RE: [Development] Lights, using two micros.

["Keith Doxey" <ukha@xxxxxxx>]

That was what I was trying to say.

The Rabbit is a very powerful processor caqpable of high level comms with
the outside world. Let that handle the clever stuff and let a few low cost
PIC's do the mundane tasks. That way the Rabbit can be a fairly general CPU
a bit like a PC, and the PIC devices become the "bolt-ons".

You already have much of the PIC stuff done for the Lighting controller.
This will enable speedy development of the new TCP/IP interface without
reinventing everything you have already done.

Also if the brains of the system is a separate motherboard, it allows for
future upgrades to the heart of the system without having to replace all
the
dimmers and other interfaces. Likewise if we improve the dimmer design,
dimmers could be upgraded without having to change everything else.

Keith

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dr John Tankard [mailto:john@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 03 June 2001 08:11
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: [ukha_d] [Development] Lights, using two micros.
>
>
> Just had a Idea.
>
> If the lighting controler, is to be a zone controler and do other
> things perhaps we should off load some of the work to a PIC.
>
> My worry is that we may overload the Rabbit, Untill i give it a try i
> dont know how much overhead the tcp/ip operations will take up.
> clearly phase control on multiple chanels is time critical, I am
> going to have a go but we might have to let a PIC do the phase
> control. If we have to go down that route it will not make much
> difference to the cost but it will increace the footprint of the
> board.
>
> It may not be needed, we will see.
>
> On another point, I was thinking of 4 dimable channels and 4 on/off.
> Should the hardware controler have all this on board, or should the
> drive circuits/protection relay be daughter boards, so that if you
> only want a two channel device you dont have to pay for redundant
> parts. Also since its these parts which are likley to be the ones
> which get hammered.
>
> John.
>
>
>
>
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