Wich 16-bit MCU?

Hello,

I'm now at the point where I'll have to dive into building an embedded
data acquisition system. Last time I did that was about 15 years ago --
burn-and-crash with an 68008 and an EPROM, much along the lines of
Chapter 11 in AoE (just to illustrate the point at which my uC knowledge
froze over).

What I need to do, in real-time, is this -- just to estimate the
workload the CPU has to cope with:

1. Read out one 16-bit ADC at 60 kHz rate, do a bit with the numbers and
write back out to an ADC at the same rate. This is a PI servo loop that
also could be done in analog hardware if the CPU isn't up to it.

2. Read out three 16-bit ADCs at 20kHz rate and store results in RAM
3. Update two 16-bit DACs at 20kHz (numbers come from a couple of
Bresenham's algorithms).

4. simple link to host Computer, 800kB/sec (SCSI?)

Task 1. must run continuously. Tasks 2 and 3 run simultaneously but
alternatingly with 4.

Based on what I've done I'm partial towards the 68k assembler, so I
looked at Freescale's website and found the aged, but pretty attractive
MC68332 MCU. Then there's their Coldfire product line which seems to be
a bunch of faster/cheaper variants of the same theme.

My problem is getting started with all this. I don't want to drag the
old EPROM burner out of the basement; I think the latest fad (late as of
probably 15 years ago) is in-circuit programmability and -debugging.

I'm just wondering into which architecture should I invest time and
money in terms of a development system, and how much. Unfortunately the
app notes I found on many MCU vendors mainly cover embedded networking
applications and not the more down-to-earth stuff I'm interested in.
Like I said, I like m68k assembler but I've heard good things about ARM,
too.

Thanks,
robert
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Wich 16-bit MCU?
    ... data acquisition system. ... Read out one 16-bit ADC at 60 kHz rate, do a bit with the numbers and ... notes I found on many MCU vendors mainly cover embedded networking ... I said, I like m68k assembler but I've heard good things about ARM, too. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Wich 16-bit MCU?
    ... Robert Latest wrote: ... data acquisition system. ... write back out to an ADC at the same rate. ... Are you producing extra data internaly? ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Wich 16-bit MCU?
    ... data acquisition system. ... Read out one 16-bit ADC at 60 kHz rate, do a bit with the numbers and write back out to an ADC at the same rate. ... ADC, 12 bit DAC, 128K RAM, and USB. ... Or use 10/100 Ethernet, and choose the AX11015, with external ADC/DAC. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Wich 16-bit MCU?
    ... data acquisition system. ... workload the CPU has to cope with: ... write back out to an ADC at the same rate. ... also could be done in analog hardware if the CPU isn't up to it. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)