Hard Drive use?

christian_hahn13

I was just wondering for a future project, is it possible to interface a Hard drive with a Basic Stamp module?
For the purpose of storing data and saving for later retrieval.

-christian hahn

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LoopyByteloose

These micro-controllers are not really set up for the amount of data collection and processing that would require a hard-drive.

These little guys are called 'embedded' systems for a reason. They can sit in places and do things independently. They are cheap and usually dedicated to a few tasks. They also can run on 'micro-power'

If you are really into 'hard disks' and such, you can buy a surplus 386 computer motherboard complete with ram and processor quite cheaply these days. ADD a box and power supply. Then, you would have to learn to program in C or Assembler. You might even work with Linux.

Obviously, you get into a different system with a lot of history to catch up on. BasicStamps will help sort out the fundamentals, but MS-DOS has tons of system calls to learn and many layers of systems.

Hard Disks require the support of lots of RAM. Since this is usually DRAM, it requires lots of power for refreshing the DRAM.

If you want something small with lots of memory, Palm has a new product with a 4Gigabyte 'LifeDrive'. But it is not very hackable. You can get a limited version of 'C for Palm' for a mere $20USD or you can buy the real developers 'C for Palm' for $500USD.

IN SUM, Flash ROM and Flash RAM in I2C is available for BasicStamps and they will take you quite far.

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G. Herzog in Taiwan

christian_hahn13

That is exactly the right answer I wanted to hear.Thanks

-christian Hahn

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Forrest

You can interface a hard drive to a Basic Stamp - see here for more info www.ghielectronics.com/ALFAT%20DEV.htm