Nuts and Volts - August 2010

PRODUC

NEW

■ HARDWARE ■ SOFTWARE ■ GADGETS ■ TOOLS

T S

ESDUINO12

FOR ARDUINO

Technological Arts introduces Esduino12, the first in a line of new products conforming to the popular open-source Arduino hardware form-factor. Based on the popular 16-bit Freescale 9S12C microcontroller, Esduino12 offers enhanced capability and programming flexibility over existing Atmel-based designs, yet retains hardware compatibility with the growing number of available Arduino application shields.

Esduino12 is programmable in assembler, BASIC, and C. For assembler and C programming, Freescale’s free Special Edition of Code Warrior for Windows is a popular choice. For those who prefer BASIC, the object-based Windows-hosted nqBASIC language is available free of charge from www.nqBASIC.com.

With a base price of only $39, Esduino12 offers plug-in options for both USB and wireless XBee communications (no shield required), and provides simple three-way routing that enables the user to choose USB-to-XBee, USB-to-MCU, or XBee-to-MCU communications. Both 3.3V and 5V regulators are provided on-board, giving added utility to the design.

While a standard BDM connector is provided for advanced users, the Freescale Serial Monitor (i.e., bootloader) comes factory-programmed into the 9S12C chip so that a BDM pod is not required for basic erasing and programming operations.

Two product configurations are being offered: #ESD12C32 ($39) with 32K Flash and 2K RAM and #ESD12C128 ($49), with 128K Flash and 4K RAM. The optional USB-to-TTL interface (#USB2MCU) is $15.50, and a plug-in carrier for XBee modules (#ADXB-RA) is $7.50.

For more information, contact: Technological Arts USA & Canada: 1-877-963-8996 Email: carlb@technologicalarts.com Web: www.technologicalarts.com PIC18J and PIC18K DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

MikroElektronika announces the release of the EasyLV-18F v6 Development System which allows users to develop and design devices using Microchip PIC18J and PIC18K series microcontrollers. The new system supports 40-, 28-, and 20-pin PIC18FxxJxx (PIC18FxxKxx) devices. The board includes features such as a USB 2.0 programmer with mikroICD and many peripheral modules such as: serial RAM, serial EEPROM, serial COG display, piezo speaker, etc.

Each feature of the board is supported by example written in mikroC, mikroPascal, and mikroBasic PRO for PIC compilers. Also, the tool comes with full color printed documentation. www.mikroe.com/ eng/products/view/477/easylv-18f- v6-development-system.

mikroElektronika also announces a new book called PIC Microcontrollers — Programming in BASIC. With it, you can learn about programming the PIC microcontroller in BASIC with practical projects, clear illustrations, and detailed schematics provided. This book shows you step-by-step how to easily program PICs and is printed in full color, so it is very easy to read and understand.

For more information, contact: mikroElectronika Web: www.mikroe.com

Is your product innovative, less expensive, more functional, or just plain cool? If you have a new product that you would like us to run in our New Products section, please email a short description (300-500 words) and a photo of your product to: