MT System is the name given to describe a suite of development software and hardware, which including the Text Editor, Compiler, Simulator, Downloader, TinyC programming language and a collection of pre-programmed microcontrollers called MT chips.

There is only ONE set of development software for ALL types of MT chips, therefore, from programmer's point of view, it doesn't matter for which MT chip the program is written for. The same piece of TinyC program will run on all types of MT chips. However, not all the TinyC functions are supported by all types of MT chips. Unsupported functions are simply ignored by the MCUs if encountered. MT chips differ from each other in the ways of how many programs they can store inside the flash memory, the amount of run-time memory available, the number of I/O pins and the TinyC functions they can support.

The programming language instructs the MT chips to perform any form of electronic actions is called TinyC. The Editor is the software where you write TinyC programs in it, the Compiler is the software that translates your written programs into some form of object codes that the MT chips can understand and execute. The Downloader is a piece of software that transfer (via a serial cable) the object codes into the flash memory of a MT chip, in which the chip is going to execute it later.

The program called, MT chips Simulator is a piece of sofware that mimics a real MT chip which loads and executes the object codes produced by the Compiler. The purpose of the Simulator is to provide a simple debugging tool for viewing the results of a running TinyC program, before it get programmed into a MT chip. This is good to find out the program logic flow (i.e. execution steps) of the program. This also indirectly extends the life of the MCU. Since MCUs were designed to be programmable for a specific number of times, but with nowaday IC manufacturing technology, most of the flash memory cells are programmable for not less than 100,000 times!

The last thing to remember is that the MT run-time system inside the MT chips is a 16-bit system, therefore the maximum signed integer it can take is 32,767 and 65,535 for unsigned, and the ADC/DAC functions in all the MT chips are in 10-bit resolution. This is also the reason why the maximum size of a TinyC program is set at 32K words, it's all because the biggest signed integer it can takes is 32,767. The run-time system uses a signed integer for the value of the PC (program counter) to jump around.

Screenshot of the MicroTech IDE

Screenshot of the RS232 Test Terminal

Screenshot of the MT Simulator

In order to make development for MT chips easier, a number of DemoBoards are available to host different kinds of MT chips. In addition 3 more boards are available to provide extra I/O capability. The MT Serial LCD Controller uses just 3 wires to connect a 16x2 (or larger) LCD to view the output of the TinyC writeX() function. The MT Motor Controller also uses a 3-wire connection to provide a simple and easy interface for controlling DC and stepper motors. The IOBoard consists of commonly used I/O gadgets for experimenting with MT chips.

MT-20	MT-28	MT-40
Serial LCD Controller	Motor Controller	IOBoard

Reference documents:

Development Software and Sample Programs, MT.rar

MT Chips Hardware Reference, MT chips.pdf

MT DemoBoard Hardware Reference, DemoBoard.pdf

MT IOBoard Hardware Reference, IOBoard.pdf

MT Serial LCD Controller Reference, sLCD.pdf

MT Motor Controller Hardware Reference, MCTRL.pdf

TinyC Programming Reference, TinyC.pdf

MT System Quick Start Guide, MTSQSG.pdf

The whole range and specs of MT chips offered can be found on the Products page.