Popular Microchip PIC's

[joseph]

Hi all,

I have simple question to ask.

Given the vast range of microcontrollers MICROCHIP produces it would
be interesting to know which ones are the most popular for development
with hobbyists.

For example I have seen many projects using the PIC16F628A. Are there
any other popular PIC's?

Regards

Joseph

 

[Martin Brown]

Hi all,

I have simple question to ask.

Given the vast range of microcontrollers MICROCHIP produces it would
be interesting to know which ones are the most popular for development
with hobbyists.

For example I have seen many projects using the PIC16F628A. Are there
any other popular PIC's?

The 16F84 and 16F877 tend to be popular for hobbyist projects in the
UK. I think partly by inertia/availability.

Both relatively cheap with flash versions, versatile and very easy to
use. Been around for a while too.

A UK magazine did a rather nice ICE and breadboard based prototyping
kit around the latter a few years back. And there must be hundreds of
simple circuits out there for programming the former.

Regards,
Martin Brown

 

[Leon]

I have simple question to ask.

Given the vast range of microcontrollers MICROCHIP produces it would
be interesting to know which ones are the most popular for development
with hobbyists.

For example I have seen many projects using the PIC16F628A. Are there
any other popular PIC's?

The 16F88 seems to be the most popular of the mid-range devices,
probably because it is cheap and has lots of functionality in a small
18-pin package.

Leon

 

[Paul E. Schoen]

Hi all,

I have simple question to ask.

Given the vast range of microcontrollers MICROCHIP produces it would
be interesting to know which ones are the most popular for development
with hobbyists.

For example I have seen many projects using the PIC16F628A. Are there
any other popular PIC's?

I like the PIC16F684, because it comes in a 14 pin package and has a PWM
output, and it can be programmed with a direct USB connection using the
inexpensive PICkit board. It also supports the 12F675, which is a versatile
8 pin PIC with A/D, and there are the similar 8 pin PIC12F615 which has a
built-in two channel PWM, and PIC12HV615 which adds a shunt regulator.

For higher end projects, consider the PIC18F2450 or 4550 which has on-board
USB, and you can set up a bootloader so you can program it directly from a
USB port, and then use the same USB port to provide power to your project
and exchange data and commands with simple serial port instructions. You
can get a PICDEM USB kit to get started for about $40, and it includes a
student version of the C18 C-compiler.

Paul

 

[David L. Jones]

The 16F88 seems to be the most popular of the mid-range devices,
probably because it is cheap and has lots of functionality in a small
18-pin package.

Yes, the 16F88 is the now popular 18pin replacement for the 16F628, which in
turn replaced the 16F84.

But really, many of the PIC are available from a whole range of suppliers,
so you use whatever suits your needs.

Dave.