Powerful embedded solution for low-level control

The TE486 is a new entry-level embedded controller board from DSP Design.

The TE486 is a new entry-level embedded controller board from DSP Design.

Based on the STPC Elite 486-level x86 processor operating at up to 133MHz and including a maths coprocessor for fast number crunching, the TE486 provides a simple yet powerful solution to less demanding embedded computing problems.

It supports a wide range of peripherals making it a highly practical solution for many applications and as it is pin compatible with all other boards from DSP Design provides an inexpensive upgrade path.

Designed, manufactured and supported in the UK by DSP Design, the TE486 incorporates two RS232 serial ports (one with RS485 option) and a PCI Ethernet controller provides a 10/100Base-T Ethernet interface.

An enhanced parallel port can be used as a Centronics printer port or for general purpose I/O and ports for a speaker, keyboard and mouse are also supplied.

An on-board Compact Flash socket is provided for solid-state disks and an IDE controller allows other disk drives to be attached.

The TE486 board can be used on its own, with additional PC/104 I/O boards or it can be treated as a "super component" and plugged into a proprietary PCB.

In common with all DSP processors, the TE486 includes a number of important features for embedded operation.

A watchdog timer resets runaway programs while active CMOS protection (ACP) ensures a clean boot every time, even after the system has not been used for several months.

Traditional PCs have a battery to preserve CMOS setup parameters but this is not practical in embedded systems as reliable operation is required in the absence of keyboard or mouse.

With ACP, CMOS setup values can be stored in EEPROM and the system will boot even if the CMOS setup battery has failed, or if the system has no battery fitted.

This new controller will be suitable for a wide range of applications and time to market can be reduced dramatically by using the TE486 with a DSP LaunchPad application development kit.

LaunchPad provides an operating system image preconfigured for the target hardware thus saving months of development time and allows users to start application development immediately.

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