uC advice

[Stewart Pye]

Hi Paul,

I've used 8051, PIC and most recently, Atmel AVR micros. I switched from
PIC to AVR because the AVR is cheaper, ALL variants are flash and they are
usually more powerfull than the comparable PIC. That and the fact I got
pissed off waiting for the 40pin flash PICs to come out. 

I especially like the 20 pin AT90S2313 which has a UART and 2k of flash
ROM. Also the AT90S8535 is cool... it is a 40 pin part that has an 8
channel A/D, UART, 3 timers, 8K ROM. 

The price I pay in Australia:
90S2313	$4.00 AUD  	about $2.50US
90S8535	$7.00 AUD	about $4.00US

Check out: http://www.atmel.com
and: http://www.avr-forum.com/
The STK200 is a cool programmer and development board. Unfortunately it may
not work on the Mac. If not I think there are a couple of mac programmers
on the web. With any luck you'll find one that you can plug into the STK200.

I've tried various demos for hll compilers for the AVR, from basic to C.
The one that has impressed me most so far is a pascal compiler....
http://www.lawicel.com/ep/

If you want to do CV's, I like the TLC5628 serial input, octal DAC from
Texas Instruments. I highly recommend the AVR route. The datasheets are not
as amiguous as the pic so if you have a basic knowledge of microcontrollers
you don't need a textbook. If you have any further questions, feel free to
ask. 

Regards,
Stewart Pye   


At 04:25 PM 12/10/99 -0500, Paul R. Higgins wrote:
>I am just getting into interfacing microcontrollers with analog synth
designs, 
>and I have found the field of micros so vast that it is a little
overwhelming.  
>I recently built a MIDI-cv board from Midwest Analog Products, which uses a 
>preprogrammed Motorola 68705.  It's a nice little no-frills design, ideal
for a 
>small monosynth.  However, from what I understand, the 68705 is not really 
>suited to larger applications, e.g. generating lots of CVs and gates.  I
know 
>that there are other uCs out there that are more user-friendly, some of
which 
>can even be programmed in high-level languages, have all sorts of A/D, etc.  
>
>Can any list members give me some advice on getting started?  I know that
some 
>synth-diy people have used the Atmel micros, as well as the PICs.  My main 
>application right now would be generating several CVs and gates, possibly
in a 
>polysynth or multi-voice design.  Also, can any of these uCs be programmed
with 
>a Mac, or am I looking at having to get an old PC?  (I have a PowerPC Mac as 
>well as a new G3). 
>
>Thanks much,
>-PRH
>
>_____________________________________________
>Paul Higgins
>email: higg0008 at tc.umn.edu
>University College, University of Minnesota
>_____________________________________________
>
>
>