Learning PIC Microcontrollers

[Dave Benemerito]

Hi,
I want to learn PIC Microcontrollers. About how to program with pickIt2 or pickit3, basic configure settings, PWM, MPLAB, I2C and SPI in PIC, and interfacing sensors. The book I found interest is this "PIC Micorontroller and Embedded Systems Using Assembly and C for PIC18 By: Muhammad Ali Mizidi, Rolin D. Mckinlay and Danny Causey". I just want to ask if this is somehow helpful and suitable for me if one of you read this book. Another thing I wanna ask if this is fine reading even if using PIC16F's. If you have some books or PDF to suggest, I would be very grateful. Thanks!

 

[HarryA]

see:
http://search.half.ebay.com/PIC16_W0QQmZbooksQQ_trksidZp2682Q2em1447Q2el2686

 

[Minder]

Another site i usually check out for books is Abe Clearing house.
Usually good prices and deals.
That book appears to be mainly on the 8051 not the Picmicro line?
M.

 

[Rixen]

Hi,

Microchip has alot of code examples and documentation, to help you get going, if you can somehow manage to dig it out of their site.

Here's one of them http://microchipdeveloper.com/

There used to be another place on Microchips site, that shows how to calculate values for timers and pwm etc.But for the life of me, I cant seem to find it right now. (The formulas are in the datasheets too, but yeah..)

The Mplab addon code configurator is another great help, if you dont feel like reading through a 600 page datasheet to find out how to set things up..

 

[Minder]

Hi,


There used to be another place on Microchips site, that shows how to calculate values for timers and pwm etc. But for the life of me, I cant seem to find it right now.

Maybe thinking of Piclist site?
Another PIC - Programmable Integrated Circuits: Source Code for PIC
M.

 

[Rixen]

Maybe thinking of Piclist site?
Another PIC - Programmable Integrated Circuits: Source Code for PIC
M.

Nah, the one I knew was a Microchip site, but that one is looking great too, gonna bookmark it!

Just remembered another great resource if your looking to start out with PIC.

http://www.gooligum.com.au

Those tutorials are very good.

 

[Austin Clark]

If you're completely new to microcontrollers, I'd actually suggest Arduino over PIC. You can't NOT find books, videos, tutorials, etc; for Arduino. If anything, there's too MUCH info out there, so it can be a little overwhelming!
Once you've gotten familiar with Arduino, and understand it in the grand scheme of things, moving along to PIC (if that's still what you want to do) should be pretty straightforward.

That being said, if you insist on starting off with PIC, I'd suggest finding tutorials and such on Youtube, or perhaps asking more specific questions here and on other forums. Books never really did the trick for me personally, and the alternative is free.

 

[Dave Benemerito]

Hi,

Microchip has alot of code examples and documentation, to help you get going, if you can somehow manage to dig it out of their site.

Here's one of them http://microchipdeveloper.com/

There used to be another place on Microchips site, that shows how to calculate values for timers and pwm etc.But for the life of me, I cant seem to find it right now. (The formulas are in the datasheets too, but yeah..)

The Mplab addon code configurator is another great help, if you dont feel like reading through a 600 page datasheet to find out how to set things up..

Thanks! I would like to check it out

 

[Dave Benemerito]

If you're completely new to microcontrollers, I'd actually suggest Arduino over PIC. You can't NOT find books, videos, tutorials, etc; for Arduino. If anything, there's too MUCH info out there, so it can be a little overwhelming!
Once you've gotten familiar with Arduino, and understand it in the grand scheme of things, moving along to PIC (if that's still what you want to do) should be pretty straightforward.

That being said, if you insist on starting off with PIC, I'd suggest finding tutorials and such on Youtube, or perhaps asking more specific questions here and on other forums. Books never really did the trick for me personally, and the alternative is free.

I really want to proceed to PIC. I already have spent almost 2 years experience in experimenting and studying in arduino. It seems like I want to proceed to a faster performance than arduino and interfacing/programming it with original C language or if possible assembly.

 

[Austin Clark]

I really want to proceed to PIC. I already have spent almost 2 years experience in experimenting and studying in arduino. It seems like I want to proceed to a faster performance than arduino and interfacing/programming it with original C language or if possible assembly.

I see. If your primary reason for switching is to broaden your experience and to learn more, you can still do that without completely starting "from scratch" with PIC.

You can move on from the Arduino IDE without switching to a different microcontroller/board. AVR studio is my preferred IDE apart from Arduino's. You do have the ability to program in assembly either way, though AVR Studio is better suited. AVR studio also allows you to program fuse bits (if you have a proper programmer) and overall exposes you to more concepts and control. It's a free professional-level IDE.

Similarly, you can move on to different, more capable microcontrollers/boards without moving away from the Arduino IDE. The Arduino Due, for example, is a 32-bit ARM uC with a ton of peripherals (including native USB OTG) that runs at 84MHz.
I'd recommend getting a proper AVR programmer eventually as well. I personally have the AVRisp MkII and the AVR Dragon. The AVRisp MkII would be good for a beginner, though there are many other (and cheaper) options as well. This will allow you to program without a bootloader, and lets you program fuse bits. You'll need one if you ever want to completely escape the Arduino platform.

Eventually, you can move on from Arduino entirely. You'll be able to buy pretty much any AVR microcontroller out there, program it directly via AVR Studio with your preferred programmer, and forget all about Arduino. Though Arduino should/will always have it's place for certain projects and circumstances.

I have nothing against PIC. In fact, I think they're great and worth learning as well. However, make things easier for yourself by learning one new thing at a time. That's how I learned myself.