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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Offloading the load...
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crackerjack Senior Member  Joined: 11/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 164 |
I occasionally see posts on the Forum where there are requirements for a Maximite to respond, or process input, or provide output, (or whatever) at speeds which are beyond what (interpreted) MMBasic can comfortably achieve. Given the basis of the hardware, the price of the hardware and the price of the software (free!) - despite how really great it all is - there are obviously limitations of what can be done with this amazing little platform. I wonder if there are other ways of solving these situations and, though each individual requirement will vary, is it at all possible that some of the processing load can be handed off to other, cheap devices which remain under the control of the Maximite running MMBasic? As an example, would it be feasible/possible to "hand-craft" in Assembler (or C, or in 0's and 1's, or whatever takes your fancy), small, fast, control applications running on a tiny PIC, AVR or MSP430 (again, whatever suits your ability, interest, application and budget - some of these MCU's cost less than 30 cents) and then have the Maximite (via I2C or SPI or even Serial) communicate with the MCU to allow it to do the necessary? Maybe we have come to expect a bit too much from a PIC32 running an interpreted Basic? After all, the reason it's so easy and fun to use is because it's not a 3GHz Intel Chip running expensive bloatware. Just a thought... |
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djuqa Guru  Joined: 23/11/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 447 |
My thoughts exactly. Little MicroMiniTiny controllers from Microchip and others that have SPI / i2C support can interconnect with MM / DM as the Master Controller. MCU's are cheap , let's use lots of them. The new Microchip range of 32bit / 16bit Chips are amazing. Maybe there could be a little MMBasic for Sensor/Remote MCU support (Like the OLD PICBasic) that includes Master/slave Comm's Support. I am using a little PICbased circuit to read a TEMP./WindSpeed sensor & process the data & send via 2.4Ghz link back to Main DM. The DM then returns the data to the remote location to display on a 8x2 LCD Module (used for Debug/Verification). The DM does all the main grunt processing / Data logging/ Main display. The Pic only has to check sensor, send/recieve data and drive the Remote LCD. VK4MU MicroController Units |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yeah I agree. The PIC32 chip was never designed to provide a video/keyboard interface. It doesn't have the video or PS2 hardware, so its been implemented in software, thanks to Geoff. Plus its running its own interperator, on screen editor, etc. The fact its working at all is a milestone in microchip development. It's a bit like converting your cars injection computer into a games console for the kids. So yes its going to struggle a bit with some high speed functions, its already doing a bucket load of other stuff. I thinks its a good idea to use external chips to handle the high speed stuff. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Yep, if I build a Windmill controller/logger with PICAXE08M or PIC12F675, I really need an old PC which still have a serial comm (or a new board/small computer), required for logging or board setup. With a Maximite (or a Chipkit MAX32 with Lua) I can solve the problem. Now, an application for Maximite which allows me to write a .hex file from SD Card to an microcontroller (PIC16F, 18F) with serial bootloader will be great (not only data processing, but also firmware update if is required). As for faster pics than 18F, PIC24F is great as it permits 10,000 erase/write cycles and that can be my 3.3Vcc development board (using C/Pascal to program it). Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
I love the idea.. Small cheap Micro's to do the fast stuff... there must be `somewhere' a swag of small applications for cheap pics to do specific tasks.. Anyone know of a repository of such things on the net? Regards, Mick PS. It has sparked an idea for fast pulsing on the `mite but I will start a new thread as it is a bit OT .. Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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