Bret,

ATMEL AND DALLAS SEMI
=====================
These companies have fans. I prefer Philips because of production line reasons. I like Dallas Semi for RTCs and iButtons.

CONFIGURATON:
=============
I assume that you are looking to put together a system to hook up to a Windows PC, with an easy 8051 download system, and some ablility to use the board to experiment with I/O devices in a prototyping section, Quantity One.

The Philips board seems like a good match. Note that it is only for the RX+ micros I've listed.

Someone may post a better priced model from Atmel etc. Its possible that you'll never use all the capability in the RX+ series and a lesser micro would suffice.

PHILIPS RX+ DEVELOPERS BOARD
============================
The Philips card I mentioned should only be available through Philips... I'll post the price and availability information on it soon.

PHILIPS RX+ SERIES: P89C51RC+IA
===============================
The microprocessor I'm talking about, the 89C51RC+IA can be as expensive as $16 in single quantity. I'll try to find a better price tomorrow. Generally I think its better to be experimenting with a capable microprocessor than to have one lacking capability for your experiments so we keep overkill models in the lab.

Saving money on microprocessors is only important to me when planning a design for production.

BUYING THE MICRO
================
I thought Newark would have carried them but I should have checked.

http://www.future-active.com/
has
P89C51RC+IA.......$16.20 quantity 1-10

The "IA" model is a 44 pin PLCC package for commercial temperature ranges.
I'll have our pricing updated soon and post it.


-Jay C. Box