Starting with ARM

[pecpys]

Hi.. I need your help..

I'm a new in ARM processor.

I would like to know about the following item.

1.) What company that ARM IC is popular in this time?
2.) What complier that we need to use?
3.) What is the developing step for develop some project. But I would like to use Linux OS.
4.) I know that this forum is the best of PIC. But ware web site is the best of ARM

Thanks you

[samir]

Hi.. I need your help..

I'm a new in ARM processor.

I would like to know about the following item.

1.) What company that ARM IC is popular in this time?
2.) What complier that we need to use?
3.) What is the developing step for develop some project. But I would like to use Linux OS.
4.) I know that this forum is the best of PIC. But ware web site is the best of ARM

Thanks you

1)Philps LPC21xx and Atmel sam9
2)GCC (free)(use winarm toolchain,keil
3)first check LPC2134 example in proteus
4)Google

[pecpys]

Thanks you very much.

Anybody have more recomment?

[tavioman]

Hmm...
Is ARM worth for small projects?

[Soter]

Hmm...
Is ARM worth for small projects?

No, ARM is for a powerful project like a cell phone, PDAs Ipods etc. But you can use in small project only for fun and no for sale because is expensive.

http://www.arm.com/markets/showcase/

[tavioman]

Man... those are beautiful gadgets.
No ARM for me, thanks. To complex for small/medium projects.
I have a question tough:
There are ARM core MCU's in DIP/PLCC packages?

[samir]

Man... those are beautiful gadgets.
No ARM for me, thanks. To complex for small/medium projects.
I have a question tough:
There are ARM core MCU's in DIP/PLCC packages?

ARM7 core can be used in small project like philps lpc21xx family

[parallaxis]

There are ARM core MCU's in DIP/PLCC packages?

There are small and cheap ARM7 core MCU in SOIC package (they can be soldered "in the hand"). Look at http://www.luminarymicro.com/products/LM3S102.html or http://www.luminarymicro.com/products/LM3S101.html

[newbaby97]

mini N-Link usb from http://www.micro4you.com

[FaithNoMore]

If you have a Gameboy Advanced then you already have an excellent platform, the core is ARM7 with color lcd + graphics ctrl, sound, keypad, rechargable battery, and tons of free development tools + library and emulators. To program it you only need a cable connected to LPT port and a downloader.  Best of all it's cheap, you can get it for 29 bucks on ebay.   

For info on free dev tools :
http://www.devkitpro.org/
http://www.gbadev.org
http://www.ngine.de/

VisualBoyAdvanced(GBA emulator):
http://vba.ngemu.com/

A cool project using GBA as an altimeter/variometer+gps updated map.
http://www.pixelproc.net/gba.html

[micropar]

Hi all,

ARM or any 32 bit microcontroller is the future. Start playing today. If you are seriously
considering to make Embedded Programming as Career or Profession, take my advise, jump start
on ARM and learn techiques of 32 bit programming with data structures, pointers,
Compiler/ Interpreter construction etc.. etc..

After 5 to 10 years, we all will be making new Microcontrollar in our home using FPGA with ARM or small RISC micro emulation inside, along with high speed Serial Peripheral in hardware without waiting for any Micro Manufacturer to release their new (buggy) chip with your wish list. Who knows, there will be trading of FPGA chips among small developers like us and we will be selling Hardware IP just like we are selling Programmed chips and Software Library today.

All 8-bit micros are slowly dying just like 4 bit micros during 90s which you can noticed with slow death of 8051, 89x51, 89x51 chips started, with which we all learned our first embedded programming. Today all new projects are done with PIC or AVR where 8051/52 or 89x51/52 was the first choice, 5 years back.

Regards,
--micropar--

[tavioman]

Nice thread here.
I believe that the main reason for NOT jumping to ARM or any 32bit architecture it's the fear of unknown.
I have just received a new project. Here will be suited perfectly an 32bit core, but I only have one month till dead line.
So, maybe in my free time I'll start playing with 32 cores.

