[1] Are all 8051 ports available for my application ?

[2] How can I use a MINI-MAX/51 or PRO-MAX/51 with Hyperterminal or other terminal programs ?

[3] Which memory model should I select in Micro C for use with MINI-MAX/51 and PRO-MAX/51 boards ?

[4] Why does download to the board fail ?

[5] Is there an extended temperature version of your boards ?

[6] Do you have an example program that shows how to access the analog inputs of MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

[7] How about USB support for MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

[8] How can I add more data RAM to MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

[1] Are all 8051 ports available for my application ?

P1.5 port pin of 8051 is used by secondary (PIC) processor to change its mode. Hence P1.5 should not be used by user applications except when communicating with the secondary processor to set LCD contrast or PWM output. If P1.5 is cleared  for more than 2 seconds it will restart the whole system.

P1.6 and P1.7 are reserved for I2C Bus Clock and Data (SCL and SDA).

P3.0 and P3.1 are used for hardware serial UART. So your application can use these as long as the use is for serial UART feature ( for example, RS232 receive and transmit ) . P3.0 is driven by the RS232 transceiver chip so you can not set or reset this line in your programs. Also, you can not connect external devices to P3.0. For example, do not connect a servo controller to P3.0; it simply will not work since the RS232 transceiver is holding this line in a low or high state. Connecting external devices that output to P3.0 may damage MINI-MAX/51 board or the external device.

All other port pins are available for generic use.

[2] How can I use MINI-MAX/51 or PRO-MAX/51 with Hyperterminal or other terminal programs ?

The null modem cross cable that comes with MINI-MAX/51 and PRO-MAX/51 boards crosses RTS and CTS lines from one end of the cable to the other end. Since Hyperterminal and many other programs control the RTS line, these programs keep the boards in Program Mode. Details

[3] Which memory model should I select in Micro C for use with MINI-MAX/51 and PRO-MAX/51 boards ?

We recommend MEDIUM model which is more suitable for AT89C51ED2 microcontroller. MEDIUM model allows using the Expanded RAM ( XRAM ) for additional variables, large arrays, etc. in user programs.

[4] Why does download to the board fail ?

The MINI-MAX/51-C Downloader has been available for several years now and is a highly reliable downloader. Some customers have even reported that it works better than ATMEL's downloader.

You should only pay attention to few details to make sure that the download works:

1) Make sure that the board is powered.

2) Make sure that you are using the NULL modem cable that came with the board. Other NULL modem cables may not work. Straight through cables will NOT work.

3) Make sure that you are using the correct serial (COM) port. Some PC's have more than one serial port. Check
Tools->Options->Loader in Micro-IDE for the correct COM port. Baud rate, parity, data bits, stop bits, etc. do not make a difference for MINI-MAX/51-C Loader. All these are automatically detected by the loader. Similarly, the microcontroller type on the board is detected automatically.



4) Make sure that you use the latest software from our website. Older versions of the software may not support newer processors such as the AT89C51ED2. Both the 8051 Development System and BASCOM51 contain the latest MINI-MAX/51-C Loader.


[5] Is there an extended temperature version of your boards ?

Here is a temperature range list of the various semiconductor components that make up the MINI-MAX/51-C2. As you can see from the list, all components except the RS232 transceiver is already extended or industrial temperature grade. Please contact us if your application requires an extended or industrial temperature range of our boards.

Component	Operating Temperature Range
Microcontroller AT89C51ED2	-40 to 85 °C
Secondary Microcontroller	-55 to 125 °C
Regulator	-40 to 125 °C
Voltage Reference	-40 to 85 °C
RS232 transceiver	0 to 70 °C

[6] Do you have an example program that shows how to access analog inputs of MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

For 8051 Development System ( Micro C ), there is an example project under

\bipom\devtools\microc\examples\8051\medium\mm51cTest\MM51C2\ADC ( Medium Memory Model )

\bipom\devtools\microc\examples\8051\tiny\mm51cTest\MM51C2\ADC (Tiny Memory Model )

For BASCOM51 BASIC Compiler, there is an example project under

\bipom\devtools\bascom51\Examples\mm51cTest\MM51C2\Adc

[7] How about USB support for MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

MINI-MAX/51 boards do not have a USB host or USB device port. Implementing USB host on small microcontrollers is difficult due to the availability of USB drivers ( such as modem, hard disk, mouse, etc. ) only for higher level operating systems such as Linux or Windows.

You can still connect to MINI-MAX/51 through your computer's USB port using our CBL-USB-COM-1 that converts USB to COM. In this case, MINI-MAX/51 appears as a COM port to your computer. The MINI-MAX/51-C downloader has been optimized to work with variety of such USB-COM interface cables.

[8] How can I add more data RAM to MINI-MAX/51-C2 ?

The program RAM of MINI-MAX/51-C2 is limited to the RAM of the microcontroller ( AT89C51ED2 ). This RAM is typically used for variables, program stack, arrays, etc. However, it is possible to expand the data RAM in 2 ways:

1) Use RAM-1 peripheral board. This board has 512 Kbytes of volatile RAM. Data in this RAM is lost when power is turned off. This RAM may be useful for temporary storage of program data, such as large arrays.

2) Use a non-volatile RAM type called FRAM. FRAM has very high endurance rate ( typically billions of writes ) and it is non-volatile. In other words, it keeps its contents even when power is turned off. FRAM is installed on the 24C04 EEPROM socket on the MINI-MAX/51-C2. It is similar to EEPROM in that it is accessed serially via the I2C bus. Unlike EEPROM, it has very high endurance and almost instantaneous write time. Hence, it is suitable for fast data logging.