Anyone built something practical with Cyberkit-043 or CY8C4247AZI-M485 ?

[martys]

mikeselectricstuff:  I searched microchip's website and couldn't find any PIC24MX MCU's on a gum stick eval board

[obiwanjacobi]

I used the PSoC 5 as a System Controller in a Z80 homebrew build.
https://github.com/obiwanjacobi/Zalt

Specifically: https://github.com/obiwanjacobi/Zalt/tree/master/Source/SystemController/SystemController.cydsn

[2c]

[mikeselectricstuff]

mikeselectricstuff:  I searched microchip's website and couldn't find any PIC24MX MCU's on a gum stick eval board

That would be because there aren't any PIC24MX parts..!

There are a few 32MX boards with larger parts, and several of them include a programmer.
The 28 pin 32MX1xx parts are also available in DIP so less need for an eval board
e.g.
http://uk.farnell.com/chipkit/chipkit-pi/dev-brd-pic32-chipkit-pi-raspberry/dp/2328004

http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/dm320103/dev-board-curiosity-pic32-mcu/dp/2678450?ost=dm320103&iscrfnonsku=false&ddkey=http%3Aen-GB%2FElement14_United_Kingdom%2Fsearch

[martys]

That makes two who found something practical to do! Thanks Obiwanjacobi.

I took a look at the immense work  you've done marrying a Cycpress PSoC with a Z80. I took a glance at your blog about this project and marveled at the amount of work that must have went into it! I hope, after all the apparent work that there was some practical use for the fruits of your labor,  this astonishing  coupling of two very different and seemingly unlikely MCU embeddable bedfellows. 

I must also offer my apology to hli, because I failed to acknowledge his second attempt with the Cypress PSoc. Although not completed, I am sure a project like this does qualify as an attempt to put a similar PSoC MCU to some practical use.
Thanks, hli, much for sharing your work.

My sleepy typo, mikeselectricsstuff, I meant to write PIC32MX as the part I was searching for on Microchip.com.

By practical, I do mean that the result of someone's attempt with the PSoC chip in question, resulted in something that was put to practical use, resulted in at least a one-timer custom product that was successfully used to do something needing do'in, and was  likely a best choice of MCU for the job.

Anyone else out there care to encourage finding practical benefit using this devboard & chip?

[Mr. Scram]

using a platform where you will never ever get any security bugfixes and which is connected to the internet should be a criminal offense now.

Since Microsoft refuses to supply patches for older versions of their OS, who are the real criminals - the users, or the manufacturer who refuses to fix their unsafe product?  If they were a car manufacturer the answer would be obvious...

Frankly, it's scary - to think that this major security flaw has been lurking for years in all Intel CPUs from Pentium Pro up, but only now discovered - or has it? I have no confidence in the ability of Intel and Microsoft to keep their latest products secure.

That's good to know. Unfortunately Cypress already cooked their goose with me...

What are you talking about? Microsoft provides updates for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 and all associated server versions. They just stopped doing the same for Vista, which is 10 years old. Better yet, the date support gets dropped is known well in advance.

There's hardly a better example of how to do it the right way.

[Bruce Abbott]

What are you talking about? Microsoft provides updates for Windows 7,

In 2020 Windows 7 will suffer the same fate as Xp and Vista. Currently more users are running Windows 7 than 10. In less than 2 years time they will all be forced to 'upgrade' to Windows 10, or be branded criminals. 

There's hardly a better example of how to do it the right way.

First Micro$oft eliminates all the competition using every trick in the book, then they force users to 'upgrade' to Windows 10 (even pushing a 'free' copy of it into Internet-connected PC's without the user's knowledge or approval). Finally they spring the trap by dropping security fixes for older versions, turning anyone who doesn't want to 'upgrade' into a criminal. You're right, there's hardly a better example of how to shake down your customers and hold the computing world to ransom.

Meanwhile Linux is getting better and better, and Apple is gaining market share. The research organization I work for are still running Windows7 on all their PCs. We bought a tablet to control our drone and the program had problems with Windows 10, so now we are buying a new ($10000) drone which only works with an iPad. Goodbye Micro$oft!

I installed Linux Lite on my latest PC and it came with 90% of the programs I need 'out of the box'. Added KiCAD and MPlabX and now I have a complete development system. If only it could do PSOC...
 

[danadak]

PSOC Completed Projects -

1) Woodstove controller, using IR T pile sensor, alarms, setpoints....

2) Legacy Amateur Radio Transmitter/Receiver measurement system and
IF LO generator. Test signal generation, pattern generator, Bode plot testing....

3) Remote PC Cold weather startup controller. Sensors, timing, signal conditioning.

4) https://www.element14.com/community/thread/23736/l/100-projects-in-100-days?displayFullThread=true

5) T sensor wireless network for property management.


Regards, Dana.

