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Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 04:23:07 AM

Title: ARM 7
Post by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 04:23:07 AM

How feasible is it for someone of moderate technical ability to design a pcb that would allow one to interface with the ARM 7? Is it too complicated for someone without an EE degree to do it?

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: paulstreats on February 28, 2009, 06:30:00 AM

Its perfectly feasible. Its soldering the fine pitch that is the difficult part

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 06:46:28 AM

Nah, that part I've got figured out. Soldering the thing wont be any trouble. It's a matter of figuring out how to interface with it. I mean, reading the block diagrams are a challenge and understanding which pins I need to use in the programming circuit vs which pins will work as, say, i/o ports to read sensor data is something that's beyond my current level of understanding.

Is there a good source anywhere for reading up on how to dissect an IC datasheet? It'll give you an acronym for each pin, and sometimes explain what they do, but that's all assuming you know which combination of them need to be used for any given task.

Am I making sense?

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: Soeren on February 28, 2009, 09:39:56 AM

Hi,

Quote from: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 06:46:28 AM

Am I making sense?

Not unconditionally ;)
You want to make a design from a datasheet that you don't understand. But how are you gonna understand how to use it if you don't understand how it works?

Did you Google around to see if someone allready made what you want?

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: want2learn on February 28, 2009, 09:59:54 AM

Making sense of the datasheets is the easy part if you're looking at the right one!  :)
Most microcontroller datasheets come in two forms, a preliminary one of between 20-50 pages, this only gives basic information. The second version is hundreds (not kidding) of pages long and covers everything including the more in depth info required for the registers etc.

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: MaltiK on February 28, 2009, 03:48:50 PM

Heres a ARM 7 Dev board:

http://www.scienceprog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/lpc2148baseeagle.zip

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 05:03:46 PM

Yeah. I suppose I could copy the schematics of the development board, but I'm not sure how much that teaches me. I'm trying to make a smaller unit than the dev board - and something prettier too.  ;D

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 05:06:10 PM

Quote from: MaltiK on February 28, 2009, 03:48:50 PM

Heres a ARM 7 Dev board:

http://www.scienceprog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/lpc2148baseeagle.zip

Why does the IC on that thing look nothing like the ARM 7 and why is it labeled as a PIC chip?

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: SmAsH on February 28, 2009, 05:19:06 PM

Quote from: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 05:06:10 PM

Quote from: MaltiK on February 28, 2009, 03:48:50 PM

Heres a ARM 7 Dev board:

http://www.scienceprog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/lpc2148baseeagle.zip

Why does the IC on that thing look nothing like the ARM 7 and why is it labeled as a PIC chip?

it says arm mini? where does it say pic?

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: ib1yysguy on February 28, 2009, 06:27:32 PM

Sorry, stupid Eagle loaded the wrong board.

Title: Re: ARM 7
Post by: MaltiK on February 28, 2009, 07:10:38 PM

:) your welcome