Possible STM8 Forth
I have some STM8 boards and a programmer.
I semi-randomly came across a project, STM8EF that seems to be building up a nice Forth environment for STM8 chips and boards. That could be an alternative to going with SDCC and the devil I know that is low level C.
It would be nice to make some use of the boards I have. They would probably be sufficient for adding some smarts to simple devices like motors or IO controllers or analog sensors, displays etc. The cihps are cheap and available enough, though it's not a big step up to some Cortex M0 or even M3 chip (e.g. STM32).
I'll stash some links here for further study.
- STM8EF Github page
- STM8EF Github Wiki with lots of info
- STM8EF Hackaday.io page
There are also hints about some products that could be hacked to extend their functionality and/or avoid reinventing the wheel. Tacking a small radio on a thermostat was the first idea that came to mind. Also, to those little PIR sensors and door switches.
Another useful gadget would be a tachometer. A simple counter with an input that could be connected to a reflective sensor, a photogate, a Hall sensor, or something else. Add a display.