EmbDev.net

Forum: µC & Digital Electronics Which microcontroller to use and how?


von Fadi Safadi (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Hey Everyone.

i am a newbie in the microcontroller world. i am designing a circuit 
which control battery cells simulation cells. So basically the goal is 
to produce a voltage between 0 and 5 Volt. i will do this with a DAC 
giving its output to a linear voltage regulator. and i would like also 
to measure the current between the supply and the Linear voltage 
regulator with a current monitor chip highside lowside which has also 
I2C.

I wanna automate all of this process when i give different output values 
from my DAC into the circuit. So My DAC ( MAX517 ) has I2C and my 
Monitor Chip for the measuring ( INA226 ) has also I2C.

The question is i really have no clue about microcontrollers but what i 
know is before choosing one i have to see the resoultion of my DAC which 
is 16 Bit so i need atleast a microcontroller with 16 Bits and i also 
need to check what kind of Interfaces i need. I think i need I2C and 
maybe SP1 FOR LCD later? or Usb? and i need many digital inputs outputs.

the quesiton is now. Can someone briefly explain for me, which 
microcontroller i need to control my DAC517 and which software i have to 
write? which tools or softwares do i need?

I would really be glad for any help

Thanks

Regards,
Fadi

: Moved by Moderator
von Fadi Safadi (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Sorry the DAC is MAX5217

von Erich (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
From newbie to this task is about 3 years of experience.
You should start wirh a much simple idea.

Yours

von soundso (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
hi

it dosn't matter what bit-with your mcu has. it dosn't even matter if it 
has a build in I2C Interface,you can do this by Bitbaning on every 
Micro.

von Stefan F. (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
You do not need a 16bit Microcontroller to process 16bit data. Every 
8bit controller is capable to handle up to 64bit data without no 
overhead from the programmers pint of view. And with some overhead it 
can process any data that fit into the RAM.

Of courde, a native 64bit controller would process 64bit data faster. 
But that's obviously not improtant for your project.

The interfaces are more interesting. If you find one that contains all 
required interfaces then you have a nice single-chip solution. As more 
chips you need as more error you may do.

Almost all microcontrollers are primarily programmed in C.

AVR microcontrollers (e.g. ATmega328P or ATmega32U4) are easy to learn 
and there are lots of informations online. If you want something larger 
then I would recommend any ARM based microcontroller, for example the 
STM32F103 series which is available in different sizes).

Regarding your current monitor: If you measre the current between power 
supply and voltage regulator then you measure the current consumption of 
the voltage regulator + the load. So it would be more preciseto measure 
the current at the output. Many voltage regulators have a separate 
feedback pin which you can use to overcome the voltage loss at the 
current sensor (shunt).

von Fadi Safadi (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Thanks alot Stefan.

which wanna would you recommend to control the MAX5217 for the best 
results and more accurate? price is not important.

the STM32F103 ?

von Fadi Safadi (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
What about the Arduino Uno wouldn't be a better choice?

von stefan us (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
It depends on your skills. It seems that you are not familiar with 
microcontrollers, so start with Arduino Nano modules (ATmega328P). You 
can program them with and without Arduino software. They are cheap, well 
documented and have a very easy to use USB interface.

von stefan us (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
> What about the Arduino Uno wouldn't be a better choice?

The Arduino Uno is also Ok, but quite large. Arduino Nano has almost the 
same capabilities.

von Fadi Safadi (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Thanks alot Stefan

I will buy the Arduino Nano and work with the offline Webeditor and try 
to control the MAX5127.

von Lothar M. (Company: Titel) (lkmiller) (Moderator)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Fadi Safadi wrote:
> i have to see the resoultion of my DAC which is 16 Bit
Keep one thing in mind: to get that performance from "digital µC" to 
"real analog world" you will need a lot of experience with layout and 
grounding on the analog side.

von stefan us (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Just for the case that the Arduino Nano has not enough I/O pins: The 
ATmega2560 has much more of them and is also avaiable as a module with 
USB connector.

But I would first check the smaller microcontroller, It's much more 
handy. The programming model is the same on both.

von 16Bit, no problem (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Stefan U. wrote:
> You do not need a 16bit Microcontroller

But you can!

Don 't start with frustrating avr. Better try msp430.

von MaWin (Guest)


Rate this post
useful
not useful
Fadi Safadi wrote:
> Can someone briefly explain for me, which microcontroller i need to
> control my DAC517

Industry would say: the cheapest that can do the job.

> and which software i have to write?

Seems to be a simple control program  not very fast not very complex so 
even an ATmega8 can do the job. But of course you may have missed to 
describe the bog hog part of it.

> which tools or softwares do i need?

Use an Arduino. Simple Software and programmable over USB.
Not the cheapest but low tco.

Please log in before posting. Registration is free and takes only a minute.
Existing account
Do you have a Google/GoogleMail account? No registration required!
Log in with Google account
No account? Register here.