[rstofer]

Meanwhile Linux is getting better and better, and Apple is gaining market share.

Linux is smokin' in on Windows!  It is now up to a little over 2% of desktops.  Apple iOS is a lot more common at around 8%.  Somehow, I don't see Microsoft shaking in their boots.  So what if 10% of the desktops use something other than Windows?

https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx

That said, I repartitioned my SSD to allow for Linux Mint alongside Windows 10.  For software development, I prefer Linux.  The Bash shell on Windows 10 works well enough but I want to use gedit, not nano.  The Cinnamon desktop is pretty nice.  It's a lot like Windows...  Installing a printer is a snap.  It used to be a truly ugly ordeal.

Around here we have a bunch of machines.  Everything from XP laptops through Win 7 and Win 10 desktops, Win 10 Surface gadgets and 3 Linux machines.  About a dozen machines between the two of us.  I'm the hoarder...

I'm kind of agnostic but, really, installing Linux can be a real PITA - especially if you have an Nvidia graphics card.  I can't decide which I hate more, Linux or Nvidia.  Actually, Debian handles the graphics card fairly well.  Mint doesn't.  Ubuntu probably works, because Debian works, but it is out of the question now that the system buttons are hardwired to the wrong corner.  Sheer arrogance on the part of the developers!

Other than no future security updates, there is nobody forcing anybody to move off of XP.  Today and into the future, the system is no less secure than it was the day of the last update.  If that is satisfactory, don't upgrade.  It is unreasonable to expect support for an OS that was released in 2001.  Even the Long Term Support versions of Linux only last for about 5 years and people expect XP to last beyond 16  years.  Nonsense!  It was time to move on.

Windows 7 will receive security updates through 2020 even though support was officially discontinued in 2015.  It was released in 2009 so it's being supported for 11 years.

It's true that version upgrades are more substantial in the Windows world than in Linux'.  Part of the reason is that incremental updates of Linux occur almost daily.  Some distros, like Debian, have official release dates but the changes aren't necessarily as significant because the incremental updates have stolen most of the thunder.

One huge glaring problem with Linux is that hardware drivers are always years behind the hardware.  The manufacturers won't 'open source' their code (and Microsoft doesn't make them) so either the Linux world has to stumble across a solution or we get stuck with having to recompile some obfuscated code like the Nvidia driver.  We get to do this over every time the kernel gets a tweak.  At one time, this was almost weekly for Red Hat Enterprise.

Then too, some incantations resent the idea of proprietary drivers and go out of their way to maintain the 'purity' of the open source system.  This just makes it even more difficult to find device drivers because the repository won't even be in the list.

I would never ever recommend Linux to a family member for fear I would become the IT department.

[Mr. Scram]

In 2020 Windows 7 will suffer the same fate as Xp and Vista. Currently more users are running Windows 7 than 10. In less than 2 years time they will all be forced to 'upgrade' to Windows 10, or be branded criminals. 

First Micro$oft eliminates all the competition using every trick in the book, then they force users to 'upgrade' to Windows 10 (even pushing a 'free' copy of it into Internet-connected PC's without the user's knowledge or approval). Finally they spring the trap by dropping security fixes for older versions, turning anyone who doesn't want to 'upgrade' into a criminal. You're right, there's hardly a better example of how to shake down your customers and hold the computing world to ransom.

Meanwhile Linux is getting better and better, and Apple is gaining market share. The research organization I work for are still running Windows7 on all their PCs. We bought a tablet to control our drone and the program had problems with Windows 10, so now we are buying a new ($10000) drone which only works with an iPad. Goodbye Micro$oft!

I installed Linux Lite on my latest PC and it came with 90% of the programs I need 'out of the box'. Added KiCAD and MPlabX and now I have a complete development system. If only it could do PSOC...

This doesn't make any sense. The Windows 7 lifecycle has been announced when it was released. At the end of the lifecycle it will have had close to 11 years of support, which is an absolute eternity in the world of software. If you get caught out by that, only you are to blame. It's literally one of the most predictable things in the world of IT.

Mentioning Apple as a better alternative in regards to lock-in and support is silly. Apple doesn't announce its support cycles, so you have to guess what you get. Old hardware gets dropped and that's it. Microsoft at least leaves you the option to install a newer version. Apple doesn't mind locking people in either. Even a simple hard drive replacement has to be bought from Apple, as they switched out the plug to make it Apple compatible only. Again, the Microsoft Windows support cycle is the odd one out in its predictability. They simply have to be predictable because the enterprise market won't accept anything else.

Linux isn't a viable alternative if you do serious work. It simply isn't. Most engineering software isn't available and there is little official support. That's fine if you're mucking about at home, but nothing you can build a business upon. I've tried many times in the past, because I'd love to have a free and open alternative that's in the same ballpark as Windows, but it's not, and probably won't be for some time. The open source community is amazing, but has some inherent issues that won't be resolved any time soon. There simply is too much fragmentation and people trying to reinvent the wheel.

