[hpsdr] Yeti? Sasquatch relative...

[Leon Heller]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle Johnson" <kk7p at wavecable.com>
To: <hpsdr at hpsdr.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 9:19 PM
Subject: [hpsdr] Yeti? Sasquatch relative...


> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
> Sasquatch will be using a high-end TI floating point DSP.  That's the
> good news.
>
> The bad news is that there are no inexpensive tools to use with it.
> That puts real pressure on the folks writing code for it, and severely
> limits everyone else's ability to play.
>
> IS there interest in a simpler DSP board with free tools to allow easier
> experimentation?
>
> For example, the Analog Devices ADSP-218x series of parts (the same one
> I use in my DSPx and as used in Pic A Star, DSP-10, etc.) has free
> DOS-based tools.  They run in Windows, as well, and probably under
> DOSEMU for the Linux-persuaded.
>
> This is a 16-bit fixed-point part that runs at 80 million native
> instructions per second.  Analog Devices claims more, but that's because
> they assert that a multiply-accumulate is two operations, along with an
> address calculation and a shift...  So it does 320 million marketing
> MIPS under special circumstances.
>
> Anyway, this could be a fun and cheap part to play with for those so
> inclined.
>
> Texas Instruments makes the TMS320VC33.  This is a 75 million native
> instructions per second (yeah, their marketing people claim more...)
> 32-bit floating point part.  You can download a version of the tools for
> this part for free from the TI web site.  Takes a bit of playing around
> to use them without the "University DSK" for which they are intended,
> but they are free and do run.  There is also some sort of port to the
> Gnu compilers for this part, I think.  It has small enough memory and
> limited enough resources that you want to think twice about using C
> rather than assembler, though.
>
> Anyone on the list know of any other DSPs that have decent, free tools?

There is a GNU toolset for the SHARC (based on the original ADI tools) which 
I've downloaded but I haven't tried to build it, I think I'll have to use 
Linux for it. I've got some sample ADSP-2191 chips, they are faster than the 
218x. The newer Blackfin is a very nice chip (500 MIPS or more) and there 
are free GNU tools for it.

Then there are the dsPICs, for which there are free tools. Only 30 MIPS, 
though. They are very easy to use from a hardware point of view, I've put 
them on home-made single-sided PCBs.

73, Leon 

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