I put that statement in because these types of discussions do have a tendency to degenerate quickly. I’m glad that you have derived something useful from it.
Mee_n_Mac:
rmteo1:
I’m not trying to win an argument here or wanting to convert anyone to my choice of MCU - there is absolutely nothing to be gained from that.I’ve found the discussion both interesting and useful.
As have I. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at ARM and it looks like things have have gotten better since I last worked with them.
-Bill
Those parts are pretty amazing, have to look into those some time. Though, the 16 bit PICs I’ve been using do the job nicely for me and they’re still pretty cheap in small quantities.
The student/hobbyist will have more enjoyment with the use of a well architected CPU (like ARM7/M3) with free compilers from GCC and the size limited best-in-class ones from IAR/Keil, and a huge following. Versus struggling with a primitive CPU and crummy compiler tools. E.g., Look at mbed and it’s following - making practical an on-line browser based IDE/tool set.
I would just like to bring up this statement from ARM:
The ARM7 processor family (ARM7TDMI(S) and ARM7EJ-S) is not recommended for new designs. While the ARM7 processor family continues to be used today for simple 32-bit devices, newer embedded designs are increasingly making use of latest ARM processors such as the Cortex™-M0 and Cortex-M3 processors, both of which offer significant technical enhancements over the ARM7 family.
For my purposes, the 8-bit Flash PICs (especially the newer ones) are plenty powerful enough (I have something over 50 programs in my library). But I am here to see if there is some other processor family that I should be looking at. I am not dissatisfied with Microchip, but they are not “the only game in town”. BTW I have glanced at AVRs, but they were too slow.
Finally, I trashed all my pic and development tools for pic and forgot bank switching.
avr and arduino are great
arm are even more interesting
it’s a real pleasure to use these micro-controllers
they are very easy to use.
I’m thinking to mix both arm for processing speed and avr when I need 5v interface.
I’m using the same environment for both platforms (crossworks)
thanks all
You can get nice, low cost ($45 shipped) development boards for ARM such as this on the auctions sites. An [ST-LINK programmer/debugger is just $25. Better yet, the [ST-VLDiscovery is <$12 and you get an ST-LINK plus a development board for the Value Line devices. The ST-LINK is a plug-and-play proposition with Crossworks.
STM32 STM32F103VCT6 Dev. Board + 3.2" TFT LCD Module
Ө. 3.2" TFT LCD Module, 320 * 240 resolution, 26 million color.
Ө. Resistive touch screen, with RSM1843 Controller.
Ө. 4 LED light, 2 LED indicatorӨ.
Ө. Two GPIO buttons
Ө. RESET, BOOT Buttons
Ө. Serial-USB communication bridge
Ө. 2 mini-type USB socket
Ө. 1 Micro SD card connector (without SD card)
Ө. USB OTG function, support for external USB
Ө. A JTAG / SWD debug interface (20pin)
Ө. RTC battery
Ө. USB Power Supply
Ө. All IO extended out for development
Ө. Mini Board Size: 80*95mm](http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2621773&k=st-link)](http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2621880&k=st-link)