There's plenty to hate about Microsoft and they seem hell-bent on moving in a direction no one wants, but the lifecycle of Windows isn't an issue. I don't mind people being blinded by bias, but they should keep their folly to themselves.

[martys]

Hey, someone is hijacking the OP!

This topic is about anyone finding any practical use for the PSoC Gumstick devboard!

[hendorog]

I have built a test set emulator for the signals from an 8753 VNA. I'm going to use this to build a test set when I get around to it...
This is hacky as hell, but uses the logic components only - zero code.

Also have built a VNA/reflectometer using the ADC and USB comms. This is still a rough prototype and is on the full sized dev board and not yet on the gumstick.

I think they are brilliant for prototyping. There will often be a cheaper way to build the final product once all of the problems have been solved and all of the parameters are nailed down. Hard to beat for the initial work on a project though.

[martys]

hendorog, I am surprised that you could adopt a PSoC board to make a signal emulator for a 8753 VNA which handles signals up to 2GHz! As you mentioned, and as was the case with the second solution using a PSoC, the project was never completed..is this practical?

Thanks for contributing!

This makes three!

[andyturk]

This topic is about anyone finding any practical use for the PSoC Gumstick devboard!

Seems like this thread is about you passing judgment on other people's work. 

[martys]

I am just interested in finding out if anyone has used the PSoC gumstick to accomplish something practical, so, yes I am making a judgement on what is practical.

Example: Using a PSoC gumstick to create even a single-instance project that was put that was put to some practical use is practical.

Example: Using a PSoc gumstick to attempt to create a finished working project to successfully do a meaningful task, but was not able to  be completed or put to some good use is not IMHO "practical".

Example: Impractical: Using a PSoC gumstick to accomplish something where some other MCU can be easily seen as a  cheaper, simpler, much smaller solution. In other words, if one can see that there is an obvious better choice of MCU, devboard, IDE, and therefore being an easier chip to work to finish a project from any prototype breadboard,

Isn't true that many projects are never completed because one finds it is too hard to work with what you've got to work with?

[Mr. Scram]

I am just interested in finding out if anyone has used the PSoC gumstick to accomplish something practical, so, yes I am making a judgement on what is practical.

Example: Using a PSoC gumstick to create even a single-instance project that was put that was put to some use is practical.

Example: Using a PSoc gumstick to attempt to create a finished working project to successfully do a meaning task, but was not able to complete or put to some good use is not IMHO "practical".

Example: Using a PSoC gumstick to accomplish something with some other MCU that is  cheaper, simpler, much smaller, or easier to work with to finish a project is not practical.

Why are you hunting for this? What are you trying to prove to who?

[hendorog]

hendorog, I am surprised that you could adopt a PSoC board to make a signal emulator for a 8753 VNA which handles signals up to 2GHz! As you mentioned, and as was the case with the second solution using a PSoC, the project was never completed..is this practical?

Thanks for contributing!

This makes three!

The test set _control_ signals The 8753 actually goes up to 6GHz, and compatible test sets are very expensive. OTOH 8510 Test sets are comparatively cheap and I managed to get a faulty one even cheaper. The plan is to replace the electronics so it behaves like an 85047A 6GHz test set. The PSoC part is working and has never been a limitation.

The other project - the VNA/Reflectometer project goes up to whatever frequency you want as the PSoC is just sampling the DC IF. Mine was 6GHz at the time. The PSoC part is working and has never been a limitation.

Of course they are practical, you are barking up the wrong tree if you think that the PSoC cannot be used for anything practical. I doubt whether there are many other MCU's which are _more practical_ than the PSoC. Your definition of practical must be different to mine.

There are of course cheaper options, and there are more suitable options for a particular application, but there is stuff all else that has such a combination of features in one box at a reasonable price. That is why it is so good for rapid prototyping. The gumstick is a _dev board_ and as such is a prototyping tool.
Once the prototype is built then you can choose whether to make a production version and put it into production, or optimise for price by choosing different parts and put that into production.

In my experience electronics engineers tend to over-emphasise the build cost of parts, and under-emphasise time to market and non recoverable engineering time. So if I was building products commercially I would use PSoC to take advantage of market opportunities that my competitors could not, as they are too slow.

Maybe I'm feeding the troll here, we will see.

[martys]

I hope I am not seen as being a troll!

But like you, I value my time, and I allways regret the waste of spending too much time on a project. I sometimes will find myself tangled up with a project and realize that I have started with the wrong tools for the job!

Hendorog, I can see from your more detailed explanation that you've really have accomplished something very practical with a PSoC!

