New an what to know what board is best to start

[asdhillon86]

Ok so I'm new to PICs (although i program blackfin dualcore ADSP BF561 for a job =P) and I really want to learn more PIC stuff for my own little projects. I am a C programmer. Which platform do you think is better:
EasyPIC5 or
QL200?
I have a windows 7 and a ubuntu machine. EasyPIC5 seems better but with fewer devices included onboard but it seems to support a wider range too =S
Any help would do as I am new to PICs. I hope to be a regular poster as I have quite a range of projects I want to work on.
Thanks

[kevlar129bp]

Hello, and welcome.

I am by far and a way not a PIC pro like some of these fine ladies and gentleman here, but I can say that this "hobby" is highly rewarding, especially with the assistance of the folks here.
Certainly not to be taken as a smart-**s answer to your question, I started, and continue to use a simple breadboard. It has served me pretty well in my projects, and they're cheap too :). I am sure they're not quite as "cool" as a pre-built board, but heck, they work.

Good luck, and happy coding,
C

[malc-c]

I started with a PicKIT1, then a JDM (several in various designs) then an ICSP USB programmer, and a cheap breadboard. But then purchased an EasyPIC5 board and haven't looked back.

I still breadbaord some parts of a project, but tend to use the additional plug in boards where possible, makes life simple :) - For rapid re-programming whilst developing the code the EP5 (or 6) is ideal.

[rsocor01]

Hi,

Like kevlar129bp, I always use a breadboard for my projects. In fact, I have never used a development board before :o. They are usually very expensive. You can accomplish most of your projects just by using a breadboard and some 22AWG solid wire to make the connections.

Robert

[asdhillon86]

Thanks a lot guys. I have been using breadboard thus far but my problem is with the scale of projects I am looking to do it would very quickly become a tangled mess of fury and I wouldnt be able to keep track of what went where in the event of a wire coming away. Having a development board with just a few simple ports would make things a lot easier and I can just build the unique sections on bread/proto-board. After it tests out ok then transition the sections onto proto and then develop the next bit. My first project looks to be multi-PIC (around a half dozen) due to distance constraints as well as functional division so something a little mire hardcore id definitely needed.

[mackrackit]

Sounds like the dev board you need would be best if it was custom built. Build it your self.
Then you have what you need/want.

[asdhillon86]

hmmm :/ how easy is it to find schematics for a fairly broad spectrum (by which i mean supports many variants of pic) dev board? If it was for just the few projects I would be fairly certain I could build one perfect for me but I'm finding that I'm gradually expanding my list of projects and each requires more stuff. I am fine with spending a bit of cash if it gives me a well rounded system which I can play around with a fair bit.
A list of the projects I am looking to do:

-Display and logging of data from various sensors placed around a car (including material stresses, temperatures, revs, suspension flexation) and twinning it with GPS data and road surface mapping

-Remote controlled swarm of small rovers able to keep in synchronized pattern and complete land surveying.

-A automated control system for my aeroponic farm system to auto adjust mist generation for optimum moisture in the thin film as well as to read ph levels of the soil to check for under/over nutriated water

-A CNC machine (for small mechanical parts creation for the rover swarms)

-A controller for a vortex air multiplier turbine which will optimise the blade angles on the inner and outer turbine ring.

etcetc

[chuck]

You could try this one from here home made and you can just keep adding and adding to it, You can even custom design your own add ons either make PCB or just hard wire it. this is simple and easy to make and one baord you can use all trype of PIC'S
http://sergiols.blogspot.com/2009/10/multiboard-pic-trainer-20.html

You could look at the easypic 6, I did consider it but the more I thought about it I would never use half the stuff on there, So I designed and made my own custom boards from link above to suit my needs

[malc-c]

You could try this one from here home made and you can just keep adding and adding to it,

Nice project, but personally the time taken to etch, drill and build the boards IMO makes the easyPIC range of boards more appealing. Plus if you need additional modules you can get everything form a simple connector board to wi-fi boards, through to a colour TFT touchscreen

http://www.mikroe.com/eng/categories/view/11/accessory-boards/

If you are looking for something different, with similar but different options (such as built in SD card reader, RTC clock and stepper motor drivers) take a look at the QL200 boards (priced about the same, but you may get stung with import duty) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QL200-PIC-Development-Board-USB-PIC-MCU-Programmer-/250610623559?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a598ea447

I've not used one so can't vouch for the quality.

Don't get me wrong, breadboarding has it's place, but sometimes when you are building complex projects it becomes very hard to trace where all the jumpers go (unless you're DT and then it's a work of art). My recent project used 4 DS18B20's, 4 x 20 LCD - 4 pots, DS1307 RTC, RS232 serial comms, and 6 triacs with associated discrete components - this would of been quite a busy breadboard even with just these parts. The only part that was breadboarded was the 4 sensors, external SSR and the RTC as I needed to split the connections to one header

http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4028&d=1266671836

I Having developed the project to a level where it was workable, I prototyped to stripboard

http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4610&d=1279223804

And then after a few further enhancements took the schematic and produced a small batch of PCBs, which resulted in the second prototype below

http://micro-heli.co.uk/MK2back.jpg

However the bottom line is that it's all down to personal choice. Hope my comments have helped you in making your choice of where to start

[asdhillon86]

Thanks Malcom thats quite similar to what my process will be. Development of each sub-system will happen individually and inputs/outputs simulated with the dev board bits until I can use the actual bits as it grows into proto stage and then onto proper boards (using PCB train to try and get compact and good quality multilayer boards done) ... I'm really looking forward to starting on a decent development project for my own hobby rather than doing what work place tells me to do =P

[asdhillon86]

ok so I have ordered a easypic6 and its already in the country. So now I need some suggestions for first steps after I have set up. Obviously I will go through a few of the examples and get them running but as with everyone I will probably get bored of them and will be itching to get to grips with a challenge. So here is my question:
What would be a good first little project to play with? Something which would force me to play with the board configuration (i.e. DIPs and jumpers) and have to think a little to exercise my faculties a bit.
I just want to try a few simple things and maybe start working with objects on the expander port and probably the CoG display. I figure this will get me into the first steps of one of my projects =P

[cncmachineguy]

As a newcommer to PBP, I have been flexing my mind with everyone elses projects. I find it very helpful to think about how to solve/do whatever someone else has thought up. Now I don't have a nice development board so I can't just try out code and such. But it still helps me to learn PBP by trying to help others.

So I suggest as a start, pour through this forum and look at the first posts of things. The "problem" is usually there, or at least a description of what they want it to do. Then there is an answer to the problem somewhere later if you can't figure it out.

This forum is an awesome place with lots of diversity as far as projects go. :)

Just my $.02

OH, and congrats on the easypic!!

[malc-c]

Congrats on your purchase... you won't be disappointed.

As for project's... that's a hard one. For me I look to my other hobbies and try to come up with projects for them, even if a commercial unit exists. Things like lighting units, thermostats, model train controllers, telescope drives.... That's enough to keep me going !!

Setting up the EP6 will be simple, the manuals that come with these boards are very clear and easy to follow

Have fun !

[asdhillon86]

Ok the first project I will go for will have to be a state machine representing the menu and command/message structure of one of my latter projects in order to ensure there are no logical clashes. All displayed nicely on the CoG display of course =P