[hate]

I don't think 8051/52 cores are dying yet! Manufactures still produce them with more peripherals and it's still my favorite core. Also I prefer a low cycle 8051/52 core instead of a PIC if both have the right peripherals for the solution. And also I prefer an AVR if all 3 are suitable for the project. But 8051/52 is never out of the question for me and I don't think it will be amongst the exiting 8-bit microcontrollers!

Regards...

[Soter]

JTAG Debugger for ARM Microcontrollers

The cable most often used in this category is the so-called Wiggler cable. The Wiggler is a commercial cable sold by Macraigor Systems. With a list price of $150 USD they are not cheap. There is a schematic on the internet that is commonly accepted to be the equivalent of what's inside a Wiggler cable. This schematic, by Alec, was drawn up for devicves that implement a typical EJTAG header in devices based on the ADM5120 System-on-Chip, another design based on the MIPS32 architecture. The ADM5120 has support for EJTAG v2.6, which does not support DMA transfers.

JTAG-to-LPT mapping

 TDI   - DATA3   - pin 5
 TDO   - BUSY    - pin 11
 TMS   - DATA1   - pin 3
 TCK   - DATA2   - pin 4
 nSRST - DATA0   - pin 2
 nTRST - DATA4   - pin 6

Whereas an unbuffered cable can be constructed for maybe $5 USD or less, the parts for a Wiggler-type cable will cost a little more, perhaps in the $15 to $30 USD range. The advantage of a buffered cable is that it is not as constrained as to length and is more immune to noise and static, thus permitting a higher data transfer rate.

This cable is fully compatible with Macraigor OCD Commander. The wire between DATA6 (pin 8 on the LPT DB-25) and ERROR (pin 15) is used to identify a presence of the Wiggler cable and requred by some JTAG software (i.e. Macraigor). It may be omitted for Hairydairymaid debrick utility.

Another consideration is that a buffered Wiggler-style cable requires a voltage source to operate. Usually +3.3 volts is needed and is commonly referred to as Vcc (voltage common-collector is the traditional meaning of Vcc). The buffer IC may take a Vcc from the PC LPT also. The DATA7 pin may be used for this purposes, so Wiggler software should provide aclive "1" at this pin. Do not use this pin if your JTAG header provides Vcc.
The most famous software for JTAG is probably the Linksys De-Brick Utility by Hairydairymaid (aka Lightbulb). As of 12 September 2006 the most recent version is v4.8. You can download it from the OpenWrt site.

Best Regards...

[tom12sg]

Hi,

  What is the program to run with the Jtag Debugger.
  Is it a generic debugger to use with all ARM?

Tom

[samir]

Hi,

  What is the program to run with the Jtag Debugger.
  Is it a generic debugger to use with all ARM?

Tom

check HJTAG

[micropar]

Manufactures still produce them with more peripherals...

Hi Hate,

Your above quote rightly says same thing I what I couldn't able to explain. 8051 core is used only with
more peripherals to make it commercially viable, today.

What I tried to say above is that all new future designs will not able to justify use of 8 bit micros
commerciailly as all products build in future will demand more and more functionality in addition to
what has be offered today. As you know, adding more fuctionality means more memory, more speed,
needs to add RTOS and with that vicious circle starts again which you can easily break
with 32 bit controllars, as their prices are going lower and lower every year.

Even for me 89x51 / 52 is the first choice or first thinking when any new projects comes up and
I will also love to stay with it till my life, as I learned first real embedded programing with it and
having special feeling for these chips, even though it lack any kind of debugging interface.
(Not counting its latest varients such as Silabs C8051Fxxxx).

