Electronics > Microcontrollers
how to choose a PIC?
Kidsam:
greetings
i'm trying to figure out how to choose a pic, for a couple of future projects of mine, though im not sure how, as i'm pretty new to them
the things i'm looking for on one chip are:
13 or more outputs
PWM capabilities
and the project i want to use it for is a LED array cube, with some animations programmed in
this one may wait untill im more experienced, but i will probably make smaller cubes in the meantime, i figure i need 4 outputs, 4 for each length segment, 4 for height, and 4 for width, and one for PWM , though i could cut it down to needing 9 pins, though it would require using alot more external components
another project is for a small solar powered robot(beambot)
and i hope to use a PIC chip on it
would need 2-6 outputs and low power needs (it would switch on+off alot as power is avaliable)
i've been using http://australia.rs-online.com to look at parts, and i can look up chips for example with 20 pins and PWM capable that look like they would suit my LED projects, however i can find "suitable" chips for $1.20 and chips that appear just as suitable for $8 or so
for example
http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p/microcontrollers/7432647/ $1.87
vs
http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p/microcontrollers/6669848/ $6.50, same amount of pins
so what specifications do i need to actually look at when i buy a chip? are those two chips both suitable for the project, or do i need to look for extra memory or something like that
Smokey:
if you are new to PICs, and plan on using the XC compilers, my advice is to use one of the chips that they use for the official development boards. You don't actually have to use the dev board itself, just the same chip. I say this because all of the sample code from microchip is built for the official dev boards. If you use the same chip then you won't have to do much porting. They usually use good general purpose chips for the dev boards as well.
I know that doesn't really answer your question, but its a place to start.
TheDirty:
You can use the product selector tool.
http://www.microchip.com/productselector/MCUProductSelector.html
After that, you need to check which chips that fit your criteria are available from your distributor.
Usually people pick chips that are generic and have a decent amount of peripherals. It's easier just to grab 20 of those and use them even if they are overkill rather than grab 1 of 10 different uC's that better match the requirements of the individual projects.
There are some common starter ones like 16f877A and 16f628A. I would highly suggest starting out with one of the enhanced (updated) cores. The enhanced cores usually come in a LF version as well as a regular F version, the L is for low voltage, which you'll want for a solar project. I have used a few 16f1933's and for low pin count 12f1840.
andete:
--- Quote from: TheDirty on October 13, 2012, 03:46:01 am ---You can use the product selector tool.
http://www.microchip.com/productselector/MCUProductSelector.html
After that, you need to check which chips that fit your criteria are available from your distributor.
Usually people pick chips that are generic and have a decent amount of peripherals. It's easier just to grab 20 of those and use them even if they are overkill rather than grab 1 of 10 different uC's that better match the requirements of the individual projects.
There are some common starter ones like 16f877A and 16f628A. I would highly suggest starting out with one of the enhanced (updated) cores. The enhanced cores usually come in a LF version as well as a regular F version, the L is for low voltage, which you'll want for a solar project. I have used a few 16f1933's and for low pin count 12f1840.
--- End quote ---
Is it me or is that selector really slow? It's been calculating for 3 minutes now.
mariush:
nevermind, things have changed lately and my advice no longer applies that well.
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