RE: Ethernet Boards

[ian.bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

>Right now I'm in the very formative stages of a plan - and as far as
the
>"Ethernet board" is concerned I'm looking at something I can
bolt onto.
Now,
>if I'm right, the Ethernut board gives me more than that - it's a
complete
>microcontroller/RAM board with Ethernet access. If I was to use
something
>like the Modtronix board that Ant and co used then I'm going to require
>another board to marry to it. So, in some ways, as I'm starting out
from
a
>blank canvas the Ethernut board gives me a cleaner all in one solution
(or
>at least starting point, if not solution).

Hi Rob

I remember the beginning, a long long time ago........... Fond memories of
through hole components and a PIC to do everything.

Times have moved on now and a lot of the kit I am using is only available
in SMT packages. Anyway, I digress. I have found that the little projects
I have done around the house rarely fit into these do everything type of
kits. I think it is fair to say that both boards will need some add on kit
to a greater or lesser extent. Whether this can be done with vero board
and relays etc. or will need a micro with a serial connection depends on
the package bought.

Think a little further down the road too. In the board I am building I
want to analyse and possibly respond to all UDP messages but drop all the
rest i.e. TCP messages except those directed at my IP. I will treat these
very differently to the UDP messages as these are going to be my
configuration and update data. Now, would I have this level of control
with either of the tools you mention. The honest answer is I don't know.
Without diving into the code of the units I suspect the answer would be
no. Once you start diving into the code the cost and tools needed rises
dramatically so think hard.

Again, from my choices I went with the high setup cost of Atmel (chips)
with CodeVision (compiler) and Proteus (PCB design software) and the
relatively low running cost of new components whenever I build a new
prototype. As I mentioned earlier most of my 'fun' components are now SMT
so I have had to work with this. In all honesty I can now say it is easier
than through hole for most stuff. Assuming you eyes are OK you should not
have any problems with it. Do get a decent soldering iron though.

>This is a cash-strapped hobby project (vision?) at the moment, so Open
>Source is my friend.....
Put some ideas down and try to work out whether a glorified web server is
what you want, whether serial in/out is needed or is adding on 'dum' vero
board circuits going to be enough. From the honest answers to these
questions you should be able to get an idea of your target hardware
platform.

>The Ethernut board dev kit is 174euro (~120quid) so it doesn't seem to
high
>an entry price to toying with.
>Thereafter boards are 145-109euro (100-75quid) depending on volume.
Doesn't
>strike me as being as particular expensive hardware platform given the
>functionality of the board - but others might know different.
I think these are high prices for an ongoing cost myself and would rarely
be able to buy a second board let alone ongoing boards. Roll your own
chips are about a tenner + the micro and associated circuitry. Pure
hardware only a basic Ethernet comes to about 20 quid. I can buy these in
sporadic bursts and not notice the money going out (or the missus noticing
!!). As I said though the setup costs were significant. So, you puts your
money in and takes your chances.

Finally, the roll your own takes a lot of time out of the evenings. I am
lucky in that the rest of the family hit the sack around 9 to 9:30pm most
nights so I get to play in the evenings. Look out at UKHA 2005 for an
example of what can be produced in your shed at home with lots of time and
effort (not to mention money) thrown at it.

Ian



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