Re: basic elapsed seconds counter

On Feb 29, 1:19 pm, Mike Silva <snarflem...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 28, 8:26 pm, ben.anto...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Thanks Mike. It appears a microcontroller combines all tasks into a
single unit, and $2 is plenty cheap enough. But what makes this method
more complex? Do I need computer programs etc to program it? Thanks
for the suggestion

1) It requires knowing how to write software for the device.
2) It requires understanding the device hardware (timers, I/O ports,
etc).
3) It requires a toolset.  This can just be a free assembler program
for your case.
4) It requires a way to download a program into the micro.  This can
be a simple parallel-port programmer, or a USB-based device.

None of this is particularly complex, but it's certainly not as easy
as wiring up 5 small chips.

For the price of this added complexity you get corresponding benefits,
the biggest of which are the ability to add functionality without
adding much if any hardware, and to quickly and easily experiment and
modify the functionality, to tweak the design.  It can also be a heck
of a lot of fun.

Mike

Do you know of any resources which can help me learn about
microcontrollers? I am also still very interested in wiring up 5 small
chips however...
.

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