Getting started question

[Zapo]

I am a retied guy who knows electronics but not microprocessors, but would like to play with one. I've been out of the field for some time, but noticed that two mpu seem to be mentioned frequently – the Arduino (with an experimenter's kid for about $85) and PIC (they must have started pack, as well).

What would you recommend as a simple, easy to learn system (code & hardware). Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cr0sh]

The Arduino was designed to be used and learned by people who have never touched electronics or programming; this has its pros and cons. I can say that many people have used it successfully in projects where it was their "first project" of any kind of that nature; one guy on the Arduino forums posted his "first project" where he used an Arduino to control the hydraulic steering system on a large combine for his soybean crop (yep, he is a farmer). It steered the combine on a straight path (I think he had like a 3-6 inch overlap between passes), acting as an interface to an in-cab PC running a custom GPS tracking system. Take that "anecdote" for what you will. I'm not saying you couldn't do the same with a PIC or any other type microcontroller, but the Arduino sure makes it -very- easy to get started (not to mention the fact that the entire system is completely open-source - hardware and software).

 

[Zapo]

Thanks

Cr0sh - Thanks for you kind reply. The Arduino sound like a perfect way to go for me. That farmer missed his calling, very impressive. I now live in a rural area, SW Wis., and a few years back, if you even said the word computer, they almost spit. They are coming around now though.

Thanks again for you help.