best PIC to start with

[bloody-orc]

)Hi there.
I'n new and I'm going to start using PIC on my robots now(i have constructed many BEAM robots before) but I cant desside witch PIC is thebest one to start with. I have red that 16F84 is one of the PIC's to start with, but witch would you suggest?

(sry about the bad englsh, not so good at this yet )

 

[checkmate]

Go straight for the 16F877A or the 18F458

 

[bloody-orc]

huh they see to be expencive ones and very big ones also :? cant enione suggest anithing semaller and easier (no external resonator and only i\o ports and power) and it would be nice if it would have tx and rx for ICSP

 

[samcheetah]

u dont have to worry about the cost. u can order samples from microchip's website. it will only take about 8-10 days for the shipment.

but the PICs suggested by checkmate are really big. but the smaller the microcontroller the lesser the I/O capabilities and the lesser the functionality.

but u can check the PIC16F819 or the PIC16F628 and see if these PICs match your requirements.

 

[vaineo]

the PIC16F628 is just an improved version of the PIC16F84 and it has a built in 4mhz crystal so you don't need external parts to get it running

 

[bloody-orc]

yes i thin the first pic will be PIC16F628 because it costs less than others(in my country 64 EEK) and has all the things i need

but now the programmer:

**broken link removed**

i have chosed to use this without the socket and only with the ICSP pins can i use that?

and the software:
i have learned C and i have the full knolage on nqc and i know a little basic but looking to the program examples on the net :roll: I cant understand a **** they are full of somecind of a numbes and moving bank 0\1 to bank 1\2 :roll: to difficult for me... is there a easier way to program my robot(FREE version if there is) whitch is like this:

high porta 1;
low porta 1;
etc.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I used the 16F628 in my tutorials, for a number of reasons - basically, it's cheap, it's small, it has an internal oscillator, it gives 16 I/O pins in an 18 pin package.

The 16F628 is the cheaper replacement for the obselete 16x84 series.

The 18 series probably isn't a good place to start, they are far more complicated (55 instructions compared to 36) - and while you can easily port a 16 series program to an 18 series chip, it doesn't work the other way round.

 

[Andy_123]

I started with 16F628 and qickly realized that it is very limited: not enought I/O points, no analog inputs, so I switched to 16F870 and shortly after to 16F877.
16F877 gives you lots of room: you can have LCD, keypad, serial interface , digital and analog inputs same time.
Once you finalized your device, you may be able switch to a smaller one.

Speaking of 18F - I really like them - fast (40MHz), better RAM organization, better interrupt handling, fast stack commands.

Sometimes 16F application will not work on 18F - mainly because they use 2 bytes per command, so all your jumps $+2 now become $+4.
Also table select needs modification.
But overall 18F is way to go if you have some experience. I am using 18F452 for all my new prototype designs.

 

[pittuck]

Only problem i have with the 18F is the cost of compilers, i am going to spend $250 on a C compiler for the 16F range pretty soon and will have to do it again for the 18F some months after...

Why cant someone make a free one, lol

 

[bloody-orc]

hi again

well i have found one program how to program chips but it seems to be PICAXE only, (or not?) but this is the type i would like to have... it is the easiest version of them all(especially the LCD part of it, u write the text in there ) is there anithing like that for PIC's or do i have to learn the creapy wersion of the porgramming? :?

and here's the soft:

now i know that this is an assembler for the PIC also

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

hi again

well i have found one program how to program chips but it seems to be PICAXE only, (or not?) but this is the type i would like to have... it is the easiest version of them all(especially the LCD part of it, u write the text in there ) is there anithing like that for PIC's or do i have to learn the creapy wersion of the porgramming? :?

and here's the soft:

now i know that this is an assembler for the PIC also

The PICAxe is a pre-programmed PIC, you upload short BASIC programs into it via a serial connection - you can only run VERY! small programs as it uses the EEPROM data memory for program storage (128 bytes in a 16F628), as it's a BASIC interpreter it also runs very slowly.

It's a useful 'toy' for playing with, but not very practical for the real world, it's far too restricted - it's a popular choice though for children in school, as it's simple to use and very cheap.

 

[bloody-orc]

yes i know what the picaxe is(i have one) but the programming soft is useful for programming PICs aswell. but i need a BASIC -> assembler converter and then i could program the PIC aswell (and with flowchart's)
does anione know any program that does it?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

What you need is a BASIC compiler, you can buy various ones, but most are not compatible with the PICAxe - I seem to remember that rev-ed either sell a compiler, or have plans to develop one.

 

[bloody-orc]

i found one that they sell there, somekind of a programmer do I have to buy that?

 

[bryan1]

Eh Orc,
if you are after a basic compiler to work with pic's take a look at this link **broken link removed**

you can download a demo which limits you to 2k of words but thats enough to get you going. The registered version is $149 US

Cheers Bryan