Free Eclipse-based IDE from TI
May 12, 2008 IDE
Texas Instruments has released the latest version of their Code Composer Essentials IDE. The Eclipse-based development environment of the CCEv3 is compatible with all MSP430 microcontrollers and includes:
- MSP430 C compiler, assembler and linker
- Source Code Debugger
- Integrated Visual Project Manager
- Hardware and virtual breakpoints
- Integrated editor
Since the CCEv3 is based on Eclipse 3.2 you are able to expand its functionality by creating your own plugins or downloading them from online sources such as www.eclipseplugincentral.com. It supports multiple languages such as MSP430 assembly, C and C++ and is available for Windows XP and Vista.
CCEv3 is free for applications up to 16KB which should be plenty for any hobbyist. The pro version sports unlimited code space and is priced starting at US$499. Find out more about it from TI’s product page. The MSP430 Wikipedia page has some great information too.
Tags: Eclipse, IDE, microcontroller, TI
Link dump: May 8, 2008
May 8, 2008 Link dump
Here are a few interesting things I noticed in my RSS Feeds.
- First person RC flying kit
- PCB Drill - a PCB machine you can pretty much make yourself
- Phone Sheep - don’t think, just take a look for yourself
- DIY Solar lantern
- Microcontroller Programming - an intro by those at Make
- Rube Goldberg machines - always fun, videos of the National Rube Goldberg Machine contest held at Purdue University
- Beyond Simple Photodiodes and Phototransistors - Electronic Design article talking about high performance optical sensors
Tags: electronics, gadgets, Link dump, microcontroller, PCB, project, RC
Cornell University microcontroller projects
May 6, 2008 Microcontrollers
Cornell University students published their end of year projects for ECE 4760 - Designing with microcontrollers. Four of the first 5 listed on the page have something to do with musical instruments and one mimics the game Guitar Hero but with a recorder.
Check out their projects and videos here. The archive goes back 9 years to 1999.
One of the projects is a set of Air Drums which would definitely come in handy if you’re trying to play Rock Band at night (or if you’re trying to win the ultimate Air Band competition). Here’s a video of the drums in action:
It is a bit laggy but with some fancier code and optimization I’m sure the response time can be improved.
Tags: electronics, microcontroller, project