If you want the quick and easy route into PICs, check out the Picaxe, which is a PIC bootloaded with BASIC, the easiest to learn programming language. They cost a little more than the bare PIC, and all manuals and software are free online. I have started playing with Picaxes in the last year and I would recommend them as by far the easiest microcontroller to start on.
The Picaxe microcontroller is a PIC microcontroller that can be programmed via an ordinary PC using the BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) language (as used in schools), thereby making it by far the easiest chip to program and use. It is available in versions from 8-pin to 40-pin, just choose how many inputs and outputs you need.
The only necessary hardware is the USB programming cable (about £12) and a breadboard with a couple of sockets and resistors. All the necessary programming software is available as free downloads.
In the UK: Information: rev-ed.co.uk Supplier: techsupplies.co.uk (= shop for rev-ed) Technical Support Forum: www.picaxeforum.co.uk
Excellent site http://www.rentron.com/pic.htm And if you goto my own projects page you will see some pic projects for beginners plus code plus flow charts plus explanations with various links and PCB layouts diagrams schematics and hex code
All sorts all ready for you to start with
www.eeweb.com/project/mark_harrington And further information etc lots of links on www.harrington.force9.co.uk again with lots of info pointers to other sites with enormous amounts of information
Regarding the "(www.rentron.com/pic.htm)":http://www.rentron.com/pic.htm site, there's a lot of good stuff there, but the "Myke Predko's New PICMicro Programmer" article is dated -- these days, flash programming is the better alternative (otherwise it's back to the _knives-and-bear-skins_ technique of removing the PIC from the development board, plugging it into the programmer socket (which would, I hope, at least, be a ZIF socket (not featured in the above mentioned article)!), programming it, pulling it from the programmer socket and re-inserting it into the development board, hopefully at the correct location, over and over again -- whew! I remember those days!!
Better to invest in a programmer, such as the PICkit 2 or PICkit 3 or check out the offerings at Mikroelektronika. The PICkit 2 is not compatible with some of the newer PIC MCUs, so be sure to check the compatibility list before buying - that said, eBay can be a good source of this sometimes cheaper alternative to the PICkit 3 -- though even the PICkit 3 isn't all that expensive.
Yes correct Steve it is possibly outdated but then not everyone can afford a pickit 2 , 3
£50 to £65 a time is an awful lot of money in foreign currency Its an awful lot of money if you haven’t got any money in the first place
The content on the page though is still valid i.e the methods for writing applications in assembler etc
I still do programming this way pull it in and out of the socket , some of us have to do it this way There is no alternative especially when you are talking about areas with people that are underprivileged and where you have no choice but to salvage parts from scrap because the income that you have is barely enough to survive on
Let alone anything else Where there is no employment Where factories and shops have closed left right and centre where the cheapest led for example is only available from Maplins at some £1.20 odd or you pay £0.15 pence for just one resistor never mind anything else and where you don’t have a credit card and you have no other choice or a bank account
Doesn’t really make a lot of sense until you experience some of this yourselves and then and only then do you appreciate just how difficult this is to understand for people in these circumstances to take on new skills
Let alone developed a career when you have a government that is determined to drive people even further into this trap, greed beyond all recognition
I should know I’ve seen this story for many years and first hand at experiencing some of this as well So I know just how hard they’ve made this Only this time they can’t point fingers except at themselves as leaders for allowing this to happen
Finally this does and can happen to anyone regardless of your status in life or education or job or position Yes even managing directors
Thank god we still do have websites and free software such described on http://www.rentron.com/pic.htm)”: Just as well and people who are willing to place projects on sites FOC at thier own expense
Yes Collin If you have a credit card ! ! Other than this forget it not even Maplins keep one in stock They are still working with serial port cost £34.00 plus Yes they are available on Ebay as well for £20 to £30 but you still have to have credit or debit card If a Corporate company goes bust and you’re in the firing line your credit cards go, your bank account is shut , you also lose your home if you don’t lose your family as well , You want to give this country a trial run day just to find out exactly how this lot carry on Its I can’t win your not going to win" no , not joking, the only country in the world that actually destroys itself just like Russia during the 1st ,2nd world Totally obliterate the country and business so that the opposing political party cannot get into power or alternatively if they do win they make sure they cant clean up the mess or sort the employment , training , comma comma comma comma Id go on forever here but whats the point
For beginners interested in PIC microcontroller programming, starting with the Picaxe series is recommended due to its ease of use and BASIC programming language, which is widely accessible and supported by free software and manuals. Essential hardware includes a USB programming cable and a breadboard with basic components. Various PIC training and development boards are available from suppliers such as Gooligum Electronics, MikroElektronika, Microchip, Kanda, AMS, Flowcode, and EduPIC, offering different levels of support and integrated development environments (IDEs). Programming methods have evolved from manual chip removal and programming to using dedicated programmers like the PICkit 2 and PICkit 3, which provide more efficient flash programming, though cost and availability can be limiting factors. Online resources with beginner projects, code examples, schematics, and tutorials are valuable for learning, including sites like rentron.com and eeweb.com. Despite some outdated methods still being used in resource-limited environments, investing in modern programmers and development tools is advised for a smoother learning experience. Summary generated by the language model.
