Microcontrollers
The members of ORE use many different types of microcontrollers, but the vast majority have settled on PIC's from Microchip .
PIC microcontrollers are available at HVW Technologies and Digikey. If you're wondering which PIC to choose, take a look at the chart further down the page. We tend to recommend the ones in bold
Free C compilers
- HI-TECH C PRO for the PIC10/12/16 MCU Family (Lite mode)
- HI-TECH C PRO for the PIC18 MCU Family (Lite mode)
- MPLAB C for PIC18 v3.35 Standard-Eval Version
PIC's can be programmed with a variety of programmers. We recommend Microchips PicKit2, available at Digikey for about $40, ( part # PG164120-ND)
PICList provides lots of information to get started
Martin has some programming tips and sample code
| Part # | Pins | Code Space | MHz | A/D | UART | PWM | Internal Oscillator | I2C | pinout | $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1k | 20 | 4 | - | - | 4 MHz | - |  |
2 | |
| 16F688 | 14 | 4k | 20 | 8 | 1 | - | 8 MHz | - |  |
3 |
| 16F84* (obsolete) |
18 | 1k | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | |
| 16F628 | 18 | 2k | 20 | - | 1 | 1 | 4 MHz | - |  |
5 |
| 16F88 | 18 | 4k | 20 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 MHz | yes |  |
4 |
| 16F876 | 28 | 8k | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | yes | 11 | |
| 16F877 | 40 | 8k | 20 | 8 | 1 | 2 | - | yes |  |
11 |
| 18F252 | 28 | 32k | 40 | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | yes | 10 | |
| 18F452 | 40 | 32k | 40 | 8 | 1 | 2 | - | yes |  |
11 |
| 18F2620 | 28 | 64k | 40 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 8 MHz | yes |  |
11 |
| 18F4520 | 40 | 32k | 40 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 8 MHz | yes |  |
9 |
| 18F4620 | 40 | 64k | 40 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 8 MHz | yes |  |
11 |
* The 16F628 is compatible with the now obsolete 16F84
Note: Vdd is +, Vss is ground