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AN S-7600A/PIC16F877 JOURNEY

Part 1: Laying Out the Tools
by Fred Eady

Start ı Tooling Up ı Hardware Development Tool ı Software Development Tools ı Selecting a Terminal Emulator ı The Boot Loader ı Add Virtual Paper ı Sources and PDF

A few months ago, I promised to present a project that uses the S-7600A Internet engine. Iım a man of my word. In this series of articles, Iıll cover everything necessary to implement the S-7600A as a functional Internet communications device. To prove that Iım serious, Iıve included a shot of the printed circuit board I will use to build this Internet engine (see Photo 1). Of course, Iıll offer the printed circuit board and the entire kit of parts for those of you who want to take this journey with me. I call this project the S-7600A/PIC16F877 Internet Engine.

Photo 1ıThink of it as the foundation of a new house youıre building. It looks better after the construction begins.

In addition to the S-7600A protocol stack and a Microchip PIC16F877 microcontroller, the S-7600A/PIC16F877 Internet Engine consists of a Dallas Semiconductor DS1629 real-time clock and temperature IC and a Microchip 24LC256 serial EEPROM. The S-7600A/PIC16F877 Internet Engine speaks many languages and interfaces to the outside world using a couple of Sipex SP3243ECA RS-232 converters. The S-7600A/PIC16F877 Internet Engineıs PIC is initially programmed with a boot loader that enables the onboard PIC16F877 to be programmed using a standard serial port. When operational, the S-7600A/PIC16F877 Internet Engine can use any standard modem to make its way around the Internet. Naturally, not just any modem will be used, but I'll get to that later.

Like any project, success depends on the tools of the trade, as well as the skill of the craftsman. So, with that thought, I have some new tools to tell you about before I start soldering and writing code.

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