Last week, I introduced a tiny language, called SIMPL, I have been working with for a while. Now I'd like to introduce some hardware - that I hinted upon last week.
ChipStick is possibly one of the smaller dev boards you may encounter - it's intended to plug into a 20 pin DIL socket - which makes it both breadboard and Launchpad friendly.
At it's heart is one of the new MSP430FR2xxx series devices with 15.5kbytes of FRAM and 4Kbytes of RAM. These controllers come in a tiny 5mm square 24 pin QFN surface mount package, making them a bit awkward to prototype with - so that's why the idea of ChipStick was developed - a small carrier pcb which converts the SMT part into a plug in DIL package.
ChipStick also comes with its own programmer section - based on the low cost CH340G USB to serial converter IC. This allows communications between the IC and a laptop, and also allows it to be programmed serially using the uart based BSL programming option.
The programming section is detachable - so you can have just the 20 pin DIL module if you want to go extra small. In this format the board is small enough to fit inside a 2x4 LEGO block!
In addition to the MSP430 there is also 32K x 8 bytes of external SPI SRAM or FRAM (depending on your application). The MSP430FR2xxx series have 3 communication interfaces and the 25xx and 26xx parts have capacitive touch capability too.
One of the aims of ChipStick is to teach electronics and computer science. Whilst it is not the fastest device the external memory allows virtual machines to be investigated and the high speed SPI allows shift registers to be used for extending the I/O - for driving LED arrays or stepper motors or whatever peripheral electronics you wish.
ChipStick may be programmed using Energia, CCS or a high level language such as Forth, including MECRISP, 4E4th or Amforth.
My inspiration came from another small computer, the PDP5 from 53 years ago.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gbell/Digital/timeline/1962-3.htm
ChipStick offers about the same computing resources as the PDP5, but for $5 not the $50,000 the PDP5 cost in 1963!
The first batch of ChipStick pcbs have been ordered. After Easter I should have something up and running, at which point the EagleCAD files will be made available.
Ken
London.