Using Vex Brain as FRC Coprocessor

[Mike]

I know using a Vex as a co-proc would be cool and all, but I think it's wayyy overkill. You can get a top of the line AVR ATMega2561 (pdf warning) for a mere 10% of the price of a vex controller ($16.99 at Digikey). Lets compare the specs.

Vex:

• Chip: Microchip PICmicro® PIC18F8520
• Speed: 10 MIPS
• I/O: 16 10 bit ADC
• Program space: 32Kb
• Programming language: PIC C (Not totally ANSI)

AVR:

• Chip: AVR ATMega2561
• Speed: 16 MIPS at 16MHz
• I/O: 16 channel 10 bit ADC, total of 86 programmable IO lines
• Program space: 256Kb
• Programming language: avr-gcc (AFAIK ANSI)

AVRs have the advantage in every category. Spending an extra $130 to get a fraction of the benefits... nah.