gEDA-user: another wierd idea for a project...

[DJ Delorie <dj@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Someone on usenet asked about communications between MCUs.  It got me
thinking about eval kits.  None of them have more than one MCU!  What
about an eval/training board that had a bunch of small MCUs as
"nodes", connected to a CPLD as the "network", and all that connected
to a larger MCU that can program and monitor them?

For example, the R8C/1B I use in my furnace has a small uart for
programming and console, leaving the big uart and spi/i2c pins free.
Connect the programming/console pins to an M32C (which has seven
serial ports), and the rest to a CPLD.  Let the M32C program all the
R8Cs and the CPLD, and monitor the console ports, as well as talk to a
PC.  Presto!  Instant mcu network eval board.

At five I/O pins per R8C, and six R8Cs, that's 30 I/O pins - a small
CPLD can easily cross-switch them all together.

Ok, back to what I'm *supposed* to be doing...  ;-)



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