Regards,
--micropar--

[FaithNoMore]

Tom Cantrell wrote an article on the subject (Something Old, Something New - Circuit Cellar 187 p.40). I guess we all agree that 8-bit microcontrollers are here to stay, cos we don't need all the computing power of 32-bit mcu's just to water our lawn even in the future. It all depends on our applications.  But 32-bit mcu's are here now, and we can gladly say goodbye to the hardships of doing floating-point math in 8-bit world. With the world class 32-bit development tools at our disposal here at sonsivri and our forum members that support it, I don't see any reasons why we don't want to learn and start using it. Maybe we can suggest the moderator to start a new forum contents on 32-bit mcu (ARM, AVR32, etc)     

[micropar]

JTAG Debugger for ARM Microcontrollers

Hi Soter,

Your 1st Photo show two ICs, while your circuit show only 1 IC, LS244. So What and where is the 2nd IC?

Thanks & Regards,
--micropar--

[Soter]

Hi Soter,

Your 1st Photo show two ICs, while your circuit show only 1 IC, LS244. So What and where is the 2nd IC?

Thanks & Regards,
--micropar--

Hi micropar.
The first and second pictures show a real wiggler from Macraigor Systems. The circuit have only 1 HC244 because the second chip it using for converting LPT 5V levels to JTAG 3.3V levels, better is using AHC244, this chip have more wide power supplay voltage and 5V tolerant inputs.

[bishop]

I think that there is little room for common ground between 8 bit and 32 bit micros. At one end of the spectrum you have the 8 bit micro, which you nickle and dime every byte of RAM and flash used. On the other hand you have the 32 bit monsters which just screams to run something like linux. Both are totally different animals and I can not see the 32 bit animal eating the 8 bit animal anytime soon.

I have always believed that the path of progress is one of excess; more hz than you need, more RAM than you need, more flash than you need, etc... ARM is a perfect example of this, but lately I have slightly changed my opinion about this because I played with the cypress PSOC MCUs. Cypress is about programmability, programmable analog blocks and programmable digital blocks, instead of just using a brute force approach at all problems, it allows you to excecise some finess.

[pramodjaipur]

Hi,

I am also at 1st stage, as presently we are working on 8051 core and need to migrate on ARM;

Kindly explain: What is JTAG and Where we should purchase the best one? it must support Keil Tools too.

I need Parallel interface or Ethernet interface, the USB crate the problems as lot of USB Drives available at almost "zero" cost, and any one can stolen our source.

I saw JTAG at http://www.armkits.com but it is not supporting the keil tools.

Kindly suggest.

[efan]

If you have a Gameboy Advanced then you already have an excellent platform, the core is ARM7 with color lcd + graphics ctrl, sound, keypad, rechargable battery, and tons of free development tools + library and emulators. To program it you only need a cable connected to LPT port and a downloader.  Best of all it's cheap, you can get it for 29 bucks on ebay.   

For info on free dev tools :
http://www.devkitpro.org/
http://www.gbadev.org
http://www.ngine.de/

VisualBoyAdvanced(GBA emulator):
http://vba.ngemu.com/

A cool project using GBA as an altimeter/variometer+gps updated map.
http://www.pixelproc.net/gba.html

anyone has GBA sch?

[orange]

I suggest the following topics here.

http://www.sonsivri.com/forum/index.php?topic=4539.0

and

http://www.sonsivri.com/forum/index.php?topic=4541.0

[FaithNoMore]

@efan
GBA schematics is quite hard to come by, but here are some info that you might find useful.

Ebook: Programming  GBA, The Unofficial Guide. By J. Harbour
Download:
http://www.theharbourfamily.com/jonathan/?page_id=89

GBA link-port, memory map, etc.
http://www.reinerziegler.de/GBA/gba.htm

[charnyutk]

ARM software like rasonance IAR KEIL are the choice for you to develop.
many ARM cpu have difference its' peripheral. you can select it by yourself.

[jezo]

Hallo, I will start with ARM7 in a few months. I want use GNU + CrossWorks studio + FTDI based JTAG cable. Does anybody use this combination?

[zetd]

Hi.. I need your help..

I'm a new in ARM processor.

I would like to know about the following item.

