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[on:]

This may be a little premature, but does anyone know if an Arduino Due Mini/Nano Teensy sized board is planned?

[Reply #1 on:]

Start writing up some requiremets, I'm sure it can be reduced to a smaller size.

- desired size
- desired power sourcing
- desired pinouts
- desired headers
- desired built-in interfacing
- etc.

[Reply #2 on:]

I wonder if the 'vanilla version' of the SAM3X8E can be used to make own Arduino-compatible boards, since the Due page says:

The bootloader is preburned in factory from Atmel and is stored in a dedicated ROM memory.

Would this mean Atmel ships a custom Arduino bootloader with these chips, or does the Due use a standard Atmel bootloader? If the former, will be able to burn a bootloader ourselves? 

[Reply #3 on:]

The provided bootloaders are for UART and USB, maybe a few others. They are stored on a small rom with some IAP routines so I don't reckon they have been replaced ( UART is serial comms )

[Reply #4 on:]

I wonder if the 'vanilla version' of the SAM3X8E can be used to make own Arduino-compatible boards, since the Due page says:

The bootloader is preburned in factory from Atmel and is stored in a dedicated ROM memory.

Would this mean Atmel ships a custom Arduino bootloader with these chips, or does the Due use a standard Atmel bootloader? If the former, will be able to burn a bootloader ourselves? 

From that sentence and what I've read in the SAM3X8E's datasheet I believe the Due's using "standard Atmel bootloader."

[Reply #5 on:]

Is that ROM in the 16U2, or in the ATSAM? There is no external ROM part on the board.
I haven't looked at the datasheet - maybe its access via JTAG or SPI?

[Reply #6 on:]

Its in the ATSAM, the data sheet says:

16 Kbytes ROM with embedded bootloader routines (UART, USB) and IAP routines

also

The SAM-BA Boot is in ROM and is mapped in Flash at address 0x0 when GPNVM bit 1 is set
to 0.

So when the bit is set it must be over writable just like a normal ISP/similar

[Reply #7 on:]

The SAM3A4C and SAM3X4C are the smaller (100pin/256k) cousins of the 144 pin SAM3X8E on the Due.
Being in the same family would make quick and dirty ...

[Reply #8 on:]

If the vanilla SAM3XE chip like you can order it from Farnell works with own-built boards, I might develop a smaller version of the Due. I developed a variant (actually: a shield) for the 8bit Arduino for use in industrial environments (think ruggedcircuits but better :p ), but boards with the dimensions of the Due or the Mega don't fit in our DIN-rail enclosures.

Perhaps it is possible to minimize the dimensions to something in the range of a Uno by omitting some pinheaders. Then you would have the same number of input/outputs of a regular Arduino, but with the processing power of the Due.

[Reply #9 on:]

The Teensy 3.0 is now entering general release if you wanted an ARM board in a smaller package than the DUE.  The Teensy is not the DUE, so be sure to understand what it offers and what it doesn't.  Teensy 3.0 uses a modified Arduino 1.0.1 IDE.

• http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy3.html - Pjrc.com store
• http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/beta/ - Download software

[Reply #10 on:]

Definately an arduino due nano would be very cool .

[Reply #11 on:]

The Teensy 3.0 is now entering general release if you wanted an ARM board in a smaller package than the DUE.  The Teensy is not the DUE, so be sure to understand what it offers and what it doesn't.  Teensy 3.0 uses a modified Arduino 1.0.1 IDE.

I have one at home, awaiting torture. I can't tell you how excited I am about these little gems. The teensy is aimed at a much smaller market but I also happen to think that the Due is not only overkill but that it's design misses the sweet spot by virtue of shoehorning a 32-bit architecture into a 8-bit legacy interface. This 144-pin monstrosity seems to have been selected because one could put out a board in a similar I/O factor configuration as the Mega. But IMO they should have broken from past shield designs for the 32-bit architecture to eliminate the possibility of fried CPUs, enable improved I/O interfacing, among other issues.

For me, the 64-pin chip on the teensy offers plenty of I/O out of the box while still being bread-boardable. And the chip is 50% less to buy than the SAM processor on the Due, i.e. about the same price difference as a 328 vs. 1284. And the teensy price vs. Due price reflects that too. I am considering re-designing my DAQ boards around a standard dual pin header for the Teensy. It would eliminate a lot of the complexity from my boards and the CPUs can be re-purposed as needed later. Never mind the on-board RTC, 16-bit ADC (vs. 12 on the Due) etc. 

But! There is something to be said for the benefits of older 5V-based legacy devices in terms of their ability to drive signals, etc. in ways that the more modern chips cannot.

[Reply #12 on:]

Teensy + headers =



I hope to get some time to try some projects out on it this weekend.

Duane B

rcarduino.blogspot.com

[Reply #13 on:]

Guys... this forum is about the Arduino Due...
let's keep in on topic

[Reply #14 on:]

While not a Mini/Nano, I look forward to an ethernet Due.  Phy ethernet and SD card can do some pretty awesome things.  I have a Sam3X-EK at work for a project and the demo is pretty slick with a rich web interface but the demo is based on BeRTOS which doesn't have a large community and has custom drivers.  Atmel just added "native" lwIP support to asf and will add SD card drivers in the next version(November hopefully) 
Are the Due drivers ASF-based or from scratch because of licensing issues?

I wonder how the Due firmware would work with the Sam3X-EK, Atmel doesn't even sell the processor(SAM3X8H) on the board.