Subject:
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Re: GCC 2.8.1 for HC11
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics.handyboard
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Date:
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Fri, 9 Apr 1999 17:48:54 GMT
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Original-From:
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Curt Mills, WE7U <hacker@^saynotospam^tc.fluke.com>
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Viewed:
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1011 times
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On Thu, 8 Apr 1999, Keith Hearn wrote:
> Where can I find out what pins connect through which mux to which
> I/O connector on the HB?
You have to get good at reading schematics in this case, period.
Schematics are very hard to read at first, but it does get easier quickly.
If someone were to write up details on how to access various devices on
the Handyboard though (including small code snipets for examples), I'm
sure many people would benefit from it.
> And how on earth is anyone supposed to figure out how the LCD
> communications work without reading other people's code? I've read
> other people's code, I've read the pink book, I now understand how
> it works (yee gads! it's scary). But there's no way you'd ever figure
> it out just from reading HC11-specific info. And you'd have to have
> a degree in digital electronics to figure it out from the
> schematics.
>
> That sort of this is very specific to the handyboard design, not to
> the HC11.
Agreed. Even the data books state that the mode the Handyboard's
processor is running in should not normally be used, and the method of
accessing the LCD is not immediately obvious just by looking at the
schematic. There are some specific things in the Handyboard design that
were done to save a chip or two but make the programming more difficult,
unless you already have something like Interactive C hiding all of these
details from you.
I must say I sympathize with your thoughts, as I've been down in the
details of the hardware lately, and I agree that the LCD stuff is scary.
The only reason it works at all is that the Handyboard is running in
Special Test mode, which allows you to change processor states at will. I
lucked out in that Chuck McManis wrote some very nice code that I could
borrow from. As it was I had to hook a scopemeter up to it to see where
my software had gone wrong.
I think they assumed people would typically be using Interactive C,
therefore the difficult parts of the hardware would be hidden. I think
they were right: I've seen very few posts from people coding in anything
except IC. Handyboard & IC were designed as a learning platform and they
appear to have been very successful at that. I'm trying to twist it into
something entirely different, so I certainly can't blame the designers for
not thinking of MY application.
If you need any help in writing something up, I'd be glad to contribute.
Better make it quick though, my brain empties quickly so that I have spare
room for the next project (at least that's my excuse). I'll probably know
a lot about the low-level stuff for a few weeks at best, then I'll rely on
the GCC Handyboard libraries to hide the details from me and continue on.
I've also got my eye on a 68332 board, so I may switch streams altogether
in the near future.
Curt Mills, WE7U hacker.NO_*SPAM@tc.fluke.com
Senior Methods Engineer/SysAdmin
"Lotto: A tax on people who are bad at math." -- unknown
"Windows: Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates." -- WE7U
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: GCC 2.8.1 for HC11
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| (...) I think I'm in the process of writing up such a document. Combined with Fred's guide to programming the 6811 (which covers the miniboard nicely), hopefully this will fill the gap. (...) And using IC libraries works well, up until you have a (...) (25 years ago, 9-Apr-99, to lugnet.robotics.handyboard)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: GCC 2.8.1 for HC11
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| The problem I have isn't programming the HC11. I picked that up with no problem by spending a day reading Motorola's reference manual (AKA the pink book - kindly provide free by Motorola via their web page). I've got a software background, and while (...) (25 years ago, 8-Apr-99, to lugnet.robotics.handyboard)
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