SBC68EC

Description

Compact SBC with Ethernet, RS232, CAN Bus, I2C, 12 Analog Inputs, 32 Digital I/Os, free TCP/IP Stack, bootloader, PIC18F668 and Web Based Configuration.

For more details and documentation, see product page on old site. Some information from old site still has to be copied to this new product page.

The SBC65EC and SBC68EC boards are identical, except that the SBC68EC has one USART and a CAN Bus (assembled with PIC18F6680 CPU), and the SBC65EC has two USARTs (RS232 ports) and 32k more FLASH (assembled with PIC18F6627 CPU). If a CAN Bus is not required, the best choice will be the SBC65EC.

The SBC68EC is an embedded (PIC based) Single Board Computer (SBC) with 10Mbs Ethernet and RS232 interface. It can be added to any 10/100Mbs Ethernet network. It is programmed with a bootloader and the free Modtronix SBC68EC Web Server (source code provided for free too) at delivery. Configuration, control and monitoring can be done via a web based interface, HTTP CGI commands or UDP commands. It has 32 general purpose I/O ports, of which 12 are 10 bit ADC (Analog to Digital) inputs, and 2 are 10-bit PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) outputs.

It implements DHCP and NetBIOS, which makes it very easy to access on a network - no configuration of static IP addresses are required! When connected to a network with a DHCP server, it will automatically be assigned an IP address. If no DHCP server is present, the board will be assigned it's default IP address. The default IP address and NetBIOS name is 10.1.0.1 and "mxboard", and can be changed via the web interface. To access the board on a network with DHCP enabled, the NetBIOS name or assigned IP address (have to get that from DHCP server) can be used. For example, with the default NetBIOS name, the board's web interface can be viewed in a browser by using the following address:
http://mxboard
On a network without DHCP, the default IP address can be used:
http://10.1.0.1

The web pages are stored in an external 24LC512 EEPROM. All source code for the default web pages, and example web pages are provided. Custom pages can easily be created by modifying the default or example web pages. The Modtronix Network Bootloader application or a standard FTP client can be used to upload new web pages to the board. The user can monitor and control all inputs, outputs, analog inputs and more via the default or custom web pages. The HTTP Web Server can dynamically replace tags on web pages with default and user defined real time information, like the values of I/O ports or analog inputs. The CGI Server makes it possible for default and user defined remote commands to be accepted via the HTTP GET command, like a button on a web page for example.

The SBC68EC is delivered programmed with a bootloader. The Modtronix Network Bootloader is used to update the firmware via the network or internet.

The firmware is written in C, and can be compiled with the Hi Tech or Microchip MPLAB (student) C18 compilers. Example code and projects are provided to help creating custom applications. MPLAB projects for both compilers are provided in the source code download. A Free, student version of the Microchip MPLAB C18 compiler is available and can be used to compile the project. The compiled code generated with the student version is only slightly larger than that created with the commercial version. So, for users who wish to modify the firmware, all that has to be done is install the free compiler, open the MPLAB project, modify the code and compile.

Solder straps are provided at the back of the board to select RS232 or TTL levels for the onboard USART. Default settings are for RS232 levels, which enables this board to communicate with a PC via its RS232 port. This serial port is used for secondary configuration and debugging. All configuration that can be done via the serial port, can also be done via web pages. This enables the serial port to be used for other functions like Ethernet to serial interface converters.

Typical applications include HTTP Web servers (like the Modtronix SBC68EC Web Server), Mail clients, Ethernet to RS232 interface converter, Ethernet to RS485 interface converters, Remote control via Web Server, Protocol Bridge applications - Ethernet to USART, CAN, I2C, SPI etc.

Features

• 32 general purpose user programmable I/O ports that can be monitored, configured and updated via web pages, HTTP and UDP.
• 12 user programmable, 10 bit Analog to Digital converters. They can be monitored, configured and updated via web pages, HTTP and UDP.
• 2 user programmable, 10-bit PWM outputs. They can be monitored, configured and updated via web pages, HTTP and UDP.
• 1 USART, 1 CAN Bus and 1 I2C serial interface.
• Programmed with Modtronix SBC68EC Web Server, for details click here
• Can be configured and controlled via web pages, for details click here
• Accepts commands via UDP or HTTP for configuring the board and controlling outputs, for details click here
• Implements tags that can be placed on web pages to display dynamic information and current input status, for details click here
• Programmed with a bootloader for updating firmware over the network or internet.
• Assembled with PIC18F6680 CPU, 24LC512 EEPROM and Modtronix SBC68EC Web Server.
• 64 KBytes Flash, 3936 Bytes SRAM and 64 Kbytes EEPROM. The Modtronix SBC68EC Web Server uses less then half the available memory, which leaves plenty of space for custom code and web pages!
• Has space for a 8 pin Ramtron SPI FRAM chip (32Kbyte FM25256 chip for example) to be assembled on the bottom of the board.
• Implements HTTP Compression for storing web pages. For example, the default web pages (12 pages) only use 19.2 KBytes
• Red user LED on PIC port RB6.
• RJ45 connector with built in LEDs to indicate link and activity status.
• Micro Match connector for connecting a serial I2C device, like the LCD2S serial LCD display with keypad decoder.
• RS232 interface via 3 pin connector. The SER3S6FT serial port cable can be used to connect to the serial port of a target DTE device (comm port of a personal computer for example)
• Is part of our MicroX product range, meaning you can upgrade or expand it with any of the other MixroX products. For details see oldsite.modtronix.com/microx.
• Can be used as a daughter board to Ethernet enable any product.
• 2.1mm power connector for standard DC transformer.
• Very low supply current of 60mA, which equals about 420mW at 7V.
• Wide operating voltage range from 7 – 35V.
• Assembled with 10BaseT Ethernet and RS232 interface with +- 15kV ESD protection.
• High quality machine assembly, with brand name, quality components:
  • All electrolytic capacitors used are extra long life Panasonic brand, which is 5 times more than standard!
  • PCB is Gold plated for best contact and no corrosion
  • All pin headers are gold plated for best possible contact
• Has an ICSP (In Circuit Serial Programming) connector (ICPC1 type) - CPU can be programmed in circuit. For details see Programming Modtronix PIC based boards.
• Delivered with the free Modtronix TCP/IP stack, that features:
  • Includes MAC, IP, ARP, ICMP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, DHCP, NetBIOS, DNS, IP Gleaning, Modtronix File System
  • Socket support for TCP and UDP
  • Portable across PIC18 MCUs
  • Out-of-box support for Microchip C18 and Hi-Tech PICC-18 compilers
  • RTOS independent
  • Full TCP state machine
  • Modular Design

Expansion

This board has a daughter board connector, allowing following board to be plugged into it:

• PT01TC and PT01TC-KITprototype daughter boards
• PT10E prototype main board, with enclosure
• PT24E prototype main board, with enclosure
• I/O and other Expansion board

Documentation and Details

For more details and documentation, see product page on old site. Some information from old site still has to be copied to this new product page.

What is included

• 1 x SBC Board