mramos1 said:I am asking all of these questions to save me hours of research, and thanks for any help in advance (and time spent).
I have been using Atmels for years now, and they work great. I see the PIC has changed since the 16F84 (I get yelled at everytime I mention them).. I switched for ATMEL mainly because of the the internal OSC and the lower price. How does the PIC line stand up now? I also had a free basic compiler, but support is slowing down on the compiler (as it is free). Also, most ATMELs run from 2-3 volts to 6 volts, and low power consumption. But it
sounds like MicroChip learned and maybe caught up or passed ATMEL. I know the Atmels are faster internally, but speed is not an issue for my projects.
Questions:
1) I have an old MELABS PICBASIC (version 2 range I think), will the 16F84 .hex file run (minus extra functions of course), or do I need to get a newer compiler? I pulled a Proton BASIC that looks promising (did not look at the price yet). I will pull MPLAB as well, as the PIC ASM is a lot easier than the Atmel ASM was for me.
2) What is the closest chip to the 16F84, the 16F624a?
3) Can I use the picall or was it pic40all programmer, as my EPIC died a long time ago, to program the new chips (are pinouts and protocols the same)?
4) what is the best free BASIC (if any)? I looked at BoostBASIC, and the docs were weak?
5) If I need a new programmer, what is the best simple (single sided) one out there as I can make boards (if one exists)?
BeeBop said:Even though you have been given awesome advice, I would add:
that the 10Fxxx pics which have a very good internal osc, can be had for about fifty cents. (I switched for ATMEL mainly because of the the internal OSC and the lower price.)
PICs come in a great range - from the tiny 6pin SOT-23 10Fxxxs all the way up to the 16bit DSPs. They have micros with a great range of peripherals.
One thing I really don't like about AVRs, is that if you program the configuration wrong, it is a real headache to save your chip. This doesn't happen in PICs.
I really agree with Nigel; the ICD2, or clones (less than $50) are the way to go. They will program all of microchip's parts, and they work very well, right out of MP lab.
The small instruction set makes learning assembly fairly easy, and you could stick with that. If you want a high level language, Microchip provides a (virtually free) C compiler for the 18F series. The only limitation in the student version, is that after some time, optomization is limited. There are other compilers you can use, some in demo, or free mode, and others very cheap, CC5X, for example. I'm sure you could find a free, or cheap BASIC compiler out there.
I saw DSP and USB PIC awhile back that peaked my interest, though I have no need for it right now. But it could be something to add on a digikey/mouser order, just to play with.
mramos1 said:BeeBop and Phalanx,
Thanks for the input. Looks like that answers all the questions. I have a 16PIC40PRO or something like that. It is parallel uni, and I use it on a laptop with Win98 so no IO problems. Looks like it is time to upgrade. Now what do I do with all these 16F84 I have (just kidding).
Nigel Goodwin said:I presume you mean a P16PRO40?, it's a classic PIC programmer and suitable for the vast majority of PIC's, just depending on the software used.
mramos1 said:The P16PRO40 is a parallel unit, what software to you recommend? If it will do the 10Fxxx, 12F508/9 and the 16F628a, that would cover most of my projects.
Nigel Goodwin said:The 10Fxxx is likely to be a problem, as it's SM only, so hard to fit in a ZIF socket
Jay.slovak said:No it is not. 10Fs are also available in 8pin DIP package (with two pins as NC), so this is not a good excuse for not implementing them into your Programing SW.
Nigel Goodwin said:... you may as well use a 12Fxxx instead
PDubya said:As someone who wants to start learning, and hasn't even touched a PIC yet, Is it worth my time and money to spend the money on the "good" programmer/debugger?
PDubya said:Another silly question - are there any software emmulators for PIC's? I think I saw something about "Proteus" giving you the ability to emmulate not only the pic, but attach virtual devices to do various testing.
Software seems the easiest way to get your feet wet without blowing up components. I've got a digikey order I've been holding off ordering as I'm not sure how many 16f628's I should order anticipating I'm probably going to hose some during the learning process. Any thoughts?
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