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I believe there are currently two simple approaches to to getting
involved with microcontrollers. The PICmicro and the ATMEL micros:
You just have to get your feet wet and dive in and get that first LED
flashing. Once you have done this, you will be in a better position to
understand where you are heading with MicroControllers, what language you
can handle or need to use, and how to go about expanding past that LED
flashing stage. The Internet provides a wealth of information for these
micros, and most of this is linked to the DonTronics "Links" page.
MicroChip's PICmicro has great support and plenty of applications,
chat groups etc., and they have flash micros in 18, 28, and 40 pin DIP
packages. A flash device allows you to program the micro thousands of times
with a simple programmer. The most popular PICmicro for beginners is the
PIC16F84/04/P. This is the F84 in an 18 pin DIP package, which is the standard
18 pin .3" socket.
A lot of references on the web are made of the PIC16C84. This is the
first version of the 84 and now obsolete. These are pin for pin compatible,
and from a newbie point of view, the power up timer bit is inverted during
programming. Sure there are other differences, but the "PUT" bit inversion
is all you need to know initially. If you are starting with an F84, then
you are off to a fresh start any way.
See:
http://www.dontronics.com/pickaxe.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt001.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt001cha.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt101.html
http://www.dontronics.com/chat.html
http://www.dontronics.com/diyk96.html
Now depending on what language you wish to program in,
See:
http://www.dontronics.com/picbasic.html
http://www.dontronics.com/pbpro.html
http://www.dontronics.com/ccs.html
http://www.dontronics.com/bs4.html
and check for the books at:
http://www.dontronics.com/easy.html
http://www.dontronics.com/pup.html
http://www.dontronics.com/pt.html
http://www.dontronics.com/sptoc.html
I believe the Pickaxe type kit is the best, but of course I am biased.
Pickaxe is based on the SimmStick platform.
Pickaxe
(Using the DT001) is also a Load/Run programmer. All the others are not!
If you see one in future that has a Load/Run switch via a 4PDT switch,
then you know the idea was stolen from DonTronics.
Pickaxe will at least get you to the LED flashing stage, well, in combination
with the bs4 type basic for starters.
Sure I can sell you a $22USD programmer kit, but you end up with a
programmer, not a development system. Then you have to get a target board
going. The Pickaxe kit is both programmer and target board, and includes
the Micro and most of the components in the prices shown on the Pickaxe
page.
You don't need much info for this, but it may eventually be wise to get something like the Easy Pic'n book for a more in depth understanding of the 84 PICmicro.
And if you start with the 84 and Pickaxe, you can move onto the 28 and
40 pin flash devices just by upgrading hardware by simply plugging in a
new Micro and SimmStick.
See:
http://www.dontronics.com/dt106.html
See:
http://www.dontronics.com/8252pack.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt206.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt004.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt104.html
http://www.dontronics.com/dt103.html
http://www.dontronics.com/chat.html
http://www.dontronics.com/x_p.html
and
http://www.dontronics.com/atmel.html
Now depending on what language you wish to program in,
See:
http://www.dontronics.com/bascomlt.html
http://www.dontronics.com/basc8051.html
http://www.dontronics.com/basc-avr.html
for the best supported basic compiler bar none.
I get a lot of questions on how to do this and how to do that. There are support groups in place not only for Dontronics products but also for PIC or Atmel specific questions.
Sure I can answer your questions directly, and if you get onto one of the groups, (see Chat) others can answer as well. I may well answer on the list, but it means you don't have to wait on me either. The Siuser and Atmel lists have hundreds of users, the Piclist about 1500 at the moment.
I have seen the PICLIST guys virtually design the hardware and software on line for various projects that subscribers have asked about.
The Siuser list will help you with any Dontronics product related question.
Please have a look at:
PIClist is for PICs in general, stamps are for the Parallax Basic
stamp. Other PIC groups will be found such as the SiSuser group for
SimmStick and other related products, Atmel for Atmel.
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