I'm more or less in this position too, except I do not have your basic
breadboarding experience and no one in my circle of friends knows how to
use one. I learned how from internet tutorials and occasional
realizations as in, "Oh, those wires are too short." I want to be able
to solder my own circuits together so for this and some other reasons
I've spent a fair amount of money. So far I think the investment is
worth it.

Since I want to make my own circuit boards (on perfboard and
protoboard), I'm getting an introduction to components beyond the PICs
themselves. For example learning about .100 headers has been fun: little
did I appreciate there are a whole array of connectors one can use and I
suspect I'll soon be learning the ins and outs of flat ribbon cable.

Learning how to solder is an adventure too. My, am I making mistakes,
but so far my results are acceptable.

There is the need for some tutorial type books. I think David Benson's
line of books are good to start with, even though Byron and others are
advocating the more advanced PICs and they all frown on the PIC16F84A. I
just think it feels easier to start with only 18 pins to worry about and
then move up from there. (OK Byron, I know you disagree with that, and
I'm just a student.) You should also print down the Mid Range Reference
Manual from Microchip.

Subscribing to this mailing list and spending time reading the posts is
also important. When you need to get down to business, there are people
here with mountains of expertise and a willingness to help. I'm
continually amazed at the high quality technical discussions I can find
here, and wish I had subscribed to this list a long time ago. But then
the PIC bug had not bitten me.

Bob Cochran


Duane Wood wrote:

> I am a software developer (Java, C++, C, ...) with
> some basic hobby experience breadboarding very simple
> circuits.  I want to get started with PICs, but I am
> having a tough time figuring out which chip,
> programmer, and compiler to use.
>
> What (I think) I want is:
> * a PIC using the newest CPU core -- i.e., 18Fxxx
> * in circuit programming -- I don't like the thought
> of moving the chip around, breaking pins, etc.
> * programmer software that runs on Windows XP
> * an inexpensive C compiler
> * All this for under $200 -- otherwise my wife will
> make me pay in other ways :)
>
> Am I asking too much?
>
> Here are some options I am considering:
> 1. Wouter van Ooijen's Wisp628 programmer. Uses
> bootloader, but I have to get the bootloader
> programmed.  Also, I think I would have to use JAL.
> While this seems like a reasonable language, I would
> prefer not to learn another language.  Also, it
> doesn't sound like the programmer software for the PC
> supports Windows XP.
> 2. Warp 13.  This looks like a decent programmer, but
> the disclaimer about in-circuit programming concerns
> me.  I really would like to do in-circuit programming.
> 3. MPLAB ICD 2.  This sounds like it might work, but
> is a bit expensive.  Also, I'm not sure if it supports
> 18Fxxx chips or whether I need additional parts.
>
> I would greatly appreciate any help with my decision
> so I can get started.
>
> -- DW
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.
> http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
>
> --
> http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic:
> [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads
>
>

--
Bob Cochran
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
http://greenbeltcomputer.biz/

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic:
[PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads