R
Rikard Bosnjakovic
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
During the past two years I've been thinking of - but never got the grip
to - starting to learn how to use microcontrollers. For my next hobby
project, it seems to be a necessity to learn so I thought now - once and
for all - is The Time To Learn.
The next project is going to be a something that looks and acts like a
chess clock, with some few additions. While not completely impossible to
do with a bunch of 555-timers and a lot of logic gates feeding some
7-digit LEDs, the system would probably be a messy harness real quick and
blocks the ability for improvements. So I'm thinking a uC will take care
of all the timing / scoring, and use some external chips (like a 7-LED
decoder and the like) as helper chips.
Now, so far so good in the planning, here's the real reason that's stopped
me for learning microcontrollers: I have absolutely no idea where to
start. Some people say "Go Atmel!", others say "Go PIC!", others say "Go
Foo!".
I have googled around for tutorials, beginners' pages, introduction to /
comparison between Atmel/PIC and simliar pages, I've seen plenty of
"starter kits" every here and there, some way more expensive than others
making me confused of which to buy, so I still don't know where to put my
foot.
I have 20+ (software) programming experience. Around 1990-95 I programmed
system assembler for the MC68000, meaning I have atleast some of the
required skills. I think.
So, considering the next project of mine and my background, which kind of
uC might be good enough for me? Or atleast for starting out in the area.
to - starting to learn how to use microcontrollers. For my next hobby
project, it seems to be a necessity to learn so I thought now - once and
for all - is The Time To Learn.
The next project is going to be a something that looks and acts like a
chess clock, with some few additions. While not completely impossible to
do with a bunch of 555-timers and a lot of logic gates feeding some
7-digit LEDs, the system would probably be a messy harness real quick and
blocks the ability for improvements. So I'm thinking a uC will take care
of all the timing / scoring, and use some external chips (like a 7-LED
decoder and the like) as helper chips.
Now, so far so good in the planning, here's the real reason that's stopped
me for learning microcontrollers: I have absolutely no idea where to
start. Some people say "Go Atmel!", others say "Go PIC!", others say "Go
Foo!".
I have googled around for tutorials, beginners' pages, introduction to /
comparison between Atmel/PIC and simliar pages, I've seen plenty of
"starter kits" every here and there, some way more expensive than others
making me confused of which to buy, so I still don't know where to put my
foot.
I have 20+ (software) programming experience. Around 1990-95 I programmed
system assembler for the MC68000, meaning I have atleast some of the
required skills. I think.
So, considering the next project of mine and my background, which kind of
uC might be good enough for me? Or atleast for starting out in the area.