Arduino questions

[Martin Naef]

Paul,

paul.maddox.mail-list at synth.net wrote:
>  Ok, some questions for the Arduino nuts out there
> 
> 1) What's the difference/advantage/pros/cons betwee the two versions
> (Diecimila, minidev board) I assume the minidev board is aimed at embedded
> apps, and the other for integration with USB and a pc?

They are really all pretty much the same thing with different form 
factors and +/- USB/Serial ports. The Diecimila is a bit special in that 
it includes an automatic reset feature (through one of the serial status 
pins), allowing to shorten the boot-phase significantly (a standard 
arduino waits for almost 10s at boot time to check if you're trying to 
upload a new sketch).

One thing to note: The Arduino versions based on the SMD form-factor 
AVRs offer 8 analog inputs, whereas the DIP ones have 6.

> 1a) is ther an option to upgrade the MEGA8 version to the MEGA168 version?

Replace the chip. I don't think anybody is still selling MEGA8 versions 
anymore.

> 2) I've found some code examples but personally I'd like to see some MIDI
> in/out code examples, anyone got any links?
> 2a) It looks like it'd be possible to use the arduinos uart (RX and TX
> pins) to send/receive midi
> (http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Board?from=Tutorial.ArduinoBoard) is that
> correct? but I could be wrong the page seems to imply these pins aren't
> connected to the CPU.

The UART is connected, but it's also used for the communication process 
with the host. That can be a bit of a pain, unless you programm the 
Arduino using the ISP port instead.

> 3) is there an option for compiling and uploading the compiled code rather
> than interpreting the code 'on the fly' which is obviously slower than
> 'compiled' code.

It's all compiled code. The arduino software environment is really just 
a bit of wrapper code and libraries for the avr-gcc suite to make it 
easier for the novice.

> 3a) is the boot loader available for download and is it easy to reprogram
> if/when I kill it :-)

Never tried it, but I don't see a problem there. It's open source, so 
everything is there.

Since you've done AVR development already, you really shouldn't 
encounter any problems at all, even if you start hacking really deep... 
For me, the Arduino was a good starting point to get myself started in 
the microcontroller world and occasionally as a prototyping environment 
(e.g. the Glove). For more permanent stuff, now I'm just using AVRtiny 
chips and the ISP for my stuff (I have a selection of Atmegas lying 
around as well).

Bye
Martin

-- 
http://www.navisto.ch
http://www.myspace.com/navisto