Best Starter Programmer/Proto Board for ARM?

Hello all. I am going to hop into ARM soon (after a ~2 yr hiatus, prev working PIC). After some research, I found the following boards and initial proto options:

  1. Olimex ARM-JTAG - $21
  • Parallel port programmer and debugger
  1. Olimex ARM-USB-OCD - $72
  • USB to JTAG + RS232 + power supply for programming and debugging
  1. Olimex ARM-USB-TINY - $52
  • USB to JTAG for programming and debugging
  1. Olimex LPC-21xx - $40+
  • Proto board, needs header or programmer?

First, is LPC-21xx (i.e. 2103) a good start for ARM beginners?

Second, which programmer is ideal to ensure kickoff hurdles are at a minimum? I appreciate any and all tips or advice. Thanks!

I’ve successfully used Coridium’s ARM7 board - wireless ARMmite. I think SFE sells it.

http://www.coridiumcorp.com/ARMmite.php

AFAIK all LPC21xx microcontrollers can be programmed through the serial port using the built-in bootloader and a simple serial port extension cable.

I haven’t seen the need for a JTAG adapter yet. If you want to use JTAG you will also need some JTAG debugging or flashing software which costs more money and/or can be tricky to set up correctly.

To get started smoothly, I would get a complete development board that already includes some connectors/buttons/LEDs, not just a header board that basically only contains the processor and a crystal.

Hi,

LP21XX is a good starting point. If you are an experienced programmer, you will soon need a debugger. That’s why you need a JTAg link. Avoid the parallel port ones, due to lack of parallel port on laptops. Choose a USB model.

For software examples, the best site is http://www.siwawi.arubi.uni-kl.de/avr_p … index.html. Tons of examples, and most important, Winarm, a free package wich include IDE, compiler, debugger, etc… everything you need to start.

http://www.yagarto.de is another gcc package, with Eclipse IDE, gcc,etc…, very powerful, and free.

Angelo

The Embedded Artists prototyping board and one of their modules would be a good starting point. I have a simple JTAG interface design you could build for yourself in the LPC2000 Group Files section. It works with the Rowley CrossWorks tools, or you could use the Rowley CrossConnect.

Leon