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Does anyone know of a 4 port serial MCU?

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EarthedSolutions

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Dec 17, 2008, 6:35:14 AM12/17/08
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Hi,

I am just starting to look for a 4 port MCU for a new project.

I have only found the Renesas M32R 32174 Group device.

Are there any others out there?

Your help is appreciated

Ian


Stef

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Dec 17, 2008, 7:19:32 AM12/17/08
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In comp.arch.embedded,

EarthedSolutions <ian.fin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am just starting to look for a 4 port MCU for a new project.
>
> I have only found the Renesas M32R 32174 Group device.
>
> Are there any others out there?
>
Atmel has several in their 32-bit ARM based controllers. see:
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/param_table.asp?family_id=605&OrderBy=part_no&Direction=ASC

Also in their AVR32 line:
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/param_table.asp?family_id=682&OrderBy=part_no&Direction=ASC

And even some in their 8-bit AVR:
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/param_table.asp?family_id=607&OrderBy=part_no&Direction=ASC


And some of the NXP ARM7's (which they call 16-bit controllers):
http://www.nxp.com/#/ps/ps=[i=45994]|pp=[t=pfp,i=45994] (hope that works)

And there are others, just look at the manufacturer's selection guide,
parametric table or whatever they call their list of controllers.


--
Stef (remove caps, dashes and .invalid from e-mail address to reply by mail)

A prediction is worth twenty explanations.
-- K. Brecher

Rob Gaddi

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Dec 17, 2008, 12:18:14 PM12/17/08
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Alternatively, if other features of the MCU wind up dominating your
need in things, a quad UART could be implemented pretty easily in a
tiny CPLD for $2ish or FPGA for $6ish.

--
Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology
Email address is currently out of order

EarthedSolutions

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Dec 17, 2008, 6:44:40 PM12/17/08
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Thanks for your help.

DJ Delorie

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Dec 17, 2008, 7:03:20 PM12/17/08
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"EarthedSolutions" <ian.fin...@gmail.com> writes:
> I am just starting to look for a 4 port MCU for a new project.
> I have only found the Renesas M32R 32174 Group device.

Their M32C group also has 4+ serial ports.

Peter Jakacki

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Dec 19, 2008, 7:20:29 AM12/19/08
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Try the P8X32A Propeller. It's available in QFP44 or DIP40! and it has
zero serial ports in hardware. But with eight 32-bit cores or cogs there
are a quite a number of serial port objects in the public object
exchange that can implement up to 4 smart "UARTS" per core. I say smart
because each cog can handle the protocol and buffering etc. I frequently
run multiple high-speed "UARTS" plus I demo'd a no-glue one-chip
solution today running a mouse and playing space invaders on the TV
complete with music and sound effects while it was handling multiple
serial communications ports and protocols without any kind of latencies
or glitches. I have done AVR, ARM, Renesas etc and I haven't looked back
since this chip.

The chip is available for around $11 in one off quantities.

*Peter*

Leon

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Dec 19, 2008, 8:52:30 AM12/19/08
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On 17 Dec, 11:35, "EarthedSolutions" <ian.finlay.1...@gmail.com>
wrote:

The XMOS chips can have umpteen serial ports implemented in software:

http://www.xmos.com

Leon

Peter Jakacki

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Dec 19, 2008, 10:13:48 AM12/19/08
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Leon wrote:
> The XMOS chips can have umpteen serial ports implemented in software:
>
> http://www.xmos.com

512 PIN BGA!!! (Multilayer pcbs = expensive prototypes)
$31 each for pre-production engineering samples only

144 pin BGA $21 - but no more stock till January (maybe)

120ma quiescent!!! (wait till it runs)

Nice chip Leon if you really want that big a grunt. I might have uses
for it but not for run of the mill designs though. Even then I'd wait
quite a bit before using this for any production design as it is early
silicon.

*Peter*


Leon

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Dec 19, 2008, 11:11:11 AM12/19/08
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The core supply (1.0 V) actually takes about 1.25A with all four cores
running and the XLInks communicating at maximum capacity! They can get
a bit warm - I can't keep my finger on the chip even if it is just
flashing an LED. It's just as well that they are rated for 125C
operation. A lower power version will be available.

They already have several large design wins. The 512BGA part is $10 in
quantity. The single-core chip will be $1.

The 144BGA chip can be put on a four-layer board. The single core
device will be available in QFN.

The (free) tools are quite good.

Leon

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