Different architectures have different “natural” data sizes. Most MCUs have the same CPU width as data bus width, which makes sense. Some MCUs might have memory that is not consistent with their available data bus width, however. In other words, for some MCUs, there can be a difference between the CPU’s “natural” word length and […]
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Microcontrollers with neural networks: what are they?
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are silicon-based processor architectures inspired by, and very simply patterned after, the human brain, which learns by example and “prunes” connections that don’t get used anymore. What exactly is an artificial neural network? Dr. Robert Hecht-Nielson, Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at USCD, was paraphrased by Maureen Caudill as […]
Optimizing power efficiency in microcontrollers
Power efficiency is more important now than in the past, as portable, battery-powered devices compete for market share on features and battery life. Battery technology has not improved radically in the recent past, and attempts at innovation can wreak havoc with overheated batteries that sometimes burst into flames. Therefore, using less energy to do more […]
Top microcontroller threads on EDAboard.com – November
Writing random numbers in PIC16F1936 internal EEPROM – Could anyone advise on how I can write the data randomly in EEPROM using MicroC? Read more Can’t print to thermal printer using serial communication port – I have interfaced an EPM203A-LV printer with my Renesas microcontroller RL78/G12 using UART. For this I am using CS+ IDE. Read more Port B […]
timer 0 and PIC16F628A
by Jon Wilder The on-chip timer on PICs is confusing to some. But, not to worry…it’s probably one of the simplest on-chip peripherals to use on a PIC. In this article, we’ll use the PIC16F628A as our example of why that’s true. Timer 0 (TMR0) is one of three timers available on the 16F628A that is running […]
This week’s top microcontroller threads on EDABoard.com
Connecting 80 inputs to a microcontroller – I want to check inputs from optocouplers. How can I multiplex the inputs to a microcontroller? I prefer to use the8051, PIC16f877a, or ATMega. Read more. MCP3428 interfacing – I am using the MCP3428 diferential ADC with a single shot conversion and interface through I2C to my microcontroller. It’s […]
Serial EEPROM – A Great Form of Non-Volatile Storage
by Jon Wilder Most PIC microcontrollers have some form of non-volatile EEPROM on chip. However, the largest I’ve seen is 1KB available on the 18F series. There are many applications in which we may need a great deal more than this. The Storage You Don’t Have For instance, what if we have a MIDI device […]
How To Monitor I2C Communications Through RS232
by Electro-Tech-Online member languer In the past when requiring to monitor I2C communications between two devices I would use a logic analyzer. Such monitoring was useful to determine if the I2C communications between devices was properly configured. Even though this is quite useful and efficient, it does require a logic analyzer, with an I2C protocol […]
