On Thu, Dec 12, 2013 at 07:17:42PM +0000, Lindy Mayfield wrote:
> 6 or so years ago I had a couple of PIC development boards.  (Unfortunate=
ly, I don't think they work any more.)

That technology moves so fast, that even if they did work, they are
probably obsolete.

There are some positive arguments to using a microcontroller as opposed to
discrete hardware. First and foremost is that you can get multifunction
capability in a single chip. Second is that it's programmatically possible
to alter or add functionality. The final item I think is a bit more subtle.
It's the fact that once you climb the learning curve for development, that
it's possible to leverage what you learn over several projects. Often with
discrete parts you have to learn each part, that only serves a specialized
function. So when you move to a new project, with different parts, you
don't necessicarily have the chance to reuse what you learned.

>=20
> A colleague gave me a Raspberry Pi.  And after a dormant time, I am havin=
g fun playing with all this technology.

I bought a couple of them. They can certainly be useful and fun to play
with. However, a couple of caveats. First is that like the Arduino, Pi's
cost too much in singles to really be useful in many projects. The second
item is that the hardware interface is 3.3V unbuffered on the header. So be
very careful about any hardware that you attach to that header.

>=20
> So instead of a programmer, this time, I think an Arduino will be right
> for me.  The Raspberry Pi is great, too, but I think it is more designed
> for running from a terminal.  As opposed to:  Program the
> PIC/Arduino/etc, unplug it, then let it run on its own.=20
>=20
> The RPi is not like that.  It's a Linux system that has input/output capa=
bilities.  Both have their place.

It's possible to configure both to run unattended. Just takes a bit of
effort.

The real question is whether or not it is worth the investment for one off
projects. My current setup:

1. Enhanced 16F chips (16F1825, 16F1847, 16F1938 in 14, 18, and 28 pin pack=
ages).
2. Single pin Serial bootloader enabled using header pins for the serial in=
terface.
3. One offs one generic PCB boards.
4. Development in assembly or homegrown FORTH.

I can knock one up in a half hour at a cost of $5 per board or less
including the chip.

BAJ

>=20
>=20
> ________________________________________
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [piclist-bounces@mit.edu] on behalf of Herb=
ert Graf [hkgraf@gmail.com]
> Sent: 12 December 2013 18:25
> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
> Subject: RE: [EE] Help configuring a 555
>=20
> don't know if the op has a programmer, if they don't it's not that big
> a deal to get and will open up vastly more possibilities.
>=20
>=20
> --=20
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--=20
Byron A. Jeff
Chair: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology
College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
Clayton State University
http://faculty.clayton.edu/bjeff
--=20
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View/change your membership options at
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.