Hi Alex,

I am also a new PIC user. I think I am in better position to tell you the
basics, 'casue the advanced users may forget the basics!

Alex Bogdan wrote:
>I tried to find literature for beginners in PICs, but I could not find one.
>Recently I found your WEB page and was amazed how well developed this
>topic is! But I still don't know were to start! (I have "0" knowledge in
>microprocessors). That's why I decided to write you and ask for your
>HELP.

Literature for PIC is rare. However you can find the data and application
notes for PIC from Microchip's web page:

        http://www.microchip.com

You can also get link to other web sites:

        http://www.microchip2.com/wwwsites.htm

Among those sites, I would strongly recommend you visiting "Don's Workshop"
(run by Don McKenzie, if you are looking for selfmade or low cost programmer
for PIC) and the "Fast Forward Engineering" (run by Andrew Warren, the
founder and problem-solver for this PICLIST, look for the FAQ).

>I also don't quite understand the difference
>between PICs and BASIC STAMPs. Is it possible to start programming and
>modelling with BASIC STAMPs and then translate the code to PIC
>microprocessor for the cost reduction? (As I understood so far, PICs are
>cheaper but more difficult to programm).

The BASIC STAMP is a PIC 16C58 (I assume) with a BASIC interpreter and
associate program burnt in. The BASIC program is stored in an external
EEPROM 93LC56. I think it is not suitable for your purpose because it is
much more expensive and it runs too slow. It is also not reasonable to
translate BASIC program to a PIC. It would be better for you to program in
Assembly or C if you are taking it seriously. You are right that the PIC is
cheap especially for the masked ROM type. But you are mistaken that the PIC
is difficult to program. It is just like the other microcontrollers.

> Any way, I have a million
>questions and great desire to learn and implement PICs in our products!
>Please HELP me to start!

I am using 16C/F84 because only 16C84 (old version) and 16F84 (replaces
16C84) are equipped with flash ROM for the programs. You can get only OTP
(One Time Programming) or EPROM (windowed version) for others (excluding
Masked ROM version). With flash ROM version, you can program it as frequent
as you like without the trouble of erasing the EPROM with UV. For '84, there
is no paging problem in the program memory section as those in 16C5X.
Besides, the EPROM version of PICs are very expensive items. 16F84 is good
for starters, but a 16C5X is more suitable for low-cost high volume
production because final products can be factory masked ROMed (16CR5X) at a
very low cost.

Here is the list to get started:

1. Get the Data for PIC microcontroller and choose your PIC:
Get the "PIC16/17 Microcontroller Data Book" from MicroChip or download the
data sheet from their web site. Also get the "Embedded Control Handbook" or
dowload the Application Notes from the web site. There are lots of examples
from the Handbook. Learn the instruction set from the data sheet and the
examples from the application notes (in Assembly).

2. Design your hardware:
To start with, you may just connect a few LEDs to the PIC and try to turn
them on and off with different patterns.

3. Get the MPASM cross-assembler for PC:
Download the MPASM cross-assembler from MicroChip's web site and you can
start writing programs for the PIC.

4. Get a programmer for PIC:
There are various kinds of programmer for different serious of PIC. Some are
for the 16C5X, some are for the 16C6X, 16C7X and 16C/F84 and some for 17CXX.
Choose the one suitable for you. I heard that PICSTART Plus from MicroChip
is a good choice.

5. Work on your hardware and program the PIC:
Finish you hardware and program your PIC. Try out the real thing, modify the
hardware and repeat the prgram modification, compiling the new program and
programming the PIC procedures until you get the thing working.

6. Simulator/In-circuit-emulator:
Sometimes you just don't know what goes wrong with your program and would
like to see the program run step by step and you would like to see the
status of the memory/registers etc. You may download the PIC Simulator
program from MicroChip Web Site (it SIM5100.zip or something like that). It
is a software simulation program. You can see your program running in it and
you can examine any port or memory location. Using software simulation is
time consuming. If you can afford it, it would be better to get an ICE
(In-circuit-emulator). MicroChip produces an ICE for PIC, it is called
PICMASTER. There are different accessories for different PIC series. You
have to decide on which series of PIC to use with. I don't use this, perhaps
somebody may give you more information on this. It is expensive (I think
around CAD1500).

Hope this may be useful to you. BTW, I also live in Toronto area. You may
email to me direct if you like. My email address is   wclee@interlog.com

LEE