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Have you ever spent most of your development time struggling to interface several prototype circuit boards or breadboards to your target microcontroller? Had to tear down a circuit on a breadboard to build another circuit and then, several days later, you need the same circuit again? Spent weeks of your time trying to find a bug in your code, only to find out you knocked a wire loose while digging the PIC out of your breadboard to re-program it for the 100th time? Well, you're not alone. Writing code for an application can be complex enough without spending all day long running wires from multiple prototype or breadboard circuits into the core controller during development. So how can the FLASH Lab help you?
Using a plug and play modular architecture, you can build the various circuits you use on a regular basis, write your code, test the new circuit, and then just plug it in the next time you need it. Imagine doing this with breadboards, trying to remember which wire goes where, and put it all together the next time you need the circuit. With FLASH Lab you just plug in the pre-constructed and tested circuit without the hassle of wiring everything together again. Because the modules are stackable, you can configure the FLASH Lab system for your particular design need. For example, you could have an RF board stacked on top of a motor controller board and so on. It's a simple concept that will save you a lot of frustration with your next design.
The FLASH Lab does not require a programmer. It programs itself with the included software application by sending your compiled PICmicro® hex file via a serial cable connected to your PC. Each FLASH Lab comes with a PICmicro® FLASH 40-pin DIP microcontroller, pre-programmed with the necessary boot-loader firmware. The Microchip RISC microcontroller is an incredibly powerful processor and offers a multitude of onboard hardware features and peripherals, making it the ideal choice for almost any embedded application. For example,
Terminal strip breadboards can also be mounted on top of the prototype board or on the bench for quick circuit design and testing. Finished circuits can then be constructed directly on the modular, stackable prototype boards. With FLASH Lab you can spend more time writing code for your hardware than trying to connect it.
Remember, the FLASH Lab will work with any compiler or assembler that generates standard *.hex files. For example, assembler, C, PICBasic, PICBasic PRO and Proton BASIC. You can purchase additional MCUs from Mecanique that have the loader software already programmed in. This means it's very easy to deploy your final design. If you have your own PIC Programmer, then you can program your own bootloader MCUs. You are not locked into this system, the firmware files you need are included when you purchase the FLASH Lab system.
The FLASH Lab system uses a high performance PICmicro FLASH microcontroller. The 16F877A based FLASH Lab system has 8k of code space, 368 bytes of RAM and 256 bytes of EEPROM. The latest FLASH Lab system uses the 18F452, an incredible MCU that has 16k words of code space, 1536 bytes of RAM and 256 bytes of EEPROM. That's twice the code space and more than four times user RAM when compared to the 16F877A. In addition, the 18F452 can be run at speeds of up to 40 MHz.
The FLASH Lab requires a power supply rated in the range 9-18 VDC, center positive. *For 40MHz use, the FLASH Lab comes supplied with a 10MHz crystal. The onboard 18F452 has its Phased Locked Loop (PLL) option enabled. This multiplies the external clock frequency by four, giving an effective internal MCU speed of 40MHz. The FLASH Lab system is also available in a starter deal.
The FLASH Lab system is also available in the USA from Reynolds Electronics
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FLASH Lab (16F877A) 4MHz