1.) What company that ARM IC is popular in this time?
2.) What complier that we need to use?
3.) What is the developing step for develop some project. But I would like to use Linux OS.
4.) I know that this forum is the best of PIC. But ware web site is the best of ARM

Thanks you

- check this out
  http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX31&tab=In-Depth_Tab

u will found:

Features

CPU Complex

    * ARM1136JF-S
    * 128 KB L2 unified cache
    * Jazelle® Java acceleration
    * Vector floating point coprocessor (VFP)
    * Smart Speed Switch

Multimedia

    * VGA MPEG-4 HW encode
    * Graphics acceleration (i.MX31 only)
    * Image Processing Unit (IPU)
    * CMOS/CCD sensor interface
    * Resize, color space conversion
    * Deblocking, deringing, blending
    * Display/TV controller

External Memory Interface (EMI)

    * SDRAM 16/32-bit, 133 MHz
    * Mobile DDR 16/32-bit, 266 MHz
    * NAND Flash 8/16-bit
    * PSRAM

Advanced Power Management

    * Automatic Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
    * Dynamic Process Temperature Compensation (DPTC)
    * Active well-bias • Power gating Connectivity
    * High Speed USB OTG, 2 Hosts
    * 2 x MMC/SD, 2 x Memory Stick ProTM
    * PCMCIA/CF
    * ATA-6 (HDD) interface
    * Audio MUX
    * IrDA, fast IrDA, keypad
    * Configuable SPI x 2, SSI/I2S x 2, UART x 5

Performance

    * CPU complex: up to 532 MHz
    * System: 133 MHz

, yeah.. i think its enough, to fuel your embedded system programming,

- the toolchain (free) http://www.siwawi.arubi.uni-kl.de/avr_projects/arm_projects/
- www.macraigor.com, ( .. google macgraigor JTAG compatible schematic)

others forum www.mikrocontroller.net, www.mcu123.com (in chiness)

- be "linuxers", with this uclinux.org ->Embedded Linux/Microcontroller Project

[jezo]

- check this out
  http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX31&tab=In-Depth_Tab

But BGA package  , difficult PCB, difficult assembly...

[digitalmg]

If you want stat with ARM ,ARM Cortex™-M3 is the last architecture for  ARM7TDMI-S ,have high-performance,implements the new Thumb-2 instruction set architecture and have Harvard bus architecture.Now only  STMicroelectronics have STM32 (CORTEX M3) - 32-bit Microcontrollers and Luminary Micro make Stellaris® family.For 50$ buy LM3S811 Evaluation Kits,the kit features JTAG wich work with  Keil™ RealView.

[building]

Hellol, soter  You have JTAG Debugger for ARM Microcontrollers SCH and What is Program to run with the Jtag Debugger. Thank you!!! 

[digitalmg]

http://www.hjtag.com/download.html  soft and WIGGLER Schematic,supports SDT2.51, ADS1.2, REALVIEW and IAR.
but the speed for debug with wiggler is very slow.

[loki2007]

I know this post is very old, but I thought this info could still be usefull to someone else
ST have cheap 32Bit ARM CORTEX-M3 processors ($1-$3)
and the best IDE + compiler + debugger is
http://www.atollic.com/
it has free edition with little limitations
http://www.atollic.com/download/Atollic_TrueSTUDIO_Feature_comparison.pdf
and then you use the ST-Link Jtag (low cost) to debug and program
The IDE is eclipse, you can then look as FreeRTOS (Free real Time Operating System)
http://www.freertos.org/
and lwip (light weight IP stack also free)
http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/lwip/
So you only pay for JTAG and the processors (the way I like it ;P )

[Added:2011/02/04]
I have to take my words back
the atollic is not the best compiler, the limitations is to great once you try to use the lite version for a full development
Sorry for providing wrong info.
I am now testing hte IAR compiler with eclipse plugin

[ficho]

FTDI - based JTAG used it with openocd + EWARM (GDB server)
http://www.joernonline.de/contrexx2/cms/index.php?page=127
usefull docs:
-EWARM_UserGuide.ENU.pdf
-Hitex lpc-arm-book_rev10.pdf
ficho

[veso]

Good start point is open environment supporting with brand company.
Look at :
http://beagleboard.org/