Hey there dudes!

Eventhough I'm not in 100% Electronic Engineering course (Medical Engineering), but learning microcontrollers will be a fun thing to do too!

All I have in my head now is a completed study course of Digital Electronics (1 semester), Analogue Electronics (1 sem), Fundamentals of Electrics and Electronics (2 sems), and one Electrical Machines and Drives (1 sem). In my next sem, I'll be studying Microcontroller + Microprocessor (1 sem) but all it pertained is the 68HC11 chip.

But I have only started reading up some fundamentals of computer architecture like 8086/8 and a wee bit of assembly language. Upon reading the sticky, I found out that I might need to understand all of these thingy before I have to dive into the world of microcontrollers.

So, I found out a local retailer of mine have PIC 16F84 which costs a few dollars. And some empty breadboards too.

Is a PIC 16F84 a good start? I need a serial port right, and then I have to find a program to make the microcontroller happen?

Is a PIC 16F84 a good start?

No! it was replaced by the 16F627A/628A/648A family years ago.

There are plenty of modern chips in dip packages from 8 to 40 pins.
I like the 16F88x family. Many people here favor the 18F series, for example, 18F1320, 18F2520, or 18F2550.

I need a serial port right, and then I have to find a program to make the microcontroller happen?

No. There are programmers for serial, parallel, and USB ports. These days USB is preferable. Get a PICkit 2 or a clone such as Junebug. The software is from Microchip and is frequently updated.

Newark has excellent prices on PICs.

Originally Posted by littletransistor

Oh-kay. Hmm... so I have to choose the 16F88x and the 18F series for a good start?

You don't "have to" do anything, but the newer PICs are nicer to work with. Much nicer than old klunkers like 16F84 and 16F628. 18F1320 is good 18-pin device. A nice "big" (40-pin) chip is the 18F4620.

For a programmer/debugger, another vote for either a genuine PICkit 2 or a Blueroom Electronics Junebug.

And also, is it good to buy those "PIC starter kit" with the developing board + all the little freebies inside?

There's no such thing as freebies. I don't recommend those kits, but if they work for you then fine. I do recommend a good selection of parts (resistors, capacitors, transistors, crystals, switches, LEDs, etc.), solderless breadboards and wires. I have a good list posted somewhere on here. I'll find it tonight and repost.

the 68HC11. So, any development boards for the 68HC11 too?

Have a look at Technological Arts. I have a bunch of their boards. Excellent stuff.

Or look at evbplus.com. Have a look at their Dragon 12-Plus. Nice board! I know it's not HC11, but what's an HC12 anyway if not a bigger, better HC11.

Both companies cater to the educational market (student discounts).

Originally Posted by littletransistor

Ok, on Farnell I found out the PIC Kit II, but they have different flavours. Maybe I'll try to take the 40 pin one so that it'll be easier for me to experiment with later.

You can buy just the PICkit 2 by itself. Their kits have kind of strange choices for chips and the boards aren't all that useful from what I've seen.

Originally Posted by littletransistor

I see. So is it still work best for a super-novice like me despite the 'not so usefulness' of the kit? Well, are all the 'language' still the same from teh PIC 16F to the 18 ones?

If you are going to get a PicKit 2, you might as well spring for the development board also. The "kit" that features the 16F690 is better than the 18 chip one, for the reason that you can use other 16 series chip with it.

Also, the tutorials that come with the full package will lead you through the building block learning of the assembly language and will give you a base knowledge of the use of microcomputers. If you want to expand later, i.e. learning C# or BoostC, or using 18 series or better, then you will be better grounded.

I understand you are more interested in learning Pics as a hobby, thus the starter kit will make things much easier for you.

I would agree with philba, after using the 16Fxxx I found the 18Fxxx to be rid of all the irritating quirks the 16F series have. bankswitching and RMW were probably the most irritating. As for debug it's the next best thing to an ICE at a fraction of the cost.
The PICkit2 (and my compatible the Junebug) are IMO excellent little programmers / debuggers that should fill any hobbiest / student need.

Originally Posted by AllVol

If you are going to get a PicKit 2, you might as well spring for the development board also. The "kit" that features the 16F690 is better than the 18 chip one, for the reason that you can use other 16 series chip with it.

Also, the tutorials that come with the full package will lead you through the building block learning of the assembly language and will give you a base knowledge of the use of microcomputers. If you want to expand later, i.e. learning C# or BoostC, or using 18 series or better, then you will be better grounded.

I understand you are more interested in learning Pics as a hobby, thus the starter kit will make things much easier for you.

Well, other than just hobby, it is used to extend some more of my Microcontroller knowledge besides the 68HC11, and it might help in my other projects which will use the PIC.

Originally Posted by philba

For starting out, I think the 18F series is a much better choice than 16F for use with the PICKit2. This is because the 18F series is generally easier to debug than 16F. While some 16Fs support debugging with the PICKit2, the 18F series has more breakpoints and is faster to respond. I got the PICKit2 + 16F887 kit and the 887 is really slow to respond to breakpoints and single step and only has one breakpoint you can use. The 18F4550 (good chip and has USB) is really quick to step/bkpt and supports 3 breakpoints. Many (if not most) of the 16F chips don't support in circuit debugging at all.

Originally Posted by blueroomelectronics

I would agree with philba, after using the 16Fxxx I found the 18Fxxx to be rid of all the irritating quirks the 16F series have. bankswitching and RMW were probably the most irritating. As for debug it's the next best thing to an ICE at a fraction of the cost.
The PICkit2 (and my compatible the Junebug) are IMO excellent little programmers / debuggers that should fill any hobbiest / student need.

Oh, I see. So I might need to find a starter kit for the 18F series. Besides, I have a basic working knowledge of C/C++. I'm not sure whether I might start with ASM or directly C when I program it.

edit: I can't seem to find a starter kit for 18F series. Even Farnell doesn't stock up on that one.

Originally Posted by ericwertz

You could try the

http://www.futurlec.com/PIC18F458_De...nt_Board.shtml

or the

http://www.futurlec.com/PIC18F4550_Board.shtml

And since they're in Thailand, you'll get it reasonably fast for a decent price w/shipping.

-e

I would not buy such a board without seeing the schematics, I did not see schematics for either board.

The USB version has an ICD2 sticker on the 40 pin PIC. where it the target chip?

Given that they have you guessing I would not suggest either. Go with a Junebug or an original PICkit2.

3v0

Originally Posted by littletransistor

Ok, I guess I'll get the PICKit II or the Junebug. But I don't know how am I going to order that Junebug, since I'm in Malaysia and there's no stockist nearby.

They have mail in Malaysia, right? You know, where you send and receive letters and packages? That's how you get things you order, even from other countries. Works most places.

So are both of these capable of programming in C?

A programmer/debugger doesn't know or care what language produced the hex file. It only puts the machine code in the PIC's memory and communicates with the PIC for debugging. The question is, are you capable of programming in C?