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Waltur

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I'm new to electronics but am interested in learning about microcontrollers for fun.

I have been looking around online and am trying to understand the best way to get started.

I have an Arduino and have a little experience working with that, however, I would like something a little more detailed in terms of learning excactly how things work behind the scenes, so to speak.

I would like to look at data sheets, use assembly language and basically get started.

I have a budget of $200 for this. I would appreciate any tips, links to vendors/products or general advice.

It looks like I need to first decide on a microcontroller...someone recommended an 8051 as they are more simple?

I would then need to buy a starter kit (or development board?). I looked at MikroElektronics and they look great, however, they may be a little more than I need?
 
Most manufacturers produce development kits and IDE (Integrated Development Environment) programming software to encourage use of their micros. Check their websites and google for datasheets.
A popular series of chips for hobbyists is PIC micros from Microchip. For starting out, it's advisable to choose micros (such as PICs) available in DIP packages (less fiddly than surface mount chips).
 
Most manufacturers produce development kits and IDE (Integrated Development Environment) programming software to encourage use of their micros. Check their websites and google for datasheets.
A popular series of chips for hobbyists is PIC micros from Microchip. For starting out, it's advisable to choose micros (such as PICs) available in DIP packages (less fiddly than surface mount chips).

Thank you for the reply. I have looked at the Microchip website but am not sure what would be a good starting kit. Is there any way you could post a link from Microchip of a good starter kit that would include what I would need to get going? I'm just looking for an example to help. Thank you again for replying.
 
Would this be good?

It would be a different approach, but again, my goal is to learn as much as possible from the ground up with a hands on project.
 
There are obviously a lot of PIC micro-controllers to choose from. A good place to start is either the 16 range family or the 18 range family. They are the easiest to program than some of the other families, and they have quite a few features built in that allow you to be creative with your design. This link is for the general operation of the entire 16 mid range family. You can easily find a more specific data sheet once you have the part you want. I personally would suggest a micro in the 18 family, they have a bit more features depending on the IC you get, and they have some more instructions that make programing them a bit easier. Both families have their benefits and disadvantages, so it will really be up to you to decide which you want.

A few micros from each family that you may want to start with:
16 family:
PIC16F84A--------Data Sheet
PIC16F677--------Data Sheet
PIC16F627A------Data Sheet

18 family:
PIC18F1220------Data Sheet
PIC18F4550------Data Sheet

I would recommend the PIC18F4550, it has a lot of peripherals that will allow you to experiment with everything from reading analog values to USB communication. It has a lot of memory so you can write some pretty large programs and still fit them onto the PIC.

The PIC that I currently have is the PIC18F242 but I didn't post a link to it because it is a bit limited in it's functions.

If you are looking to learn assembly language, then I would suggest looking through Nigel's PIC tutorials. The catch is that they are tailored to the 16 family and are not directly compatible with the 18 family of controllers. They can be though with a bit of modification to the code.
 
ok i will purchase them
 
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