Low-Cost Development Kit Targets 8- And 14-Pin Flash MCUs
The PICkit 1 Flash Starter Kit is available for only $36. It supports PIC12F629, PIC12F675, PIC16F630, and PIC16F676 flash microcontrollers. The 3- by 4.5-inch development board has a USB interface supported by Microchip’s MPLAB integrated development environment (IDE) with the Hi-Tech PICC Lite C compiler. The IDE has a color-coded source editor and symbolic debugger.
Microchip Technology Inc.
www.microchip.com
Alchemy Processor Gains Windows CE 4.2 Board Support Package
Developers using AMD’s Au1000, Au1100, and Au1500 low-power microcontrollers can use the latest version of Microsoft’s Windows CE via the Microsoft Windows CE .Net Board Support Packages (BSP) for AMD’s Alchemy microprocessors. Contact the company for pricing and Windows CE licensing details.
BSquare Corp.
www.bsquare.com
VoIP Libraries Take Advantage Of Customizable Microprocessor
Voice-over-IP (VoIP) implementations can be major resource hogs, often requiring a general processor and DSP. Arc’s ARCtangent-A5 processor’s unified RISC/DSP architecture can cut this down to a single processor with a new VoIP library. This library supports a full set of codecs including A-law/m-law, ADPCM, and CELP compression schemes. Algorithms have line and acoustic echo cancellation support. Services include voice activity generation (VAR) and comfort noise generation (CNG). The library works with the company’s Precise/MQX real-time operating system (RTOS) and the Precise/RTCS TCP/IP stack. The package starts at $20,000. The license does not include royalties for third-party patents that may be deemed essential for a particular product implementation.
Arc International plc
www.arc.com
IPv6 Protocol Stack Handles Hard Real-Time RTOS
The 128-bit IPv6 protocol overcomes the address limitations of the current IPv4 32-bit network protocol standard. The IPnet and IPlite protocol stacks and services support the Integrity real-time operating system (RTOS). The dual-mode stack also supports IPv4. The compact version, IPlite, requires only 17 kbytes of memory. The package includes NAT (network address translation), PPP (point-to-point protocol) and IPsec (IP security) support. The royalty-free stack and RTOS were developed by Interpeak. IPnet and IPlite for Integrity starts at $15,000.
Green Hills Software Inc.
www.ghs.com
Embedded DOS Lives On With FTP Server, Java Remote Console
ROM-DOS 7.1 now supports long file names. The new version also includes an FTP server that uses newly added support for the Berkeley Socket Distribution (BSD). A Java-based remote console allows remote system access via a Web browser. ROM-DOS requires only 60 to 90 kbytes of ROM, so it can fit into smaller 186 microcontrollers. The ROM-DOS development kit starts at $1250. Single-user versions start at $37.50.
Datalight Corp.
www.datalight.com
Quartet Of Test Tools Meets DO-178B Certification
Version 4.0 of the CodeTest Software Analysis Tools provides four different tools for system development: performance analysis, memory analysis, code coverage, and software execution trace. Coupled with an operating system like Lynx OS-178 from Lynuxworks, the tool can be used to certify DO-178B Level A, B, or C compliance. CodeTest works with a range of 16- and 32-bit processors and operating systems, including VxWorks, OSE, Linux, and QNX.
Metrowerks Corp.
www.metrowerks.com
Multimedia MCUs Armed And Ready With CE .Net 4.2
The latest crop of ARM7 and ARM9-based multimedia microcontrollers like the EP7312 now supports Microsoft Windows CE .Net 4.2. Other operating systems, such as VxWorks, Linux, and Nucleus, are supported as well.
Cirrus Logic Inc.
www.cirrus.com
Virtual Instruments Run On PDAs And FPGAs
LabView 7 Express extends the LabView architecture to PDAs and FPGAs. This support is available via add-on modules. Now with over 40 virtual instruments, LabView handles tasks like data acquisition and signal analysis. A new driver framework and additional interactive assistants makes taking measurements and analyzing results easier and faster. LabView development systems start at $1995.
National Instruments
www.ni.com