Microchip Puts “Cash for Clunkers” Development Tool Exchange Program in Gear

Microchip’s Cash for Clunkers program allows embedded designers who are tired of looking at the faded paint jobs on their old tools to exchange selected models from Microchip’s competitors for a rebate as high as 30%—up to a $120 savings—on select PIC® Microcontroller, memory and analog development tools. But you’d better act fast—the program ends on October 30, 2009. Of course, Microchip will dispose of all exchanged competitor tools in an appropriate manner.

Read the press release for more information

[Embeded.com] Embedded multitasking with small MCUs

Keith Curtis posted an article about embedded multitasking on small microcontrollers over on embedded.com.

Multitasking is the ability to execute multiple separate tasks in a fashion that is seemingly simultaneous. Note the phrase "seemingly simultaneous." Short of a multiple processor system, there is no way to make a single processor execute multiple tasks at the same time. However, there is a way to create a system that seems to execute multiple tasks at the same time.

Check it out. It's a good read if you're interested in embedded multitasking.

Wired.com: Homebrewed CPU Is a Beautiful Mess of Wires

Steve Chamberlin, a Belmont, California, videogame developer by day, set out on a quest to custom design and build his own 8-bit computer. The homebrew CPU would be called Big Mess of Wires or BMOW. Despite its name, it is a painstakingly created work of art.

Read the full story on Wired.com: Homebrewed CPU Is a Beautiful Mess of Wires

Microchip introduces nanoWatt XLP Technology

As more electronic applications require low power or battery power, energy conservation becomes paramount. Today’s applications must consume little power, and in extreme cases, last for up to 15-20 years, while running from a single battery. To enable applications like these, Microchip has introduced nanoWatt XLP™ Technology. Products with nanoWatt XLP Technology offer the industry’s lowest currents for Sleep, where extreme low power applications spend 90%-99% of their time.

PIC32 Design Challenge Top 5 from the ESC Keynote

Here's the video from the 2009 ESC West Keynote. It shows the top 5 designs in the PIC32 Design Challenge. See more at http://www.mypic32.com

Microchip Acquires HI-TECH Software

Microchip today announced it has acquired HI-TECH Software, a world-class provider of development tools for embedded systems based in Brisbane, Australia. Best known for its high-performance ANSI C compilers, featuring the optimizing, whole-program compilation technology, Omniscient Code Generation, HI-TECH Software has been a premier third-party provider of C compilers for Microchip’s 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC^® microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC^® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) for over a decade.

From now until September 30, 2009, Microchip is offering a 20% discount on Microchip development tools for HI-TECH customers through http://www.microchipdirect.com, and a 50% exchange discount to owners of HI-TECH compilers for non-Microchip products. Please contact HI-TECH for details.

Read the full press release here.

MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 MCUs v1.05 Released

New Features in v1.05

Student Edition renamed Evaluation Version -- The student edition has been renamed the valuation version. This release also introduces a new academic version.

Improved 16- and 32-bit FFT functions in the DSP Library -- The FFT functions have been significantly improved and optimized for the PIC32 instruction set. See the 32-bit Language Tools Libraries document (DS51685) for more information. Please visit Microchip's website for the revision C of this document (DS51685C).

Binary Constants -- A sequence of binary digits preceded by 0b or 0B (the numeral '0' followed by the letter 'b' or 'B') is taken to be a binary integer. The binary digits consist of the numerals '0' and '1'. Note that this binary-constant syntax may not be accepted by other C compilers.

Linker Memory-Usage Report -- This optional, informational report allows you to easily determine the program- and data-memory usage of your application. It allows you to see how much space is used by the project being linked and how much space is available on the target device. The memory-usage report appears on stdout and in the optional map file.

• Using this feature with MPLAB IDE 8.20 and earlier -- On the linker's tab of the project build options, select to Use Alternate Settings. Add the --report-mem option to the Alternate Settings field. The memory-usage report will appear in the output window after a project build. (This option will appear as a checkbox in later MPLAB IDE releases.)
• Using this feature on the command prompt -- Add the --report-mem option to the linker's command line. If you are calling the linker via the compilation driver, use the driver's -Wl option to pass the --report-mem option to the linker. The memory-usage report will appear on stdout.

Improved malloc implementation -- This release contains a new malloc/free/realloc implementation based on the implementation written by Doug Lea and released to the public domain.

• This is not the fastest, most space-conserving, most portable, or most tunable malloc ever written. However it is among the fastest while also being among the most space-conserving, portable and tunable. Consistent balance across these factors results in a good general-purpose allocator.
• For a high-level description, see http://g.oswego.edu/dl/html/malloc.html
• This implementation is also provided with the Newlib C Library.

Instruction Macros -- The p32xxxx.h include file now contains a Nop() macro that issues a superscalar SSNOP instruction.

gettimeofday() weak stub -- The time.h clock() and time() functions require a user-provided gettimeofday() helper function. The compiler's library now provides a weak stub implementation that allows the project link to complete without error, but you should provide your own implementation appropriate for your application.

Microchip DSP Compatibility Wrapper functions -- This release provides new DSP wrapper functions intended to ease the migration from the Microchip DSP library for dsPIC DSCs to the general DSP library for PIC32 MCUs. See the 32-Bit Language Tools Libraries (DS51685C) document for more information on these new wrapper functions.

