Digi ConnectMe Notes

The Digi ConnectMe is an amazing piece of equipment. In a metal can the size of an RJ45 connector, Digi has packed a NetSilicon/ARM chipset including 2 MB Flash and up to 16 MB RAM. The 100BT version draws 300 mA. It costs around US$40 officially, but I've heard of much lower negotiated bulk prices. There is also a WiFi version.

The ConnectMe is basically a LAN to serial adapter. Digi seems to intend that companies buy the device, solder it to their circuit boards, and quickly convert RS232 devices to "internet" devices. That works Ok, but with an ARM and all that memory to work with, it's inevitable that guys like me will try to do something more with it.

Unfortunately, that's where the trouble starts. While Digi has great technical support people, and Ok support forums on their website, I found that their developer support was a bit frustrating. I don't know how other people work, but I need a mental picture of a device before I feel comfortable controlling it. With the ConnectMe, Digi has not provided that. I lost a lot of time going back and forth with their tech support people, trying to figure things out. Finally, the light dawned, and I finished my project.

Now I'll be going through my "old" notes (6 weeks old) and blogging the day-by-day struggle to understand this unique piece of equipment. I hope my readers, if any, learn something for their trouble and share their own experiences too.

FYI, you can skip this entire blog and go direct to the official sources of information:

Digi Connectme website:
http://www.digi.com/products/embeddeddeviceservers/digiconnectme.jsp

Digi Support FTP Site:
ftp://ftp1.digi.com/support/

Digi Developer Forums:
http://www.digi.com/support/forum/

NetSilicon Developer Forums:
http://www.netsilicon.com/netforums/


Larry Martin
www.GlueLogix.com
Copyright (c) 2004 Larry Martin. All Rights reserved.