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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Wish List discussion
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vasi Guru  Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
He he, no, is just a wish (I'm trying to get drunk with cold water) ... I don't think they will do it as long as they are happy with the sales. I think they have huge volumes sold to industry area - no interest in development boards. I said elsewhere that a PIC24 close to the target PIC32 (same peripherals and pinout) can be used for a development board then final application ported to a PIC32... but being only one application, I think the development can be made on the target microcontroller. Otherwise, PIC32 is not suited for a development board  - very disappointed. Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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ksdesigns Senior Member  Joined: 25/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 143 |
Don i got some info from my Microchip rep new 100pin part 2mbyte flash and 512k ram Early next year, now that will be fun :) ken |
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donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
In 1976 Zilog introduced a 2.5 MHz Z80, and we waited and waited for the arrival of the 4 MHz (Z80A), then the 6MHz (Z80B), and so on. Big steps in those days, but the principle has never changed, we always want something better, and wonder why manufacturers can't give it to us. We should pool our resources, buy the company, and do it the way we want it done. 
Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
WOW! Thanks Ken, That will make things interesting not only in the PIC32 world, but could to be an ARM killer perhaps, if the price is right. What was I just saying about buying the company? Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| erg322 Newbie  Joined: 19/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
I'm new to everything here with the Maximite so I say hello. You gentlemen have a marvelous amount of support running and I wish you all the best. If I could propose a wish, it would be a Programmable Character generator (PCG). Erg. |
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| Greg Fordyce Senior Member Joined: 16/09/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 153 |
After a quick look at the list, numbers 8, 13, 23, 24, 25, and 33 can all be removed as they have been done. I suggest wish 4 be removed as this can be done simply with a few lines in an AUTORUN.BAS program which also test the SD card is functioning correctly as well as the MM. Wish 11, Colour VGA can't be done without a hardware change. Maybe this should be on a separate hardware wish list? On a related note, would colour PAL be possible with the current hardware layout? Greg |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Thanks for the good feed back Greg, Have removed wish numbers 8, 13, 23, 24, 25, and 33. Re wish 4. Sure it can be done with an autorun command, as can many other things, but what we are talking about here is what we call a POST diag. Power On Self Test Diagnostics. See: http://www.poweronselftest.com/post3.htm I have used POST diags from when the first micros systems appeared in Australia, and I started building systems. I have written POST diags for both the XT and AT computer systems. In fact, my friend Mick produced POST boards with BIG LED readouts, and marketed them via the electronics magazines in the early days. As it isn't going to be implemented, I have removed wish 4. So no further discussion is needed now. 
Re a hardware wish list, I have a poll at: http://www.themaximitecomputer.com/maximite-input-output-io- applications-boards-poll/ that I doubt most users don't even know exists. Sure this poll is about an external hardware device, but my thinking takes me to a point where any good VGA colo(u)r mod should possibly be done outboard on a shield, or via a serial interface, and not bog down the resources of the PIC32. There are already devices on the market that may be worth trying. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
I am sorry to keep the question of the power LED running but, while the idea of a POST test sounds neat, there is nothing practical for it to indicate. When the firmware starts up it initialises the various sub components on the chip and at the last step turns on the LED. Now, we could test the memory and the chip's internal structure but that would not help as the chances of one section failing in isolation is very, very remote. The practical reality is that if anything at all is wrong with the chip it will not start and it will not run the test code and therefore it will not indicate anything. In a PC there are many independent sub components that can be tested (RAM, ROM, video, etc) and the POST can indicate that they have failed because there is an independent CPU that can interrogate them. But the Maximite is different... everything is integrated into the one chip and nothing will happen if that chip is not already running correctly. Another possibility is that we could test the connections to the PIC32 chip but again I believe that there is not much to be gained by that. By design the Maximite is intended to work both with and without the SD card, video, keyboard and USB. They can be plugged in and out at any time and that would not indicate a fault. The firmware could still test for these and flash some series of codes on the LED but I really wonder who would look at it and understand what the flashes meant, especially as the Maximite is intended to run without them being connected. The firmware could also post a sequences of messages on the video screen but that would be messy and confuse the newcomer who deliberately did not connect a peripheral. There has also been a few comments that the PIC32 could fail in a way that turned on the LED, even though the chip is faulty. This is another very remote possibility. Even when the chip is powered off the pin driving the LED is in a high impedance state and it stays in that state when power is applied. The only thing that can alter that state is a sequence of instructions from the firmware that enables the output buffers and then causes to output to be driven high. I suppose that it is possible that a high voltage discharge or something similar could zap the pin externally and short the internal semiconductor to the power supply but the chances of that are so unlikely you would be better off trying to protect the Maximite from falling aircraft. It may not seem obvious but I put a lot of thought into the power LED. I wanted something that was simple and unequivocally told the constructor that the firmware was up and running. Once they had the power LED lit they could chase connection issues in their video, USB or whatever while being confident that the chip was working perfectly. From the many emails that I have received it is obvious that it has done its job. Before everyone jumps on me I want to add that I don't believe that anyone thinks that the Maximite is screwed up. It is just that most commentators looking for more functionality from this LED don't seem to have worked all the way through the logic that I have outlined above. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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Dinosaur Guru Joined: 12/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 311 |
Hi All When the firmware starts up it initialises the various sub components on the chip and at the last step turns on the LED.
Geoff, I did not realise that the Led is powered ON, after those steps. POwer Led was what mostly stuck in my mind. In that case I agree that the Led already has a minimalist POST function. If the pic was faulty then the Led won't light, so that is what most of us are trying to achieve. Further failure of the chip, will mean that the application won't run, and if that is an issue, then one I/O pin can be used to indicate a fault. Regards Regards Hervey Bay Qld. |
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CircuitGizmos Guru Joined: 08/09/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 1425 |
I could jump on you and tell you ways that it should be "better". :-D But frankly if I want something different, I have the source. I'm on your side on the LED thing. It does what it does. If more is needed by a very select few, then there are other paths to solutions. Micromites and Maximites! - Beginning Maximite |
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