Development Boards, Environments and Other MCU Stuff

Hey everyone.

I have seem many reviews and forums and often add my advice as well as take advice from many out there.

Currently in South Africa there are various options when it comes to MCU development platforms.

Lets list the ones I use and enjoy using:

• Arduino (AVR based using bootloaders, makes it easy for beginners and advanced users)
• Chipkit (Pic32 based using bootloaders, much more powerful with much more io lines but slightly harder to work with and not as many libraries and info out there.)
• Raspberry Pi (a 700mhz board capable of functioning as a full computer)
• Arndale Octa ( Cortex A15 Quad Core development board – STUPID POWERFULL)

Now when it comes to prototyping one has to select the correct board or MCU for the task. For example it would be a huge waste running anything but the Arduino’s ATMEGA328 PU chip for basic tasks such as Volt/Amp meters or other basic IO tasks. The other boards would literally be wasted.

If however you want to create a Home management system such as you would see in the movies then the Arduino (Despite having enought I/O Lines) might not have the horsepower needed. In this case you might make use of a raspberry pi and an Arduino piggybacked to it to expand the Pi’s IO lines. The options are endless.

Below I will list the specs of the above boards:

 

 

ARDUINO

Various Models avail but I will cover the basic Uno.

Microcontroller
ATmega328

Operating Voltage
5V

Input Voltage (recommended)
7-12V

Input Voltage (limits)
6-20V

Digital I/O Pins
14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)

Analog Input Pins
6

DC Current per I/O Pin
40 mA

DC Current for 3.3V Pin
50 mA

Flash Memory
32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader

SRAM
2 KB (ATmega328)

EEPROM
1 KB (ATmega328)

Clock Speed
16 MHz

 

There are also more powerful Arduino boards but for prototyping the original ATMEGA 328 DIP packaged board is the best as you can build your own Arduino boards or take the chip off board with very little difficulty.

 

 

CHIPKIT UNO 32

Despite this being a newer board and classified as an Arduino Clone this board is by no means an Arduino board. The Arduino is based on the ATMEL AVR’s while this board is based on the PIC32 Microprocessor.

It comes in two flavours but for this article I will talk about the UNO32.

Despite having the same form factor as the Arduino Uno the chipkit board has many more IO lines but still retains its compatibility with the UNO Shields and such.

• Microchip® PIC32MX320F128 processor
  • 80 Mhz 32-bit MIPS
  • 128K Flash, 16K SRAM
• Compatible with many existing Arduino™ code examples, reference materials and other resources
• Can also be programmed using Microchip's MPLAB® IDE (along with a PICkit 3 and our PICkit3 Programming Cable Kit, seen below)
• Arduino™ "Uno" form factor
• Compatible with many Arduino™ shields
• 42 available I/O
• User LED
• Connects to a PC using a USB A -> mini B cable (not included)

 

As can be seen above the PIC32 based board is FAR more powerful compared to the UNO from Arduino. However I feel that for most basic projects this board may be far more than what is needed.

 

RASPBERRY PI MODEL A AND B

The Raspberry Pi comes in two versions. The model A or old version and the current model the model B which is what I am using.

 

The Raspberry Pi despite being a standalone computer is also very capable of interfacing with the outside world via its GPIO lines. They can be programmed as inputs or outputs and can be used to control almost anything. However the Pi is limited by the number of these IO lines. This can be expanded using various Pi shields or an add on Arduino.

B 512MB specs

• TYPEOther
• BUNDLED OSLinux
• PROCESSOR SPEED700 MHz
• SYSTEM RAM512 MB
• VIDEO OUTPUTSHDMI (v1.4), RCA / composite
• DIMENSIONS3.37 x 2.13 x 0.67 in
• WEIGHT1.59 oz
• RELEASEDFebruary 29, 2012

General

• TypeOther
• Bundled OSLinux

Processor

• Processor makeOther
• Processor speed700 MHz
• Number of CPUs1

Video

• Graphics adapterIntegrated
• Graphics (integrated)Other
• GPU modelBroadcom VideoCore IV
• Video outputsHDMI (v1.4), RCA / composite

Networking

• Ethernet10/100 [Fast Ethernet]
• Ethernet ports1 ports

Memory and storage (basic)

• System RAM512 MB

Connections

• USB (rear)2.0 (2 port(s))

Audio

• TypeIntegrated
• Audio outputs3.5mm

Memory card reader

• Memory card readerYes
• Memory card supportSD, MMC

 

The Raspberry Pi is a very popular choice when it comes to developing as it allows one to play not only with lower order electronics but also to play within the linux OS and develop some really powerful systems.

