A short info about the different uC

[Kryten]

Hi
So far I haven't been able too find a good howto for choosing uC. Im looking for a quick guide that lets me know wheter to go for PIC, AVR, Motorola or whatever make. It should contain gen info like numder of DAC/ ADCs and wheter it supports USB or RS232.

Does anyone here know of something like that??

 

[3v0]

You can find all that data on the vendors websites.
I takes about 3 clicks on the Microchip site to get to a table of processors and their features. The same should hold for the other vendors.

Unless you are doing something rather special it is a good bet that any of the mentioned vendors can supply a chip to meet your needs.

It is better to choose the uC based on the tools, support, and the cost for tools and support.

 

[Kryten]

Ok
So you mean that looking at what software methods and programming are the way to choose what kind I should go for?

 

[Mike - K8LH]

This topic comes up fairly often but it's difficult to answer because everyone has their own selection criteria and requirements.

For me, I chose the Microchip PIC series simply because there were so very many example projects and code (good and bad) on the Internet.

Good luck. Regards, Mike

 

[bananasiong]

Hi,
If you're a totally newbie in the microcontroller, I suggest you to use whatever is available or whatever suggested in the tutorial. If you're experienced, just use the parametric search from the microcontroller's site by selecting what features that you want.

*You have a city too Just added one population for you

 

[HarveyH42]

Hardware wise, most controllers are very similar, and you can pretty much achieve the some results. The cost and programming are two things that tend to set them a part the most. Think about what computer language you are most comfortable with, then see what kind of compilers are availiable and how much they cost. There are free tools availiable on the web, some aren't so good, and you'll realize that you might need to buy anyway.

For high level languages, like C, the internals won't be so important, as the compiler will take care of all the hard redundant stuff for you. In assembly, you should get data sheets and find out what is availiable. I chose AVR ovr PIC, for this reason, and a USB programmer for under $100...

 

[Kryten]

Ok
Well one last Q: DOes any uC have USB com. or are they still going on RS232?
The reason Im asking is 'cous Im going to transfer data form the uC to a USB memorystick. It wil be placed in such a matter that using RS232 to a computer directly will not be an option.

(bananasiong i mad a factory for you )

 

[blueroomelectronics]

No small microcontroller has a USB host, the PIC18F2550 has USB slave
hardware but that's meant to talk to your PCs USB host and cannot talk to your USB memorystick.
There is a USB host IC called the [SIZE=-1]Vinculum VNC1L [/SIZE] out there but it would be a very advanced project.

 

[parts-man73]

If the Microcontroller is capable of SPI, an SD memory card can be used. With one of the Microcontrollers that I use (the Propeller) there is pre-written code to interface the SD card, I'm sure it's possible to do with a PIC or other microcontroller also. **broken link removed** or Sparkfun.com sell adapter circuit boards to make it easy to prototype.

Brian

 

[Kryten]

Nice Brian
Thanks mate

 

[Kryten]

Is there any differenc in how the different uC are programmed to write to a memmory card (i.e SD, CF)

 

[Salgat]

Is there any differenc in how the different uC are programmed to write to a memmory card (i.e SD, CF)

The standard for interfacing with memories such as SD cards is universal, meaning you have to simply program your microcontroller to interface with it like all other digital devices.

 

[Kryten]

Well i Know I need two AD converters. Does most of the uC have a "large" number of AD's or are there just one on each?

 

[bananasiong]

Hi,
Why do you need two? There is usually only one ADC with multiple channels available in the PIC. Just select different channels accordingly.

 

[Kryten]

well im going to simultanisly monitor two power consuptions and save the values
for making a statistic to see wether we need more charging capasity. Or should i go for separate ADC's (external)?

 

[bananasiong]

Do you really need simultaneously? With PIC16F, the time taken for one sample (sample & hold + conversion) is approximately 50 us. Is it really critical for you to sample another channel with the time different of 50 us or less?

 

[Kryten]

I was looking for about 10 samples a sec so i guess not.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

I was looking for about 10 samples a sec so i guess not.

10 samples per second is no problem on any PIC with an A/D.

 

[Salgat]

I know that your typical AVR has 8-10 ADC channels, supports RS-232. I have no experience with USB though.

 

[Kryten]

Well i have found a device that handels my USB needs. I need a device that kan write to a memorycard (SD or something like it), dump to a device when a button is pressed....

I think Im going for a PIC16F (or similar)