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Geek Culture / What would be a good microcontroller for me to start with?

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 00:34
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Hello! Currently, my knowledge of electronics and computing is quite a bit like i have taken an entire chemistry class but i have not done any experiments. You see, i have the knowledge, i just dont have the experience. Before stepping out on a branch and developing the B3, i would like a little experience first. So, i want to play around with a microcontroller and and LED matrix (8 by 8) and a breadboard. I would like to be able to program in assembly, not some weird BASIC. Any recommendations? Quite obviously i also need a means for programming the controller, so any suggestions on that? Thanks! I really appreciate answers.

Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It's called rain.
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Kevin Picone
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 00:56 Edited at: 8th Sep 2011 01:06
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Quote: "I would like to be able to program in assembly"


Fire up any legacy 8/16bit emulator and fire away. The C64 is as good as any, since most c64 emulators have built in monitors (so you can view dis-assembly of memory and editor it) and there's loads of cross compilers for 6510.

There's also emulations on the PC.. some serious and some not so. Kyruss )


Hmm, I wonder what's coming in 2011?
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 01:00
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Hmm, well i meant a microcontroller as in a chip that you could connect other electrical components to!

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zenassem
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 01:12 Edited at: 8th Sep 2011 01:43
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Parralax makes a Microcontroller the "SX/B" that you can program in assembly. It has it basic compiler built-in as well.(kind of the best of both worlds imho)

Quote: "Because speed is one of the SX’s best features, the compiler generates code “in-line”. That is each line of BASIC code generates the code to completely perform the BASIC code. This creates code that executes quickly, and allows users who are interested in assembly language to see “how it’s done”. And if you simply must have some assembly code in your program, SX/B allows you to add it easily using ASM...ENDASM. Or, single lines of assembly can simply be prefixed with a slash."

http://www.parallax.com/tabid/405/Default.aspx

===============

Or...

MPLAB IDE v8

It's free, you could do all of your learning in a virtual environment, and purchase a kit later for actual deployment.

About MPLAB IDE




============

If you truly need the physical hardware right-away locate the right devkit for your budget here:
http://www.microchip.com/

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Plystire
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 03:31
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STAMP and Arduino are fairly cheap and powerful as far as MCs go. I have both, but I favor Arduino for the protoboard support it has going for it.


~Plystire

A rose is only a rose until it is held and cherished -- then it becomes a treasure.
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Dextro
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 05:43
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You will get a much better understanding if you follow zenassem's advice, and then buy some inexpensive PIC micros and do all the breadboarding stuff yourself.
If you start with arduino and such, you won't learn the finer details (considering the project you're aiming at).
Besides, it couldn't get much cheaper (a PIC micro is about $1.5-$3, add a soldering iron and simple components, $20 max).
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 8th Sep 2011 06:19 Edited at: 8th Sep 2011 06:36
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@Dextro I definitely agree with you man! Thanks!

There is one game i play, it has perfect looking raycasting and is rendered at a very high FPS real time. This game i find very fun. What is this game? This game is life on earth.
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kaedroho
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Posted: 13th Sep 2011 00:32 Edited at: 13th Sep 2011 00:42
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I would recommend the mbed microcontroller. Its the easiest and most powerful one I've used.

www.mbed.org


See this video of someone making an mbed read from an RFID tag and post to twitter!



They're pretty powerful too, they have an ARM Cortex M3 Processor clocked at 100MHz, 32kb of ram (which is quite a lot for a microcontroller) and 512kb of flash memory (which is also quite a lot for a microcontroller.

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Sep 2011 02:18
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Of i remember hearing about this not too long ago! Are they programmable in assembly?

There is one game i play, it has perfect looking raycasting and is rendered at a very high FPS real time. This game i find very fun. What is this game? This game is life on earth.
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kaedroho
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Posted: 13th Sep 2011 23:12
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Yeah they are, I recommend that you stick with C++ though because there's a huge amount of libraries written for it in C++. Also C++ isn't that much slower than ASM. I would only recommend that you use ASM on smaller micro controllers like PICs where code space and RAM may be an issue.
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 14th Sep 2011 01:44 Edited at: 14th Sep 2011 05:26
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Hmmm, ill consider...

I am making the development start deadline for the B3 October 1st so i must make a decision tonight on what MCU ill use for experimentation!


Does this website here seem to have what i need?

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8391

There is one game i play, it has perfect looking raycasting and is rendered at a very high FPS real time. This game i find very fun. What is this game? This game is life on earth.
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Plystire
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Posted: 14th Sep 2011 18:54
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I used sparkfun to order my arduino and several other components. They sent me a trashed arduino board (rail was soldered in at an angle.... and rails are a PAIN to desolder yourself), but I can't blame them for that since they don't make the things... I just blame them for not catching it.

But, them being local to you (Located in Boulder, CO) would cut back on shipping time... or you can pick up the stuff in person as they're a very friendly company and don't mind visitors in the least.


~Plystire

A rose is only a rose until it is held and cherished -- then it becomes a treasure.
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Sep 2011 00:50
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Hahah i didnt know they were in Boulder! Haha i am only like an hour away! Likely ill still order it

There is one game i play, it has perfect looking raycasting and is rendered at a very high FPS real time. This game i find very fun. What is this game? This game is life on earth.
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