implemented and do not have even the option to switch to something else using let say, changing some configuration resistors (what is the easiest way to do it – jumpers are not always the best solution).
usually independent when doing simple projects. As soon as the level of complexity rises, like incorporating a library or stack (bluetooth, TCP/IP, etc), that's when all hell usually breaks loose. Sometimes, help from the vendor is needed to get through these times...
Interaction with Forums and Manfacturers seems to be innevitable to me. No matter how good one is on something, there is so much out there and moving at the speed of light ....
Not all intructions led to solution in my experiments. 20 to 40% required guessing "what designer / installer" meant. Tags are many times even misleading. THYE REALY WORLD!
Clarification on the code limit question: There is no code limit on the free Silicon Labs Precision32 SiM31xxx tools. You can build all the way up to the full 256 kB flash memory.
Hey all, The code red licence that comes with the kit (no cost) supports development of code up to 256kB (which is the amount of onboard flash). It does require 'activation' (registration), but the process requires only an email address.
It varies. SW is often more important for a new micro family. HW is more important if it is just for a different member of the family and are already familiar with the SW.
I've purchased the dev kit for access to the Hardware, so I think this is most critical, but if the software is not usable, then that become a big problem.
I would say they are useful. All though it really depends on the kit and like most things you really don't know what you're getting until you have a chance to use it.
Hello, Pickering. I guess it depends on whether you might use this kit, which provides an ARM Cortex-M3 core. If you have no interest in this type of processor or kit, it still might be worth learning about the hardware and software. Up to you, of course. --Jon
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I don't have the SiM3U1xx Precision32 Development Kit. The slide show is designed around the hands on use of the kit. Is it worthwhile to sit in on the lab?
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