pic newbie

[hotrod192]

hello everyone,i am completely new to pic programming so be gentle please.my background is i was a welder/metal fabricator/mechanic but due to a back indury i cannot do that anymore.i have dabled in electronics for years but only simple circuits.recently i have been doing more and more work with leds and i was trying to design a circuit to build a lap counter with timer and start lights for my sons slot car track which after trawling the net for ideas i quickly worked out i would need to not only design a circuit but program a microcontroller for it also,which brings me here.i have been looking at development boards,easypic v7,mplab,and cheaper versions from china.
what pic programmer should i go for?
is it just a development board and a programmer i need or is there something else i need?sorry if these seem like stupid questions but in my world if you dont ask you will never know.
what would you advise me to go for?i would like something which is good quality and i can learn alot from.
thanks in advance and again be gentle on this complete novice who is very eager to learn.
regards martin.

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi Martin,
Welcome to the forum!
You don't strictly need a development board, you can easily get away with a solderless breadboard and some jumperwires. With that said a development board like the EasyPIC series of boards can be nice but they come packed with a lot of features and "settings" that you may not need and that MAY add a bit of confusion when you're getting started (don't let that put you off though, they are really nice boards).

If you get a EasyPIC 7 for example it already contains a programmer so you don't really need anything else but if you decide to go the solderless breadboard route then something like the PICKit3 is a good option.

Since you are here I guess you're going to use PBP as your compiler so you obviously need that as well.

/Henrik.

[hotrod192]

Hi Martin,
Welcome to the forum!
You don't strictly need a development board, you can easily get away with a solderless breadboard and some jumperwires. With that said a development board like the EasyPIC series of boards can be nice but they come packed with a lot of features and "settings" that you may not need and that MAY add a bit of confusion when you're getting started (don't let that put you off though, they are really nice boards).

If you get a EasyPIC 7 for example it already contains a programmer so you don't really need anything else but if you decide to go the solderless breadboard route then something like the PICKit3 is a good option.

Since you are here I guess you're going to use PBP as your compiler so you obviously need that as well.

/Henrik.

so if i get the easypic 7 then i dont need a separate programmer?
if i just get a breadboard apart from pickit 3 what other good programmers are there?
pbp compiler?i dont know what software i need,im looking for advice on what is good and what to stay away from.
if i can get advice on good kit then i can do what i usually do and teach myself.
if i get easypic 7 does that come with compiler?

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi,
Yes, the EasyPIC7 has a programmer on board so you don't strictly need another. I've got a PICKit3 myself, can't speak for anything else.

No, if you buy a EasyPIC7 you don't get a compiler. They (MikroE) has their range of compilers and this forum is for users of the PBP compiler from MicroEngineering Labs.

[Ramius]

Hi Hotrod192!
Not sure where you are located and you may wish to either call or e-mail Bruce at Reynolds Electronics. ( http://www.rentron.com/contact.htm ). Another excellent person would be Daniel Taylor at http://www.melabs.com. Both can and will guide you with the best selections for your requirements and most important budget! One suggestion when discussing options is to keep an eye on future "upgrades" or products that can be upgradeable. For me I have an old PICSTART Plus for many years and one of the nice parts in the past was knowing I could upgrade the internal circuit board.

Another consideration is to get a solderless breadboards to try out your designs. http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...0?k=breadboard . Then when you are happy with your results you can build your final version on "Vectorboard" ( http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...8?k=breadboard )

Hope this makes things easier for you.

Best, Ed