[geeks] Re: PICs (was: Geeky Valentine's day card)

[Dave Kimmel]

On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Jon Still wrote:

> > If you're interested in PICs specifically, take a look at "Programming
> > and
> > Customizing the PICmicro Microcontrollers" by Myke Predko.  The copy I
> > got
> > includes a printed circuit board which, with a few components and the
> > included software, makes a fairly cheap PIC programming tool.  Its
> > expensive though, around $80 Canadian.
>
> Beyond this, what else would I need to get going with the PIC?  My
> toolbox is limited to PC repair stuff atm (read: screwdrivers and
> pliers).

Let's see...  I'd recommend, at the very least, a decent sized solderless
breadboard (for prototyping), a small soldering iron (I got a nice 25W one
for really cheap at a hardware store), a voltmeter, a couple 7805 voltage
regulators, some ceramic resonators, a PIC programmer and a couple of
PICs, of course.  Some things for IO, like LEDs, buttons, and resistors,
would also be good to have.  The PIC programmer can be built relatively
cheaply and hangs off of your parallel port, and if you get the book you
already have a nice PCB and instructions.  Between the parts listed above
and the leftovers from the PIC programmer, you should have enough to
start tinkering.

Knowing how I am, I probably missed a few things - I've been known to buy
stuff at Active, get home, then realize I forgot some important thing and
go back there.

David Tait's PIC links (http://www.dontronics.com/dtlinks.html) has a lot
of information, but it does take some digging to find things.  This is
where I first started.

Judging by your university experience, I can't see you having any trouble
getting started with this.  You might even want to start with a 16F877
instead of a 16F84, the '877 is a much more capable chip with more program
and data memory, onboard 8-channel 10-bit ADC, built in UART (you still
need an RS-232 level converter, like a MAX233), and various other things.

Hope that helps,
-- Dave Kimmel
   criscokid at v-wave.com
   ICQ: 5615049