Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I like the RP2040

dgroshev.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 413 posts

Re: I like the RP2040

#361

Post by 15155 »

petre wrote: post #352
jsbdudh wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The RP2040 was only available during the last component shortage, since it was a newly released design, not yet implemented in many products. The IC will be unobtainable in the next shortage, too. I mean, don't you remember the shortage before where even capacitors were only hardly available?

Don't worry. No one is bothering with it outside of the hobbist market because it needs an external SPI flash chip, which one cannot protect by programming fuses. Your code is left unprotected, the Chinese can easily clone your product and put millions of units on the market. The ESP chips are a better pick even with all the bugs involved. It's quite typical of the Chinese manufacturers to have like 30 models of some…

External SPI flash can be encrypted on-the-fly with most real commercial MCUs - the issue is that this was not designed to be a commercial MCU for use in products.

Relative to other offerings, it's pretty nice (not a fan of ESP32 Xtensa or their new RV32 offerings - ARM chips are so much better) as a DIY/hobbyist/open source chip.

Re: I like the RP2040

#362

Post by 15155 »

colejohnson66 wrote: post #360
guenthert wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about favorably, but if it's PIO you're after, there is TI's Sitara family with their PRU. afaics, more functionality for a higher price.

But then you have to deal with TI’s garbage called CCStudio

Which is sad, because on paper the TI Sitara MCUs are unbeatable for peripherals and cost.

TI, if you're reading this:

- Give me standard ARM SWD facilities / CoreSight

- Give me an accurate SVD

- Give me a 10,000 page document detailing the register maps and behavior of all peripherals

- Get out of my way

And nobody else will be able to compete. (Who has USB SS/PCIE/N GMACs in one product? PRU?)

Re: I like the RP2040

#363

Post by Brusco_RF »

MegaDeKay wrote: post #17

The PIO's really are the star of the RP2040 show, giving it a capability that competing chips like the ESP32 can't match. They are appearing all over the place in the console hacking space for this reason. Lower power consumption in steep modes for battery-backed applications would be a welcome addition in any V2 version though.

No love for NXP in this thread? They make a very similar peripheral called FlexIO [1] on devices like the K32.

>[FlexIO is a] Highly configurable module providing a wide range of functionality including emulation of a variety of communication protocols

It is extremely capable! I have used it to hack together an octo-SPI... which stretches the definition of the S in SPI ;)

[1] https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/supporting-information/FTF-ACC-F...

Re: I like the RP2040

#364

Post by Brusco_RF »

airbreather wrote: post #359

I currently design a product that needs to be battery powered and its just not possible in the same way on the 2040 as esp32 with the ULP and the deep sleep current.

I also happen to be working on an ultra-low power project with an ESP32.

It is hard to beat that 5uA deep-sleep current!

Re: I like the RP2040

#365

Post by 15155 »

dragontamer wrote: post #229
immibis wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't run Linux on DRAM. You need a CPU.

You can't run anything on an RP2040. There's no Flash or code space. RP2040 sits at an awkward placement. It requires external parts, but low end SPI parts and not the nicer proper RAM like DDR3L or the like. ------ My point is that if you have a design that fundamentally requires external parts like the RP2040, the accurate comparison is against MPUs. Chips that are specifically designed to work with powerful and co…

Many devices run entirely from RAM which is completely viable with the ROM bootloader/SWD.

Re: I like the RP2040

#366

Post by nsteel »

trealira wrote: post #329
nsteel wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is the case. Isn't it that "guy" is essentially gender neutral in this context? In the same way you can reasonably say "hi guys" to greet people of any gender. "Silicon person", "silicon gal" etc would be weirder phrasing. "Silicon specialist" maybe but I don't personally think any of this merits discussion.

Maybe it's used neutrally in greetings (e.g. "Hi guys,") but when referring to someone specific, if you say they're a guy, it will generally be assumed that person is a man.

There's no maybe about it. And it goes beyond greetings. But I do agree it was non-sensical here

Re: I like the RP2040

#367

Post by 15155 »

jayyhu wrote: post #254
vardump wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are many options for other MCUs, that compare favorably to with RP2040 That's pretty interesting, could you list some?

The STM32 F0/G0/C0 lines come to mind. More I/O, more peripherals and built-in flash. For hobbyist levels, buying 1-10 pcs they are comparable in price to an RP2040 + SPI flash. However at volume pricing, the STM32 MCU's can be cheaper than just the RP2040 itself. I do think Raspberry Pi needs to figure out volume pricing if they want to be competitive for anything that's not just hobbyists.

At $1.70 (CN sources) you can obtain a 600MHz NXP IMXRT1011 with an M7 core + FlexIO and a dozen more peripherals of all types.

Re: I like the RP2040

#368

Post by 15155 »

vardump wrote: post #350
nick__m wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had look at the code (except flippydrive because it the source for a website) and I don't understand why the PIO would be needed if the RP2040 had more peripheral. None of them use the PIO for something that the STM32F401RBT6 doesn't have a peripheral for. The RP2040 real advantage its name, its price and its availability during the pandemic chips shortage. It lacks peripherals and it's power consumption is awful.

PIO can be PWM, SPI, I2C, USB, DVI, VGA, ISA-bus, PS1 memory card, that weird protocol some old EL-display uses and hundreds of other peripherals. Lots of exotic protocols for which you would have previously needed an FPGA. That's why you'd choose RP2040.

Or I would just choose an NXP IMRXT-series MCU with FlexIO (which can do 90% of these protocols) and actually be able to protect my product to some degree (encrypted XIP, high-assurance boot, SWD lockout.)

Re: I like the RP2040

#369

Post by 15155 »

jvanderbot wrote: post #339
nick__m wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had look at the code (except flippydrive because it the source for a website) and I don't understand why the PIO would be needed if the RP2040 had more peripheral. None of them use the PIO for something that the STM32F401RBT6 doesn't have a peripheral for. The RP2040 real advantage its name, its price and its availability during the pandemic chips shortage. It lacks peripherals and it's power consumption is awful.

Analogous complaints were echo'd against the RPI boards, which are also just kinda meh when viewed from an industry / hardcore perspective. Hobbiers gonna hobby, and the ecosystem will eventually build winners / losers for each niche case. For me, the existence of a MCU/MPU with better features at better price is irrelevant if I can't get known parts on small form factor eval boards using top links on google. Yes, I'…

I often just spin a $5 JLC EVM of my own when manufacturers charge too much for theirs. EVM schematics are usually available to clone.

Normally, I can also test a domain-specific subcircuit or two in my "EVM" as well with no added design risk.

Re: I like the RP2040

#370

Post by trealira »

nsteel wrote: post #366
trealira wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's used neutrally in greetings (e.g. "Hi guys,") but when referring to someone specific, if you say they're a guy, it will generally be assumed that person is a man.

There's no maybe about it. And it goes beyond greetings. But I do agree it was non-sensical here

You're right, people do use it neutrally in greetings, not just maybe. And in more than greetings, more as a general form of address. More specifically, I would say that when not used to address multiple people in the second person (i.e. when saying "you guys"), then the word "guy" implies that the referent is male.
Post reply on HN