From: "Dwight K. Elvey" 
To: atm{at}shore.net
Reply-To: "Dwight K. Elvey" 


Hi
 First, CMOS doesn't always mean low power now days.
Our 64 bit processor is CMOS and uses about 60-70W someplace. If you really
want low power, something like the PIC processors are worth looking at.
 The unit you have mentioned here would most likely work fine. 1.1W
would run a long time. I think you'll find the power to the drive motors
would be greater than this anyway. Dwight


>From: "Frank Q" 
>
>Hi All
>
>Actually I was thinking of:
>
>=> a CMOS system that consumes minimal power (about 500mW)
>for one of many examples, check out
>http://www.zionnationalpark.com/prism/versaloop.htm
>
>
>=> Car batteries for power (multiple old ones with power steering diodes)
>
>=> No operating system - just your control program
>
>Cheers
>FQ
>
>>
>> >With today's modern processors, does anyone really have to worry about
>> >speed?
>> >And memory is also inexpensive, so why worry about squeezing the most
>from
>> >your EEPROMS?
>>
>> Well, if you are trying to keep cost, and especially power consumption
>down,
>> you are more limited.  When you want to get several hours of running out
>of one
>> set of flashlight batteries, you have to watch those milliwatts.  The fast
>> processors with mucho memory work pretty well as handwarmers on those cold
>> observing nights.  Some of the fast Pentiums and their clones can pretty
>nearly
>> be used to cook your Thanksgiving turkey.
>>
>> Also, the general purpose operating systems can be really lousy for real
>time
>> control.  Now I think the proposal that started this thread was
>envisioning
>> pretty smart stepper controllers being run by a cpu that really doesn't
>have a
>> lot to do.  Thus one could save those milliwatts at the cpu and memory
>level
>> and use a few more at the stepper controllers.
>>
>>
>> Mark Holm
>> mdholm{at}telerama.com
>
>
>

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