I do think it is very useful to the viewers of this board to be able to sometimes see what is best, what is practical to choose to start with, what is it that works well to complete a job or project, and especially what is easiest to work with.

It might be that "It is a poor craftsman that blames his tool", but I have had any success using the PSoC gumstick board to fit a practical purpose, but I can see that it might be a good toy to prototype a first fleshing out of a custom project design with.

[andyturk]

This thread started out as a request for help with a $10 dev kit. It was a fine question, lots of folks here have experience with all kinds of dev kits.

You also said, "I am trying to develop my own code for accomplish speech recognition and make custom products to aid the handicapped." Trying to do speech recognition in firmware with a Cortex M0 is clearly a bad idea. Until you realize this, no advice from the forum is going to help you.

Judgements about what's practical or not aren't particularly interesting when they come from someone who doesn't understand what they're doing.

[martys]

Andyturk, I hope you're not seen as acting like a troll!

"Trying to do speech recognition in firmware with a Cortex M0 is clearly a bad idea. Until you realize this, no advice from the forum is going to help you."
-----------------------

You've made some very harsh judgements about me.

What can be done with so little? see:
 EVblog #713 - Voice Recognition - 1980's Style

EEVblog
Published on Feb 10, 2015
Dave breadboards a 1988 vintage Tandy / Radio Shack VCP200 speaker independent voice recognition chip from Voice Control
It is just a Motorola 6804 chp with 1K ROM and 36-bytes of SRAM to work with.

[hendorog]

I hope I am not seen as being a troll!

But like you, I value my time, and I allways regret the waste of spending too much time on a project. I sometimes will find myself tangled up with a project and realize that I have started with the wrong tools for the job!

Hendorog, I can see from your more detailed explanation that you've really have accomplished something very practical with a PSoC!

I do think it is very useful to the viewers of this board to be able to sometimes see what is best, what is practical to choose to start with, what is it that works well to complete a job or project, and especially what is easiest to work with.

It might be that "It is a poor craftsman that blames his tool", but I have had any success using the PSoC gumstick board to fit a practical purpose, but I can see that it might be a good toy to prototype a first fleshing out of a custom project design with.

Good to hear.

I think the real challenge that PSoC faces is competing on price, where a particular project only needs a fraction of the features that the chip provides.
And the other related issue they face is that the baked in hardware can't be upgraded - so if you need a slightly better ADC then you have to add an external one, and that will eat away at the reason you chose the PSoC in the first place.

These downsides are trade-offs against the easy engineering, all-in-one design, zero cost dev tools and low cost boards. The gumstick has a built in programmer for example, and you can use that programmer to program your own chip if you build a PCB without the built in programmer.

It's all a trade-off, there is no right answer...

[Mr. Scram]

Andyturk, I hope you're not seen as acting like a troll!

"Trying to do speech recognition in firmware with a Cortex M0 is clearly a bad idea. Until you realize this, no advice from the forum is going to help you."
-----------------------

You've made some very harsh judgements about me.

What can be done with so little? see:
 EVblog #713 - Voice Recognition - 1980's Style

EEVblog
Published on Feb 10, 2015
Dave breadboards a 1988 vintage Tandy / Radio Shack VCP200 speaker independent voice recognition chip from Voice Control
It is just a Motorola 6804 chp with 1K ROM and 36-bytes of SRAM to work with.

You have to understand how this thread looks. You ask a somewhat specific but fair question, but immediately seem to be pushing for a certain conclusion. It doesn't help that you post a count in massive capitals and don't seen all too interesting in actually answering the question. The whole thread seems to be an effort to cast doubt on the usefulness of PSoC products. That's where questions about your motives start popping up.

[martys]

Are you working for Cypress?

I am not questioning the value Cypress Products in general, just trying to find a practical use for the PSOC gumsticks I bought maybe too few of.

[Mr. Scram]

Are you working for Cypress?

I am not questioning the value Cypress Products in general, just trying to find a practical use for the PSOC gumsticks I bought maybe too few of.

Why are you being so abrasive? Going on the assault isn't alleviating doubts about your motives. You're asking me if I work for Cypress and suggest another forum member might be a troll. Both only raise more doubts that you might not be divulging your own interests here. The fact that you don't want to see this, or wilfully ignore how things look isn't helping either.

To be absolutely clear about my interests and intention, I do not work for Cypress, I never have worked for Cypress and have no other investment in the company. My only involvement is owning two development kits, just like I own development kits of several other manufacturers.

[martys]

Chill out! I was only questioning your motives since you've questioned mine!

I am not questioning the value Cypress Products in general, just trying to find a practical use for the PSOC gumsticks I bought maybe too few of.

Anyone else?  please tell what you've accomplished with this dev board!

[danadak]

Might be more productive to post this inquiry over at Cypress forums,
just a thought.


https://community.cypress.com/welcome



Regards, Dana.