

Re: Experience with LH7A404 ?

Michelle Konzack wrote:

Support for AVR32 chips still isn't fully into mainline, but they have a pretty active user community and some hardware is pretty cheap. Google, links aren't coming to mind right now...

I asume, it is working with Linux, but this mean, I can not use Debian?

This will force me to port and rebuild over 400 Debian-Packages
(not realy funny)

It isn't an officially-supported architecture, so you'd have to build up the Debian system from scratch for it. I think it would be a cool job, but maybe a bit ambitious on top of all your other plans.

I have already a graphic processor with a 480x256 64color matrix running
on my LH7A404...  but currently I am programming the CPU with ASM...  :-)
to learn, HOW I have to build my system, since I am using devices which
do not exist on any ARM (computers) which you can buy...

Note:   I am using a CF-Card since curently I can not load ANY data
        remotely; I have to build the Hardware and something else my
        own... It is realy  funny, but One time I like to see Debian
        running on this Self-Made-Computer.

Shouldn't be a big deal to get it going. Sounds like your bootloader knows how to read from CF already? If that's the case, then you've beaten a big part of the problem already.

Build up a zImage file, put it on your CF card. Then use your bootloader to drag the file into memory. The first instruction is the first four bytes in the file, e.g. wherever you download zImage to, that's where you'll jump to.

But you have to set r0, r1, r2 to the proper values so Linux knows what's going on when it starts. R0=0, r1=your machine id (register one at arm.linux.org.uk), r2 is the address of a "ATAGS" structure that tells Linux where your physical memory and root filesystem are.

Don't worry about the root filesystem yet. Get the kernel going to the point where it's complaining that it can't find one, then check back here. Once you get that far, the rest can be pretty easy...

Pic:  <http://freenet-homepage.de/michelle.konzack/electronica/files.jpg>
      (I hope this is working now, since I have had problems with the upload)

Sorry, doesn't seem to work.

I have several projects and for one of them I need a VERY powerful CPU
but the PCB'S for VIA C7 are very complex to build so I was searchin in
the ARM community...  maybe an error but my "bigger" computer should not
more consume as 5 Watt (without display) since I have only Li+ Batteries
of 3.7V/5A (flatpack of arround 150x50x6mm)

Hmmm. 5W is quite a bit in the ARM world. So if the LHA7404 is powerful enough computationally, then you should be ok.

I have a NSLU2...  but after an upgrade for 3 of 4 month the filesystem
was crashed and I have not found the nerv to reinstall it...  :-(

... or the time to reinstall it?  :)

Maybe I can use "ready-to-use-boards" but my problem is the size,
exactly they must be very flat and more long then width...

But since I am reading the documentations of ARM9, ARM922T, ARM11, PPC
MIPS and SH I am realy motivated to continue since it does not require
much to get Linux running on it...

Maybe you have to code your own device driver but this is not realy a
thing since they are many examples in the kernel-tree

Agreed. You obviously have some good programming skills, so all the examples should be very helpful.

Note:  I try to get some Dallas 1-Wire chips running since in the kernel
       is only the temperature sensor but I need the DS2405, DS2406,
       DS2408 (8-channel addressable switch), DS2413, DS2417, DS2438
       (Smart Battery Monitor) and DS2450 (Quad A/D Converter).

       Also I am reading in "I²C Specification" and there are nice chips
       which I can integrate in my several projects...  But currently I
       do not know HOW difficult it is, to code the I²C stuff, but it
       seems, that nearly ALL CPUs of ARM, PPC, and MIPS supporting it
       more or less directly.

A bunch of people have made programming i2c pretty darned easy under Linux. No worries there! :)

       I have even gotten an Evaluations Kit for the DS2482-100 which is
       a I²C to 1-Wire Master...

You could go that way, but it might be easier to just some GPIO lines and bit-bang it on your own. But that's a question to answer later--- you need a kernel first!

Do not ask me HOW my Appartement looks like...
(a submarin is nothing against)

Kinda like my office!  :)

Bill Gatliff

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