LPC2148 Reference Design
An open source, freely reusable reference design for NXP's ARM7-based LPC2148
In order to help you get a head start building a prototype with NXP's ARM7-based LPC2148, we've put together a freely reusable reference design. All of the core peripherals are connected and have been tested, freeing you to focus on adding the functionality that's unique to your own project rather than reinventing the wheel again and again.
If you're more of a software person and are just getting started designing your own hardware, starting from a proven reference design can give you a dependable frame-of-reference for your own work. To help in the design process, we've also put together a brief Hardware Design Overview explaining some of the rationale behind the board (i.e., why it's connected the way that it is).
Concept
We intentionally made the reference board as simple as possible. Most of the main peripherals are simply broken out to standard 0.1" header pins, and the only additional hardware we added to the base board itself was a simple LED for testing purposes (to ensure that the board is working properly or for some instant gratification if you're writing your first program for the LPC2148). This board isn't intended to be an exhaustive development board where every possible feature is exposed, but a solid, proven starting point for your own design and development work.
Rather than adding a lot of functionality to the base board and schematic, we've left as many pins as possible 'free' to do what you want with them them. We've also provided a simple Eagle schematic and board file for a PCB that will fit on top of the reference design, acting as a companion board of sorts. This allows you to develop your own devices using a clean (and thus easy to route) PCB, while taking advantage of all the plumbing provided by the base reference board underneath. We plan to provide a few expansion boards ourselves with examples of how to use different I2C and SPI components, SD card readers, wireless communication, etc., and hope that other members on this site will consider producing some 'open-source' boards as well. If there's enough interest, we'll be glad to create a separate section of the site to host any expansion boards that have been produced!
Hardware: Eagle Schematics and Board Files
Schematic
LPC2148 Reference Design Base Board - Eagle Schematic and Board File
This download contains the Eagle schematic and board files for the LPC2148 Base Board, along with a basic BOM (bill of materials). The "Base Board" contains all of the components required to make use of the LPC2148 itself, as well as all most of the internal peripherals (SPI, I2C, USB, etc.). Forty pins have been broken out (twenty 0.1" header pins on each side) to allow you to test the different peripherals out and to help you take advantage of the base board in your own designs. To take advantage of the base board and test it out with your own hardware, you can either use standard male 0.1" jumper cables and a breadboard, or design a custom "Expansion Board" with your own hardware (see below) and securely snap it into place on top of the base board.
| Version Number | Release Date | Release Notes |
 | 1.1 | 15 December, 2009 | See Changelist.txt |
We've put together a complete software package based on this reference design, showing how to use most of the main peripherals and taking advantage of a real-time operating system (FreeRTOS) to help schedule your tasks and share code-execution time between several different processes. For more information, or to download the latest version, take a look at our LPC2148 Code Base.
Where can I buy one?
Fully assembled boards are available in our online store. These assembled boards allow us to pay for our servers, and recover some of the the expenses involved in developing the reference designs and software libraries we provide. If you find some of this information useful, buying something from us is a great way to say thanks ... though we'd be just as happy if you drop us a line as well!
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We are temporarily unable to reorder this item, or the supplier has stopped producing it. If you wish to
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If you're new to ARM7, or are interested in a more detailed exploration of the LPC2148, you may also want to look at our ongoing series of LPC2148 tutorials:
LPC2148 QuickStart Guide. The series offers a more detailed explanation of some of the main peripherals and has some basic downloadable software examples.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Use of this design should be attributed to: microBuilder.eu.