My first "real computer" was a Timex Sinclair. My first didgital trainer was some TI keypad/console trainer. Can't remember what the 8-bit processor was. A TI product no doubt. 1802?
As for rating processors, in order of Bang-For-Buck, as best I know: 1. BM Atom, 2. PICAXE, 3. CUBLOK, 4. Propeller, 5. Stamp. These are the products I have a more-then-passing acquaintence with. There are of course Arduino versions and several others, but I have no, or minimal, knowledge about them.
CUBLOK is a Korean outfit. They have a combo module with processor/FPGA. The FPGA gets programmed by the processor at powerup. They both then run in tandem. The processor does the usual serial processing, while the FPGA does parallel/combinatorial processing. Intriguing idea. I assign it position 3 because I haven't really studied the compiler. If I remember, it's C-like, and I only use BASIC.
The Propeller gets fourth because, while multicore is probably the wave of the future, the learning curve is intense. And it actually isn't a parallel processor, like an FPGA with a processor core. It's eight limited-RAM processors, taking turns at access to larger ROM/RAM/ I/O, in round-Robin fashion. Still, it is an intriguing device...
As always, your opinion may vary.
As for Atom, I live, eat and breathe Atom. I bought my first Atom board, the BasicBoard, with an Atom40, from EL Products, 6 years ago. It was great. For me. It is passe now, as far as features. Small embedded processor boards with LCD, serial (and now USB), headers for servo motors, LEDs and switches, et al, are common as popcorn on a theater floor. I went on to purchase and use several Atom OEM modules for the test beds at work.
What grabbed my attention, after 3 weeks of web searches, was how DAMNED POWERFUL the compiler was. FOR FREE! Servo control, I2C, SPI, one-wire, control for stepper motors, XIN/XOUT home control, 32-bit integer and floating point math with some trig functions... the list is long. Output formatting (print decimal, hex, binary, or floating point (with decimal) values in serial outputs, add minus signs if you want), not generally available in a FREE compiler. I had to pay extra to get that in my OshonSoft compiler.
Almost all the hardware and interrupt features/functions are available from the compiler. after you run out of hardware peripherals, most of these functions are available as software controls (bitbang). So HSERVO becomes SERVO, HSERxxx (USART) becomes SERxxx (on most any pin), and HPWM becomes PWM. If you're careful in the implementation, you can have eight serial ports (half duplex), with addressing, but it's severe to code.
The typical Atom is a PIC16F. No 18Fs yet. Bummer. But at 33k instructions per second, they blow the doors off Stamps, beat a PICAXE X1, and nearly hold their own with the X2. That's the 20MHz version. The new Nano Series, at 8MHz, will still beat a PICAXE X1, and is $8 (Nano18) to $11 (Nano40). If you want a processor that breathes fire, get their Pro module. 100K+ instructions per second. 24, 28, 40-pin modules. $50 - $70. These are Renesas processors (Hitachi), but the FREE compiler for it uses the same syntax, mostly. Each processor type has a few unique commands not available to the other.
Someone mentioned the "complicated serial setup" or something. It's one pin on all models. On powerup, or reset, the bootloader comes up looking for the PC to talk to. After a suitable timeout, it runs a program if it is in the FLASH. If not, it spins its wheels. If the PC is there, they handshake and a progarm is downloaded into FLASH. At the end of the process, this serial port is available for half duplex COMs, bitbang, up to 57600 Baud. As for hardware, they use a diode to isolate the MAX232's TX line from the RX line, and a pullup. Or, in the new designs, use the parts with an FTDI USB-Serial chip.
And, if doing device-to-Atom, using TTL levels, a simple inline limiting resistor is optional, but recommended.
Some people have plunked an Atom on a breadboard and wired a serial cable to talk to a PC. NOW you need that inline resistor, say 1K Ohm. The limiting diodes inside the PIC cut off high and negative voltages to a safe level, but the limit resistor saves these diodes from blowing out.
If you check their data sheets, you'll find transistor circuits to do proper level translation without the cost and waste of a MAX232 chip, or the like.
I have read that multi-core parallel processors are the wave of the future. I guess that makes the Propeller the wave of the future for hobbyists that live and work on the ragged edge. Too bad you can't code-protect these. Commercial interests, kiss away your intellectual rights.
I would LOVE to see a comparison chart that covers BMicro products, PICAXE, Propeller, Stamp, Arduino (how do you rate a free-floating open standard?!) and who-knows-what-else. I have an early Propeller demo board. I could get a Stamp board from Radio Shock. Arduino stuff is available on Ebay, cheap. Hmmm.... But what makes a FAIR comparison? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Later!
kenjj
