Can anybody comment - PIC?

[MadCrazyNewbie]

Hey group i`ve been looking at 2 x Development systems for PIC as im a
newbie and never done anything with PIC before i wondered if you could help
me?

I`ve been lloking at the following kits:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/ac...alog_PIC_Micro_MCU_Development_Board_102.html

http://www.voti.nl/

http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/880.htm

Could anybody comment on which one would be the best or even if anybody
could suggest any others?

The epemag.co.uk one looks nice just a think its steap for £160inc VAT but
then again i don`t know really how much these things cost

I would like to be able to control LEDS, and LCD form Visual Basic .Net on
my PC.

Should there be anything I shyould be looking for?

Many Thanks

 

[Bruce]

"MadCrazyNewbie" wrote

Hey group i`ve been looking at 2 x Development systems for PIC as im a
newbie and never done anything with PIC before i wondered if you could help
me?

I`ve been lloking at the following kits:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/ac...alog_PIC_Micro_MCU_Development_Board_102.html

This is the Matrix Multimedia PIC development board. It's an excellent choice.
Has lots of handy things on it for beginners like the 7-segment LEDs, LCD,
push-button switches, LED's etc,,

If you're in the UK you can buy them directly from the mfg at http://www.matrixmultimedia.co.uk/

I also recommend getting the Matrix C for PICmicro or Assembly for PICmicro CD-ROMs
depending on which you prefer. The C course includes the C2C C compiler, and lessons
in C for the PICmicro. The assembly course include lessons & source code with the MPASM
Microchip assembler, and a nice little IDE. Both very handy for beginners.

http://www.voti.nl/

Wouter van Ooijen's website. He's very knowledgeable, and has several excellent kits
to get you started. A nice online tutorial as well. I hear lots of good things from anyone
purchasing from Wouter.

http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/880.htm

Never seen nor used this one. I would opt for the Matrix board if at all possible. It you're on
a budget, then check with Wouter.

Could anybody comment on which one would be the best or even if anybody
could suggest any others?

If you're interested in PicBasic or CCS C and other development boards & programmers,
we carry them too.

BASIC compilers, programmers & dev boards. http://www.rentron.com/PicBasic/PBP.htm
CCS C compilers http://www.rentron.com/CCS_C/CCS_Compiler.htm
Matrix C course/compiler http://www.rentron.com/C2C.htm
BASIC compiler projects including several VB interfaces http://www.rentron.com/PicBasic1.htm

The epemag.co.uk one looks nice just a think its steap for £160inc VAT but
then again i don`t know really how much these things cost

The Matrix board is very nice. Here's a few other nice development boards with great pricing
http://www.mikroelektronika.co.yu They do include a lot of source code, but not much of a
beginners tutorial.

 

[Alex Gibson]

Hey group i`ve been looking at 2 x Development systems for PIC as im a
newbie and never done anything with PIC before i wondered if you could
help
me?

I`ve been lloking at the following kits:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/ac...alog_PIC_Micro_MCU_Development_Board_102.html

http://www.voti.nl/

http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/880.htm

Could anybody comment on which one would be the best or even if anybody
could suggest any others?

The epemag.co.uk one looks nice just a think its steap for £160inc VAT but
then again i don`t know really how much these things cost

I would like to be able to control LEDS, and LCD form Visual Basic .Net on
my PC.

Should there be anything I shyould be looking for?

Many Thanks

Wouter's dwarf boards are nice, very easy for newbies to use
http://www.voti.nl/dwarf/index.html

 

[news^#NO@SPAM^moorhouse#.net.nz]

Hey group i`ve been looking at 2 x Development systems for PIC as im a
newbie and never done anything with PIC before i wondered if you could help
me?

I`ve been lloking at the following kits:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/ac...alog_PIC_Micro_MCU_Development_Board_102.html

http://www.voti.nl/

http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/880.htm

Could anybody comment on which one would be the best or even if anybody
could suggest any others?

The epemag.co.uk one looks nice just a think its steap for £160inc VAT but
then again i don`t know really how much these things cost

I would like to be able to control LEDS, and LCD form Visual Basic .Net on
my PC.

Should there be anything I shyould be looking for?

I'm using the EasyPic2 from www.mikroelektronica.co.yu.

I've found it really useful having all IO pins accessible as LEDs,
Buttons and headerpins for connecting external circuitry.

Also, the support from a wide variety of PICs is helpful.

BTW, I ordered it from NZ ( can't get much further away than that) and
no problems with supply / delivery.

Regards

David M

 

[Andrew]

Hey group i`ve been looking at 2 x Development systems for PIC as im a
newbie and never done anything with PIC before i wondered if you
could help me?

I`ve been lloking at the following kits:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/ac...alog_PIC_Micro_MCU_Development_Board_102.html

http://www.voti.nl/

http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/880.htm

Could anybody comment on which one would be the best or even if
anybody could suggest any others?

The epemag.co.uk one looks nice just a think its steap for £160inc
VAT but then again i don`t know really how much these things cost

I would like to be able to control LEDS, and LCD form Visual Basic
.Net on my PC.

Should there be anything I shyould be looking for?

Many Thanks

Developing PIC software using a development board and programmer (or board
including In-circuit programmer) is certainly possible, but personally I
think that unless you are looking at trivial experimental programs, you
should look at getting an In-Circuit-Debugger, which will allow you to step,
set breakpoints, view variables etc, in Assembler or C.

www.olimex.com produce ICD1 and ICD2 clones, along with various development
boards. If you can afford it use ICD2 + MPLAB V6. The cheaper ICD1 + MPLAB
V5.4 is still very usable.

I would program in C rather than assembler, unless you particularly want to
learn all about the PIC's complex bank switching. For small programs you
could use free compilers from http://www.htsoft.com/ or www.bknd.com. I
prefer the Hitech C.

If you use the ICD1 with either C compiler use MPLAB V5.4. The last version
of MPLAB V5 (V5.70) seems to introduce a bug which causes single stepping to
fail.