It can never be simple

I'd forgotten that I can't run a PIC18F4525 at 3.3V and expect it to work reliably. The minimum recommended volume is 4.2V. I can switch to the low voltage part, but speed decreases with voltage so I'm considering something a little more radical. Brain transplant!

This is a PIC32MX broken out to solder pads. I'll wire it point to point to work out some minimal implementation as I go along porting the code. It pops into the vacated PIC18 socket, hence the strange lop-sided appearance - there are pins on the board that need to be avoided.

This was the 1st chip which I soldered with paste & hot air.

EinSDein Step 2

Told you I would :D

Now on to the modification of the firmware. I'm going to be using a branch of the AtoMMC firmware which will allow both linear and sector-based access to files. This will allow the use of disk images directly from the FAT filing system.

I haven't decided yet whether to use memory or IO mapped accesses. That's the beauty of using programmable logic.

EinSDein drei vier!

The board has been very patient waiting for me to have enough time to solder it up. It appears that I have some free time this fine Saturday afternoon so I'm going to heat up the Hakko..!