Hi.
I've been searching through google for days for this very question. Unfortunately the mass forum posts covering AVR and PIC questions and tutorials, makes it quite hard to find the answer.
I have adruino due r3 and adruino uno r3 boards. Is it possible to program non-AVR and non-PIC microcontrollers using the adruino boards I have?
There's plenty of interesting MCUs in market with specifications close to atmega16 and 32 etc (some old) with prices as low as attiny series.
Some of these chips are OTPROM (one time programmable). Some are FPGAs and some other higher priced ones are usual EEPROM, still much cheaper than AVRs and PICs (considering the port count/adc/speed ...)
These chips I found are from intel, toshiba, fujitsu, ti, NEC, NXP and many other brands.
I'm actually looking for a general answer. I know each chip is different (different pin arrangements, different rom/ram sizes, and different interface options(i²c, uart etc.)) BUT since these chips are programmable, does it mean there's a way to use adruino to program them?
Some examples of these chips I think can be very useful (at least for expanding nunber of ADC inputs cheaply to a few hundreds for some projects):
TC15G008AP (FPGA by Toshiba), MB8854-PSH (Fujitsu),
HD614048S (Hitachi), TMP47C634N (dirt cheap Hitachi),
And many more...
the esp32 was designed with a similar USB interface as the arduino and can be programmed using the Arduino IDE.
i believe a compatible USB interface is required to use the IDE, but some support software is probably required, at the very least, to recognize the processor type.
UKHeliBob:
How widely available is the ICSP interface on MCUs ?
That actually I don't know.
These MCUs are not hobbyist-oriented kind of chips. That's why I don't think any popular/known exclusive programmer kits to be available for them.
At least, if they list common standard interfaces in their datasheet (SPI, UART, TWI) does it mean I can program them without a pre-made programmer kit spesific to that MCU ?
gfvalvo:
Why not pick a device and use the hardware / software tool set recommended by its manufacturer?
Cuz the manufacturer isn't AVR/MC and probably their MCUs were not targeting DIY electronics beginners. So the programming procedure for these chips are not easy to find. (At least for me).
If anyone could program these chips (not necessarily as easy as an avr/pic with easily available ides and kits), then it would be veeeery cheap to do some parts of projects. (Like having more than 200 Adc inputs with less than 6 dollars)
UKHeliBob:
Even if you could program them cheaply are they available at low cost in small quantities ?
Yes. I found them on electronic component seller's websites.
Tje price is actually what I think makes the labour of their programming worth it. I've just seen small‐quantity prices and they're interesting enough.
Meh. For the quantities I purchase, I'd much rather build my projects using pre-tested solutions from reputable US companies that are targeted at the hobbyist market … say Adafruit and PJRC. Their customer support is also specialized to this market. It's worth the extra cost.