Re: F2FS On USB Sticks?

On 3/24/25 2:48 AM, rbowman wrote:

On Sun, 23 Mar 2025 23:36:04 -0400, c186282 wrote:
 

    Just recently bought two Ards ... the old Uno and a 2560.
    Have weather apps in mind and the libs easily do all the funky little
    devices and one-wires and such and there's megatons of docs.

 Well, you shouldn't run out of pins with the 2560. I've got a few Uno R3s
laying around and a couple of Nano 33 BLE Senses. The Nano is used in a
MIT ML course and they picked it because of all the onboard sensors rather
than a bunch of loose components. It's based on the Nordic Cortex M4 uc.

   The only prob with the much-better 2560 is that the pins
   aren't THE SAME AS ON THE Uno. There ARE lib tweaks, but
   you always have to make sure to port 'em forward.
   Used a couple dozen 2560s with add-on boards (commercial
   and hand-wired) for various purposes. Damned good units.
   The Uno is 'newbie', the 2560 is 'real world'.

    SOMEBODY does or did make something that looked a whole lot like a
    PI, but used some PIC instead. A Pi is faster,
    but the PIC likely uses lots less power and can go almost static
    between interrupts. Job, best tool. Note the Ard low-power lib is
    pretty damned good too, have used that with solar-powered units
    before.

 There were quite a few. I used to subscribe to Steve Ciarcia's 'Circuit
Cellar' and PIC projects were very popular.

   Ah ... guru Steve. Followed him almost forever !  :-)
   MOST fav - when asked his favorite programming lang
   he answered 'solder'  :-)

    But is Cortex-based REALLY a "PIC" ???
>
    16F84 was a PIC.
>
    My fave PICs are the 12Fxxx 8-pin little lovelies.
    So small, so cheap, so versatile. I've even used them to emulate
    ordinary logic gates if speed was not super-critical ... that cheap,
    and can be most anything you want, even drive a serial display.

 I've got some chips with a bunch of little legs that I assume are legacy
AVRs. You could do a lot with them,

   The AVRs kinda came to parallel PICS - very similar
   apps/environments.
   And yea, you can do a *LOT* with them.

    However the bigger pain/expense lies in the 'development
    systems/boards'. You don't just buy the chip - you have to be able to
    program it too. Discourages experimenters.
>

 https://www.mikroe.com/easyavr

   Seen the current PIC/AVR dev stuff ?
   They went from *a* handy serial
   programmer to one/more where you
   have to buy special adapters for
   most every kind of chip. This is
   EXPENSIVE.
   DID have the older programmer ... ZIF,
   could insert a huge variety of chips
   all in one small compact serial unit.
   Worked great. No 'emulation', just DID
   ITS JOB. Program and pop straight into
   your project boards.
   NOW ........

Yeah, the $215 is a barrier and then you wind up with a dead bug you have
to do something with. Of course you can go a lot cheaper:
   https://www.walmart.com/ip/AVR-Development-Board-NO-Chip-Included-DIY-
Set-for-8-48-with-USB-Input/2830964591
 Walmart? Yeah I'm sure the local superstore has a bunch of them. Must be
something similar for PICs or you can roll your own.

   I'm seeing less and less of the simple/practical
   "development/programming" environments for the
   basic micro-controllers. It's all *too* these
   days. Sounds like "marketers" got involved
   rather than bona-fide "developers".
   PICs and near relatives still have a significant
   role in today's projects/products. They provide
   what's NEEDED - can simplify/sort-it-out for
   the fancier processors for dirt cheap.
   There's a Serbian? Firm - MikroElectronika -
   that sells a very versatile development
   board/env for PICs or AVRs. The name may
   have changed, but the units still sell.
   They offer a 'C' or 'MikroPascal' env to
   build yer stuff. The board accomodates
   most everything - including up to serial
   GUIs. Price, last check, was fair.