Most of the board features are included by default, but there are also five optional function blocks which require to be ordered seperately. The following circuit options for the S12compact are available:
1. RTC - Real Time Clock
The RTC option provides real-time clock and calendar functions. A LiMn battery supplies the RTC chip if the main voltage fails.
2. ADC - Analog/Digital Converter
The HCS12 MCU already provides a 10-bit ATD module with up to 16 channels. If higher resolution is required, an external ADC option with 8 channels and 16 bit resolution can be used. This option includes an on-board voltage reference of 4096mV.
3. DAC - Digital/Analog Converter
For applications where the on-chip PWM (pulse width modulation) capabilities of the HCS12 MCU are not sufficient, the DAC option can be added to provide two analog outputs with 16 bit resolution. The reference voltage is the same as for the ADC option (4096mV).
4. USB - USB2.0 Full-speed serial Interface
Communication with a PC is a standard task for embedded devices, but more and more PCs today come without RS232 ports. As a universal high-speed replacement, USB is available in most cases. The USB option for the S12compact simplifies the design of USB applications drastically. No special knowledge is required, since the USB option behaves transparently like an RS232 connection. Of course, USB drivers for the PC side are part of the package as well.
5. SDF - Serial Data Flash
To collect and store large amounts of data, a 16MBit Serial Data Flash can be equipped optionally. This additional memory is operated over a high-speed SPI connection. Multiple RAM buffers in the memory device enable data transfers to one buffer while another is beeing written to a Flash sector automatically. This is an ideal solution for sequential data, e.g. in a data logger application. Note: the USB-Option occupies the 2nd SCI channel!
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