Hi,
A couple of questions before I jump in:
1. What compiler are you using to develop the firmware? Where is it available, and what is the cost?
2. Will the board support ethernet or USB bootloading so that a PIC programmer will not be required?
Thanks!
John
I used the free demo C30 compiler. It expires, but procedural abstraction is the only major feature that's turned off (and I never use it anyways). The link is in the article, something like http://www.microchip.com/c30 (http://www.microchip.com/c30)
I'm using the ds30 Loader GPL bootloader with the on-board FTDI 232R serial->usb chip to do firmware updates. There a description of the bootloader tools in the web platform article:
http://dangerousprototypes.com/2009/12/ ... -platform/ (http://dangerousprototypes.com/2009/12/11/prototype-web-platform/)
Hi Ian
Do you plan any cool projects for the platform, like a twatch with posibillity to login and watch the feeds from friends ?
The web platform is really awesome, but I am not interested to learn a new platform. I am more interested in avr and arm controller a third fimily would be to much. :)
But with some interesting finished projects the platform would be still interesting.
Cheers
Rubi
But Rubi, AVR doesn't even have an Ethernet solution... a lot of AVR people are using Microchip's...! :-) I can't fault you for your interest in ARMs though.
I, for one, will let nothing Twitter near my Web Platform.
I'm guessing that it wouldn't be terribly hard to take #twatch software customizations and enhance it to do what you want for this hardware. At that level, it's not about the hardware, but you would have to look at the Microchip network stack. And more than likely, the LCD work too, I suppose.
I think that much of Ian's grand plan for world domination is that you do the customization (it is a platform, after all), or wait for someone else with the same interests to do so. By granting you this subordinate power to rule over your fellow Twitteroids, you merely agree to give him first right of refusal for your daughters and unmarried sisters and their, uh... "vast tracts of land". Seems like an awfully fair trade to me.
[I hope there's at least one Monty Python fan here...]
I've got a bunch of demos planned, and I'm happy to take requests too.
I'll port the #twatch firmware to the web platform, it has enough I/Os for a 4bit LCD interface. Then the wp can be used as a development board for the burn-limited #twatch. I developed the #twatch on a 24FJ board, so the firmware already compiles on the 16bit devices. After that, maybe custom feeds, etc. because the SD card provides a means to enter the login credentials. For the tweet_tree I made massive improvements to the JSON parser state machine, eventually I'll port these back to the #twatch.
I also have a general 'intro to dsPIC33' post that I'll run when hardware starts to arrive. It will provide a basic framework for user projects and introduce config fuses, setting the oscillator speed, assigning peripherals with PPS, how to blink a LED, and how to use the UART with the USB->serial chip.
I'd like to do more interactive net art too. It's really thrilling to have something change according to crowd-sourced whims. The @tweet_tree was nice because, unlike the daft punk table, I didn't have spinning swastikas and flying genitalia flashing on my wall :)
Other demos:
A port of DOS_FS GPL'd SD card FAT file system driver.
A port of a GPL'd TCPIP stack
Probably a Bus Pirate port, since the pins are available.
I was wondering would the mplab c compiler for academics work? http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1406&dDocName=en536656 (http://http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1406&dDocName=en536656)
Link didn't work for me, but regular, demo, or academic version of C30 should work:
http://www.microchip.com/c30 (http://www.microchip.com/c30)
Hi
[quote author="ericwertz"]
But Rubi, AVR doesn't even have an Ethernet solution... a lot of AVR people are using Microchip's...! :-) I can't fault you for your interest in ARMs though.
[/quote]
Yes but Avr has Arduino, the best free microcontroller dev. platform I have ever seen (although the Editor is lousy,...) .
And the Arm has power.
There are so many interesting platforms, f.e. Ti msp430 low power controllers, but time is the limiting factor so I decided to stick to two platforms and that is it.
Please no religious micro discussions, it does not make sense since they all are great.
[quote author="ian"]
I've got a bunch of demos planned, and I'm happy to take requests too.
I'll port the #twatch firmware to the web platform, it has enough I/Os for a 4bit LCD interface. Then the wp can be used as a development board for the burn-limited #twatch. I developed the #twatch on a 24FJ board, so the firmware already compiles on the 16bit devices. After that, maybe custom feeds, etc. because the SD card provides a means to enter the login credentials. For the tweet_tree I made massive improvements to the JSON parser state machine, eventually I'll port these back to the #twatch.
...[/quote]
I am more than conviced, just bought one.
Do you know which chip is missing @ seeds and stops the delivery ?
Cheers
Rubi
I believe it was the 33fj128gp204 that held it up. The assembled boards shipped yesterday though.
Hi
Hmmm
I ordered a kit and it is still on backorder.
Hope it will leave china before the beginning of their new year.
Hi Ian,
What version of MPLAB are you using? My version, v7.60, will not open the MPLAB project file provided with the recently released intro code for the web platform. If it's a version problem, I'll obviously have to upgrade, although the current version is working fine for my other programming needs (mostly CCS 'C')......
Thanks,
John
I use 8.3 or 8.4.