Updated peripheral-library documentation -- The 32-bit peripheral library document is now distributed as a compiled help file (*.chm) rather than a PDF file.

Support for PWP configuration bits -- The config pragma now supports enabling the Program Write Protect bits. See the PIC32MX Config Settings help file for information on the setting name and available values for each device.

Visit http://www.microchip.com/c32

Microchip Introduces PIC18F87J90 8-bit LCD Microcontrollers

Microchip Technology today announced the PIC18F87J90 8-bit direct LCD-drive microcontrollers (MCUs) with nanoWatt Technology. The 64- and 80-pin devices extend the memory reach and peripheral set of Microchip’s LCD MCU portfolio. They feature 64 – 128 KB Flash and 4 KB RAM, and are the industry’s first 8-bit MCUs to include a Real-Time Clock and Calendar (RTCC), and Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) peripheral for capacitive touch sensing or precise time measurement. The PIC18F87J90 devices are pin compatible with Microchip’s PIC18F85J90 devices, providing an easy migration path across Microchip’s entire LCD-drive MCU family and simplified application upgrades.

Read the full press release.
Learn more about this new microcontroller at www.microchip.com/lcd

PIC32 Development on Mac OS X using UBW32

Phillip Burgess posted a great article describing how to use Brian Schmalz's UBW32 and Microchip's USB Bootloader to create a low-cost PIC32 development kit for Mac OS X. Visit his www.PaintYourDragon.com website for all of the details.

Programming 32-bit Microcontrollers in C: Exploring the PIC32

Looking for a good book to get you started programming in C for the 32-bit PIC32 MCU? Take a look at Lucio Di Jasio's Programming 32-bit Microcontrollers in C: Exploring the PIC32. The book describes the PIC32 microcontroller and has many useful examples in C. Keep in mind that this is not an introductory C language book; It expects you to be familiar with C programming already.

HOMEBREW WEATHER SATELLITE Automatic Picture Transmission RECEIVER

This project is a very nicely designed weather satellite image receiver. The project write-up has the hardware schematic along with many nice photographs of the hardware in action. Take a good look at how much you can do with a simple PIC16F628 microcontroller.

http://noaa-apt-homebrew-rx.blogspot.com/

Short Range Personal Radar Device

A very small & portable radar device that uses an ir sensor & a pic microcontroller. This diy guide shows you how to build your own for less than $30.

read more | digg story

Videos: MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger

MPLAB® ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger System is Microchip's most cost effective high-speed hardware debugger/programmer for Microchip Flash Digital Signal Controller (DSC) and microcontroller (MCU) devices. It debugs and programs PIC® Flash microcontrollers and dsPIC® DSCs with the powerful, yet easy-to-use graphical user interface of MPLAB Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

The MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger probe is connected to the design engineer's PC using a high-speed USB 2.0 interface and is connected to the target with a connector compatible with the MPLAB ICD 2 or MPLAB REAL ICE systems (RJ-11). MPLAB ICD 3 supports all MPLAB ICD 2 headers.

Video: MPLAB IDE Pre- and Post-Build Options

This tip, from one of Microchip's Field Applications Engineers, shows MPLAB IDE users how to set up pre- and post-build batch files for execution as part of the project build process.

Video: Introduction to mTouch Capacitive Touch Sensing

Touch sensing is fast becoming an alternative to traditional pushbutton switch user interfaces, because it requires no mechanical movement, and it enables a completely sealed and modern-looking design. Expanding beyond the consumer market, touch sensing is beginning to take hold in medical, industrial and automotive applications for reasons such as aesthetics, maintenance, cost and cleanliness.
Microchip’s mTouch™ Sensing Solution provides a free and easy method for designers to add touch sensing to applications utilizing PIC® microcontrollers without the cost of fee-based licensing and royalty agreements. Being a source-code solution further helps engineers quickly integrate touch sensing functionality with their existing application code in a single, standard microcontroller, thus reducing the total system cost associated with current solutions.

Help Us Populate the Source Code Library

Do you have Microchip source code to share with the embedded design community? Why not upload it to the new Embedded.com Source Code Library?

Microchip Enhances Mid-range 8-bit PIC Microcontroller Core

Building upon the success of Microchip's popular Mid-range core, the enhanced core provides numerous technical improvements, including more program and data memory; a deeper/enhanced hardware stack; additional reset methods; 14 additional programming instructions, including "C" efficiency optimizations resulting in code size reductions; increased peripheral support; reduced interrupt latency, and other enhancements.

Recognizing the demand for increased performance and peripherals within the 8-bit MCU market, Microchip continues to invest in its 8-bit PIC(R) MCU line to provide a broad product portfolio that meets the needs of its existing and future customers. The enhanced core builds upon the best elements of the existing Mid-range core and provides additional performance, while maintaining compatibility with existing Mid-range products for true product migration. The enhancements provide users with a boost of performance of up to 50% and code-size reductions of up to 40% for various algorithms and functions. Microchip's Mid-range 8-bit PIC MCUs continue their wide market acceptance and gain further momentum into applications where MCUs have been historically void, thereby enabling designers to differentiate their products in the marketplace.

Read the full press release on MarketWatch.com
More info here