In an effort to keep things fresh here on To the Rails, I
wanted to shoot an unboxing video of my new STK600 AVR development kit from
Atmel. Unfortunately, I have neither the voice nor the patience to pull it off.
At some point I will post the outtakes video so we can all celebrate my
ineptitude, because, unlike the bum over at Sculptor by Day (see link below), I
believe failure is worth showing off. I will be incorporating more video
demonstrations into posts as time goes on so look for those in the future – though
I probably won’t be saying anything.
Let me also take this time to give a shout out to Amelia
Dalton over at EEJournal (see my Electronics Links tab). I was lucky enough to
win this kit as part of her “Nerdy giveaway” that she does each week on her
Fish Fry podcast. I highly recommend tuning in if you are interested in the
latest and greatest electronics news. She also does interviews with the higher
ups of various electronics companies, often discussing their latest technology
and where the company is headed. So thanks Amelia for giving me the chance to
hack around with this kit for free (Retail: $200).
The AVR architecture was developed by two students in
Norway, and the first AVR microcontroller was manufactured in a Norwegian ASIC
house in 1996. I know I haven’t talked about microcontrollers in this blog
before, but believe me there will be an in depth discussion coming at some
point. For now, just know that a microcontroller is essentially a chip that is
capable of being programmed to perform various I/O functions (i.e. read
signals, output signals, perform mathematical operations, etc.). AVR is Atmel’s
family of microcontrollers that competes with the MSP430 series from TI and the
PIC line from Microchip, among several others.
Anyway, back to the board. The STK600 is an 8-bit and 32-bit
development board and starter kit for the entire line of AVR microcontrollers.
Near as I can tell it came out some time back in late 2007 as a replacement to
the STK500. Notable upgrades include a 20MHz system clock, USB connectivity for
programming, and more I/O functionality. It was actually released
simultaneously with several other development boards, all of which were
codenamed after Norse mythology. The STK600 is codenamed Odin.
I have embedded the YouTube video above where Atmel
introduces the line of AVR development tools that includes the STK600, and I
think it’s worth checking out if for no other reason than the concept art they
use for the first two minutes or so of the video.
What makes this board unique is the routing system Atmel has
implemented to make it compatible with their entire line of 8-bit and 32-bit
micros. It works using a sort of programming sandwich. The top layer consists
of a microcontroller loaded onto a “socket card”, which is a card that holds
certain packages (shapes) of microcontrollers. The middle layer is called a
“routing card”, which takes the pins of the microcontroller you are trying to
program from the socket card and routes them to the correct places on the main
board. This is often necessary because not all chips use the same programming
or I/O pins. The bottom layer is the main board, where all the hardware for
interfacing with the microcontroller resides. You can secure the sandwich
together using plastic screws that are provided in the kit (pictured).
The STK600 kit also includes a USB 2.0 A/B cable, two
10-wire cables for programming with the JTAG header, one 2-wire cable for
shorting jumpers, and an ATmega2560 microcontroller (8 bits, 40 pins)
pre-soldered onto a board for testing/introduction purposes. You can see a picture of what comes in the kit above.
One of the links below will take you to the technical specs for the STK600 on Atmel’s website if you are interested in taking a look. I will be sure to update on my progress working with this unit in the future.
Links
Sculptor by Day: http://sculptorbyday.blogspot.com/
STK600 Tech Specs: http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=4254
Routing Cards on Atmel’s Store: http://store.atmel.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=p:10500155
2 comments:
Wow, I was mentioned on the prestigious "To the Rails" blog. I am honored. In less than 10 hours, it looks like it has increased my page-views by an unprecedented 1 view. Which was probably Chris checking to make sure that the link worked.
Seriously though, good post, and thanks for the shout-out.
Chris, where did you found this kit with 7 routing cards and base? I'm willing to buy it. Thanks!
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