Re: Learning About Microcontrollers - Advice

Thanks for your reply Petrus, and to Bob for the AVR link. You make some
useful points (and aware of the risks involved with mains).

I think I'll probably start off with the micochip kit to begin with as it
appears to be a well established area and so has a greater array of books,
forums and support, but maybe I'll try lighting a few LEDs and then see how
I get on from there.

Thanks very much for your help.

Best regards

John

"petrus bitbyter" <pieterkraltlaatditweg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:44317c0a$0$31051$e4fe514c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"John" <JohnSickOfSpam@xxxxxxx> schreef in bericht
news:e0rabo$bat$1$830fa17d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"petrus bitbyter" <pieterkraltlaatditweg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:4431222f$0$26530$e4fe514c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"John" <JohnSickOfSpam@xxxxxxx> schreef in bericht
news:e0r4nc$mpq$1$8300dec7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi there,

I wanting to start learning about programming microcontrollers and have
done some preliminary research have discovered I need some advice.

I seem to have a lot of abbreviations, but am not sure which is the
best path to choose, ie should I start with PIC, dsPIC, FPGA etc. The
trouble is that there seem to a lot of "starter kits" but what or the
general pro's and cons. Can anyone point me towards a good high-level
article for beginners that would explain this stuff? I've had a good
look at Microchip.com's site but even within that can't really decide
what better for what and why?

All help greatly appreciated!

Best regards

John (UK)

John,

Main question: What do you want to achieve? Micros can be used to serve
a lot of purposes but they are devices, seldom a cause in itself. Some
are used in toys, some in satellites and a lot of them in the world
between.

As for micros, I consider http://www.voti.nl/swp/
a good intro in the world of micros.

BTW FPGAs are not micros but other programmable devices. IMHO you need
to have quite some understanding of digital design to use them.

petrus bitbyter


Hi Petrus,

Sorry, objective is really basic "home control" (ie lights switching,
maybe some environmental control such as temperature sensing etc. and
perhaps some remote control over the Internet), but also for general
interest. I think I'll leave launching satellites for week two!

Thanks very much for the link, which I've had a very quick scan through,
particularly the "are you sure" part. In many ways I would prefer to go
down the plug together modules (such as www.phidgets.com) although this
appears to increase the cost and you end up with a solution that's either
over spec'd or doesn't quite achieve what you want. I am reasonably
useful in VB.NET and so thought that a bit of C programming wouldn't be
that much of a leap, although as your article points out, the post
flicking LEDs on and off becomes more intensive.

So what do you think are there other modular systems you'd recommend or
something like "PICkit 2 Development Programmer"
(http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1406&dDocName=en023805)
be a better option?

Thanks again.

Best regards

John


John,

I fully agree about these phidgets.

As for the PICkit 2, I consider it a nice starter kit. But you need to
realise it's only one third of your needs. You'll need at least some basic
knowledge of electronics and you'll have to learn C- or assembly
programming combined with an understanding of the architecture of the
device you want to use. Part of these knowlege will be included in the
lessons Microchip provides with the kit. I heard about a BASIC compiler
but never saw it. Be aware that interfacing with the mains comes with is
own challenges and risks.

petrus bitbyter



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: an old geezer running visual studio for the first time
    ... Consider developing your aspx and ascx files in FrontPage, Dreamweaver, ... > definitely NOT the place to write HTML - so no need for you to think about ... Familiarize yourself with the starter kits at the following link: ... >> I have done quite a bit web programming, ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.aspnet)
  • Re: Learning About Microcontrollers - Advice
    ... Sorry, objective is really basic "home control" (ie lights switching, maybe ... I wanting to start learning about programming microcontrollers and have ... As for micros, I consider http://www.voti.nl/swp/ ... BTW FPGAs are not micros but other programmable devices. ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Learning About Microcontrollers - Advice
    ... I wanting to start learning about programming microcontrollers and have ... As for micros, I consider http://www.voti.nl/swp/ ... Sorry, objective is really basic "home control" (ie lights switching, ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Moving from 8051 to AVR
    ... in order to overcome the deficiencies of the CPU core. ... I started out using assembler, then "graduated" to C on a HC11. ... The most "natural" C programming style is ... It gets less important for big micros, or for non-vital code, but for small micros it can make a huge difference. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: new to microproccessors, want to get started
    ... i download an assembely compiler. ... what information do i nead to program ... The 89s52 is a reasonable processor for c programming on micros. ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)