General theory on EFI

[Jeff Webb]

Arnaud Westenberg wrote:
> I'd like to know this because I think it's easier for _me_ to obtain a
> pc104 board than building my own (efi332) board. Besides, I like the
> 'extra' functionality like a serial port to aid in debugging.

It may seem like that at first, but I think you'll find that using an
embedded microcontroller is much easier (and much cheaper) in the long
run.  How are you planning on doing the data acquisition and timing with
a PC?  Once you figure out how to download and run code on a
microcontroller, you'll see that it's much simpler to program than a
PC.  If you use the BDM cable with the 68332, you'll have a serial port
for debugging.  BTW, you don't have to build your own EFI332.  You can
buy one of the Axiom boards someone mentioned a while back.  You'll have
to add some additional hardware for EFI, but it will be easier than
adding the hardware to a PC.  You can copy the circuitry from the EFI332
schematics.

You could also use another microcontroller like the 68hc11 if you are
intimidated by the 68332.  There's LOADS of documentation and lots of
evaluation boards to choose from.

The main thing that I'm getting at is don't use a PC just because it is
what you know.  Learning to program a microcontroller is MUCH simpler
than designing an EFI system, and you are already attempting to do
that.  It will certainly be worth your time.  You can write most of the
code in C, so that should be of some comfort.  If you really want to use
a PC, then go ahead.  Just don't think that that's the only option you
have because that's all you have used before.

Best of luck,

Jeff Webb
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