pic newbie

[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