 

ARNDALE BOARD

The Arndale board. Well this is really next level stuff and not recommended until you have a pretty firm grasp of how things work.

 

• • CPU Board
    • Cortex-A15@1.7 GHz dual core subsystem with 64/128 bit SIMD NEON
    • 32KB(instruction)/32KB(DATA)L1 Cache and 1MB l2 Cache
    • 32-bit 800 MHz DDR3(L)/DDR3 2GB
  • Base Board
    • Sensor
      • Accelerator : Invensence MPU-6050
      • Gyro : Invensence MPU-6050
      • e-Compass : AKM -AK8963C
    • ITU 601 camera Interface
    • HDMI 1.4 interfaces with on-chip PHY
    • One channel eDP output Single WQXGA
    • MIPI DSI Standard Specification V1.01r11
    • MIPI CSI Standard Specification V1.0 Two ports
    • USB3.0 Host or Device 1-channel that supports SS(5Gbps) with on-chip PHY
    • USB2.0 Host or Device 1-channel that supports LS/FS/HS with on-chip PHY
    • USB HSIC 2-channel that supports 480Mbps with on-chip PHY
    • SATA 1.0/2.0/3.0 interface
    • One channel eMMC 4.5
    • One channel SDIO 3.0
    • Two channel SD 2.0
    • Four channel high-speed UART
      (up to 3Mbps data rate for Bluetooth 2.0 EDR and IrDA 1.0SIR)
    • Three channel high-speed SPI
    • Three channel 24-bit I2S audio interface
    • Four channel I2C interface support , up 400kbps
    • Four channel HS-I2C up to 3.1Mps
• Extension Board package
  • Sound Board package
    • Sound Codec : Wolfson WM1811A
    • Features
      • 24-bit 2-channel Hi-fi DAC and 2-channel Hi-fi ADC
      • 100dB SNR during DAC playback
      • Smart MIC interface
      • 2W stereo class D speaker drivers
      • Capless Class W headphone drivers
      • 4Line outputs (single-ended or differential)
      • BTL Earpiece driver
      • Digital audio interfaces for multi-processor architecture
      • ReTune TM Mobile 5-band,4-channel parametic EQ
      • Dynamic range controller
      • Dual FLL provides all necessary clocks
      • Active noise reduction circuits
      • Intergrated LDO regulators
  • Connectivity Board package
    • Samsung SWB-A51H(WIFI,BT) + CSR GPS(G05t)
    • WIFI + BT
      • Vendor  : SEMCO
      • Device name : SWB-A51H(ATHEROS AR6003)
      • Features
        • IEEE Std 802.11a/b/g, 802.11n(1x1)
        • Bluetooth – Bluetooth specification Version 4.0 (BR/EDR+BLE)
        • WiFi direct support
        • Includes all the baseband and radio
        • external antenna
        • Low power consumption
        • Cellular coexistence supported
        • Host interfaces: SDIO
    • GPS
      • Vendor : CSR
      • Device Name : G05t
      • Features
        • Operates as a tracker
        • GNSS, GLONASS, Galileo and SBAS reception for high GNSS availability. Galileo and Compass support via future software upgrade
        • Host based MEMS enhancements for context recognition and improved accuracy
        • Improved accuracy by reducing cross-correlation from strong signals and susceptibility to multipath
        • High-sensitivity tracking to -165 dBm
        • Selectable LO/IF options
        • Excellent 3GPP acquisition and tracking margins
        • Designed for simple coexistence with 2G and 3G radio systems
        • Programmable I/O
        • Integrated DSP for jamming immunity, handling CW, narrow band and wideband noise
  • Display Board Package
    • MIPI-DSI 4 Lane and eDP interface support
    • 7 Inch TFT LCD, Resolution 1024 * 600
    • Capacitive Touchscreen
  • Camera Board Package
    • MIPI-CSI and ITU601 interface support
    • 5M pixel Camera
• Accessories
  • AC Adapter (5V 5A)
  • SATA SSD120GB or 240GB (Sata To USB 3.0 cable or SATA cable + Power cable)
  • HDMI, Serial, USB Cable, SD Card, etc

This boards processor is the same CPU as is used in many of the latest Samsung Mobile phones and tablets. It is an extremely powerful CPU.

I am only just starting to dable with these CPU’s and boards but will be sure to share my experiences.

 

For now I recommend you head out and grab yourself an Arduino and start developing. There is a huge amount of info out there on the net with regards to Arduino.

 

Cheers for now.

 

Dionne