Nifty $4 Cypress Dev board

Cypress Semiconductor has offered a really great looking development board in the $4 CY8CKIT-049-42xx.  I really like this board because it is actually two boards in one.  The two sections snap apart.










 


Section 1 ========
The first section has a CY7C65211 chip.  This is a USB to serial interface bridge chip.  It is possible to make this into a
USB to UART bridge
USB to I2c       bridge
USB to SPI      bridge
Plus the chip has CapSense ( capacitive switches ), battery handling features , & GPIO
You can get chips with one or two serial channels.
Section2 ========
This section has an ARM^® 32-bit Cortex-M0™ to allow playing with the CY8C42xx device families.    The product selector is pretty nifty.  I had trouble discovering exactly which 42xx chip was on the dev board.  I could not find it in the documentation.  I had to use a magnifying glass which reveled a CY8C4245AXI-483 .  Company engineers sometimes forget that not everyone is as smart as they are.   Or as immersed in the corporate lingo and design culture.

ARM chip
Here is some data on the CY8C4245AXI-483 ARM chip.
32KB Flash , 4KB SRAM , 36 GPIOs , 12bit ADC....
http://www.cypress.com/?mpn=CY8C4245AXI-483


http://www.cypress.com/?docID=47877
www.cypress.com/CY8CKIT-049-42xx
http://www.cypress.com/?rID=92146


http://www.cypress.com/USBSerial/
CY7C65211

Drivers
http://www.cypress.com/?rID=83110


My Plans =============
I like to develop using a MacIntosh.  In this case I think I am going to be forced to use a Windows computer.  

I have hooked up with a Maker Space in Longmont Colorado ( Tinkermill.org ) which is a fantastic group.   I am working on a project to control access to doors and maker machinery in the two locations they have.   A bunch of sub-$50 Android tablets will be distributed around the spaces.  The tablets will use their cameras to read QT codes that identify users.  The CY8CKIT will connect to the tablet via the USB OTG port on the tablet and allow the tablet to control GPIO that is connected to power relays and door locks.
There is more about this at the Tinkermill site... but at present I do not know how to link to the TM site.

Comments to Cypress  ===========
( I recommend you donate some CYC8KITS to TinkerMill.org )

Make it easier to hit the ground running.  I feel the relevant information could be gathered in one place. ( At least the links to useful info )  It may just be me being brain-dead.... I have struggled to get going with this $4 board.

things I would like from Cypress....
Make the PCB layout in a format Eagle can read.
Make the schematic a little easier to decipher as far as labeling is concerned.
have more examples of 42xx projects.  ( more elaborate projects )
publish the source code for configuring the bridge chip.
publish the protocol for configuring the bridge chip.
publish code for controlling the GPIO on the bridge chip.


things I would like to value add
install the Forth Language in the ARM processor.
install Phratch on the ARM processor.


I am not yet a member of Tinkermill.org    I plan to join.  I am physically located 1 hour away.
I will correct any errors I have have made in this document.  Just let me know about them.



tags : xxCypress   xxPSOC