bilateral switches invertor IC and microcontrollers BASIC

[jimbojones]

hi i have a controller with 7 buttons and a 4 way directional stick

i wish to create a device that can connect to the controller and displays/read what combination of buttons that are being pressed via led

eventually i then want to connect it to another pcb

i was told i could do it by using some 4066 bilateral switches and some invertor ICs. which i have no idea what they are, any ideas how i would set this up?

i did some reading in electronics the book for dummies ;x and found some interest in microcontrollers, i was wandering what would be a good microcontroller to get to get started with, i was told to get one with a interperatur for the BASIC language is this a wise idea? was wandering will it be able to program a number of different chips and if i will need a board of some sort.

and any other sites/book/info you can recommend to me to get into electronics. thanks =)

forgot to mention could i combine the use of the microcontroller in this project?

 

[amdNRA]

Simple way: You're going to have to figure out how the controller pad is wired and if possible, place some pulldown or pullup resistors as the case may be (4.7Kohms) and then detect any combination of pressed buttons by using AND gates. You may have to use steering diodes as well (1N4148).
The other solution is to read the input ports using a microcontroller and then take whatever action is needed; be it leds or lcd display, etc. A lot more versatile.
Popular microcontrollers include the PIC and the ATmega by ATMEL but a better one for you (since you are just starting off) might be the Basic stamp. There's tons of code and books on the subject. Later on, if you decide that you need a faster micro, get a compiler and program either the PIC or Atmel chips in 'C'. Personally I mostly use the different PIC chips.
Since you want to learn electronics, check your local Community College; buy some basic equipment from ebay (meter, power supply, breadboard, parts, scope,etc). Books by Don Lancaster and Howard Berlin are good.
Good luck, Gil.