Not trying to be the asshole here, was maybe a bit harsher then i intended
. But you know what i'm saying..
You weren't, and I agreed with you, so no offense taken. Likewise, I wasn't trying to be critical of the thread itself -- I'm actually really happy someone is taking the time to bring these chips down to the lay-people. There's a documentation gap in the ARM micro ecosystem, so we need more of this.
Other beginners would be a lot better off spending $20-30 and getting a plug&play board like a Launchpad.
Yeah for sure... However I think the default dev-board platform contributes to the stigma of complexity. For one, the Start Here docs tend to pummel you with vendor baggage -- the JTAG and debug parts, recommended IDE, vendor's support site stuffed with more literature than you could possibly read with a year off work and a warehouse full of bran muffins... Then there's the dev board itself -- essentially a small product of its own, with a random combo of stuff you'll use and some you won't. Furthermore, they're geared for B2B, working engineers, and selling their unique features.
By contrast, the minimal concept is good -- it illustrates exactly what is essential, and everything else is added to that.
![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif)
This thread, and stuff like it, go a long way to introducing new users, who can then ascertain what they need to study depending on what they want to do next.
Nice breakouts btw. ... Should sell these on tindie ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
It has surprised me that no one has attempted to do that: get a pcb that has minimal parts, like decoupling caps, or space for a crystal, a swd header, and put it in dip format.
I totally agree, however I imagine it would take a while to build a personal fortune on $1-a-board profits
![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
, so instead I'm working on contributing some stuff like this to the community. I bought (another) domain and some cheap web hosting for that purpose. (There are plenty of forums and stuff already, but I need a stable home for content.) Working on some PHP infrastructure now, then I need to collect info, test a few PCB designs, and write some guides. For hardware, a buy-this-PCB link to OSH Park's user contributed store thingy would make it painless to provide easy access to the parts, without having to insert myself into the distribution chain.
The TTL breakout module is designed with this in mind already. I made it for a BeagleBone Black, with the Logic Supply case that has a DB-9 break-out tab, but it would work in a cable shell too. The PCB is designed to mount directly to the DB-9, and can be flipped depending on whether you want the device to be DCE or DTE (it only really needs to flip TX/RX and provide a ground pin on both sides). The Intersil IC even has an Inactive pin that's HIGH when there's a link detected, and LOW when there's not. That lights an LED on the right side of the header, which makes troubleshooting easy. Way more than I need, but I thought a few extra features would make it a more useful board for others.
Alright, I'm hijacking this thread now, so ... back to Mr. F.