The MOS 6502 CPU, which was designed in 1975 and powered systems like the Apple II, the Atari 2600, the Nintendo NES and the Commodore 64 for two decades, has always been subject to intense reverse engineering of its inner workings. This talk by Michael Steil presents the way from a chip package to a […]
Category Archives: Chips
NEW PRODUCT: FT2232H breakout board
We have a new breakout board for the FT2232H USB2.0 high-speed IO IC. Breakouts are in stock and shipping now for $27. Read a complete overview of the design on the wiki. This board has the latest 5th generation FTDI FT2232H USB 2.0 IO chip. The FT2232 is a USB to serial converter like the […]
Simple embedded Linux development board
There’s an ongoing discussion of an AT91SAM9260 (uC)Linux development board in the forum. This chip is just amazing, it can boot from serial or parallel flash, internal memory, or enumerate as a USB serial terminal for firmware flashing. Check out more features of this massive ARM processor in the AT91SAM9260 quick start guide on the […]
DEMO: MMA7455L 3-axis accelerometer
Here’s a demo of the MMA7455L 3-axis accelerometer in SPI mode using the Bus Pirate. We’ve got this sensor on a breakout board for $15. The MMA7455L has: 2/4/8g selectable measurement range 10bit or 8bit output force and pulse detection with interrupt I2C and SPI interface 3.3volts Get the MMA7455L breakout board for $15 at […]
New TI MSP430G2xxx chips on the way
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player TI has released the datasheets on their new MSP430G2xxx chips. The MSP430G2x32 and MSP430G2x02 series of microcontrollers are ultra-low-power mixed signal microcontrollers with built-in 16-bit timers, and up to 16 I/O touch sense enabled pins and built-in communication capability using the universal serial communication interface. The MSP430G2x32 series have a […]
Logic signal interfacing
If you’re looking for a quick and dirty means of interfacing high and low voltage logic devices, consider the Texas Instruments CD40109. This CMOS device functions with supply and signal voltages of up to 20 volts, and can either shift voltages up or down depending on the ratio of Vcc (low supply) to Vdd (high […]
NEW PRODUCT: MMA7455L 3-axis accelerometer breakout board
MMA7455L is an inexpensive 3-axis accelerometer with adjustable measurement range of 2/4/8g. It can communicate with microcontrollers through an SPI or I2C interface. This chip is only a few dollars in onesies, but it comes in a leadless LGA-14 package. It’s a challenging chip to solder, so we though a inexpensive breakout board might be […]
STM8L DISCOVERY Board with LCD support
STM released a new STM8L DISCOVERY Board with LCD support (datasheet). Another new low-cost 8-Bit DISCOVERY board, available now for about US$ 10/10 EUR (depending on the distributor). Includes an onboard ST-LINK programmer/debugger. Via the forum, thanks IPenguin!
Christmas music on the Picaxe
If you need a quick source of canned Christmas music in a project, don’t forget the Picaxe line of microcontrollers from Revolution Education. All Picaxe “M” chips have three Christmas tunes preprogrammed and playable using the PLAY command: Jingle Bells, Silent Night, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!
Altera introduces Max V CPLD
Altera has introduced their Max V family of CPLDs. Features include operation from a single 1.8 volt external supply for device core, internal oscillator, user flash memory block of up to 8 Kbits for non-volatile storage with up to 1000 read/write cycles, and multiVolt I/O interface supporting 3.3, 2.5, 1.8, 1.5 and 1.2-Volt logic levels. […]
Trove of STM32 Discovery board tutorials
Here’s an extensive list of STM32 Discovery board tutorials. Examples for displays, and other components, and compiler guides. Via the comments.
Future of FPGAs and SoC
Kevin Morris of FPGAJournal discusses the future of FPGAs and SoC (System On Chip) and why it may be a good idea to put peanut butter on our fabric.
THIS is how you sell microchips
Lattice made an over-the-top infomercial for the MachXO2 Programmable Logic Device. PLDs are in the neighborhood of CPLDs and FPGAs. Lattice CPLDs are available at Mouser, but we’ve never tried them. Any experience? This gem seems to have originated with Jeri Ellsworth, but it’s everywhere today.
Flash ADCs, USB battery chargers
rsdio tipped us to some interesting parts and application notes. First up is a tutorial on fast parallel analog to digital converters: Flash analog-to-digital converters, also known as parallel ADCs, are the fastest way to convert an analog signal to a digital signal. Flash ADCs are ideal for applications requiring very large bandwidth, but they […]
STM32 ‘thinner client’ with composite video
This is a STM32 ARM-based thin client that uses a TV as an output device. SMD projects on home-etched boards are fun to made. Don’t fear SMD, it’s cheaper, readily available, and surprisingly easy to solder with a little flux. Via Hack a Day.
Explore I2C/SPI accelerometer (MMA7456L) with Bus Pirate
Starlino demos the Freescale MMA7456L accelerometer with an I2C/SPI interface with the Bus Pirate. Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Programmable memory guide
EPROMs are old-school data storage chips with a little window that exposes the silicon inside. Once these chips are programmed, they can only be erased by shining ultraviolet light through the window. The EPROM help page is a guide to identifying and working with these devices. It also covers more modern programmable memory like EEPROM, […]
Bus Pirate: MAX147 ADC SPI demo
The MAX147 is a 12bit 8 channel analog to digital converter. will_j plans to interface a MAX147 to the web platform, but he used the Bus Pirate and the PirateShip GUI to learn about the chip first. There’s a screenshot of the terminal output in the forum. The Bus Pirate is available at Seeed Studio […]
Bus Pirate: MMA7456L three-axis accelerometer
Starlino used the Bus Pirate to explore a Freescale MMA7456L, a three-axis accelerometer with both I2C and SPI interfaces. The surface mount chip is on a homemade though-hole breakout board, there’s also a tutorial on this handy adapter. You can get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has […]
Play WAV audio files with AD5330 and Arduino
SparkFun has a tutorial about playing WAV files with an 8-bit AD5330 Digital Analog Converter (DAC). The AD5330 has an 8-bit parallel interface and operates from 2.5v to 5.5v. SparkFun uses an Arduino, micro SD shield, and AD5330 breakout board to play WAV files. The Arduino reads uncompressed WAV files from a FAT formatted SD […]