Recommendation for a noob.

[Martaine2005]

Hi all, I have been lucky recently and been given boxes of electronics. From test equipment to components. It is all a little dated but nonetheless nice to have.
Serial port Pico scopes etc probably not worth keeping but to my question... In the boxes I found several PicKit 2 and 3 programmers. I am seriously looking into studying some kind of programming for micro controllers but have no idea which would be easier. Arduino with readily available sketches and large forums or PicKit which I know zero about.
I have looked on Youtube for both but being a complete novice, neither really made much sense.
The Arduino uses Atmega (as far as I know). That can be programmed via uploading a sketch?. The Picket is uploaded via Mlab and downloaded to a specific micro controller?. Are they compatible?. Can a program be uploaded to PicKet and downloaded to Arduino board?. Sorry for the silly questions but I have never played with micros. Is one better than the other?. What would you recommend I start with?
Thanks for any information you can give and a very merry xmas to you all.

Martin

 

[bertus]

Hello,

The pickit programmers are intended to be used with the microchip PIC chips.
The following pages will give you an idea what PIC chips can do:
http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/pic/
http://www.micro-examples.com/public/microex-navig/doc/200-pic-microcontroller-examples.html

Bertus

 

[Bluejets]

I've done both and tend to stick to Arduino.
I've found Mplab tends to screw with one's head but I'm sure if it was explained it would seem fairly straight forward.
Thing is I like to get on with the job at hand rather than being shovelled off on a tangent for days at a time.

Plenty of programs out there for Arduino which suit just about any application you can think of.
Load up the free IDE which has included basic programs so you can get a feel for whatever.
With most Arduino, open the program you require,plug in a usb lead, select your particular board, upload.

For most projects I do here, I find the small size of the Arduino pro mini an advantage.
Only difference is one plugs in a usb/ttl converter to program. Once uploaded and tested there is no further need for it so it is disconnected.
Clone boards are fine to use and much cheaper, never had a problem with them. e.g. clone pro mini around $3.00 posted to your door.

Usb/ttl unit $3.00, just make sure it has a DTR pin same as in photo below.
You can get some with a jumper for programming both 3v3 and 5v arduino boards.

Gazillions of sensors, displays, relay boards, input devices etc. etc. available on Ebay or whatever for a couple of dollars each.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FT232RL...hash=item3d6fe38472:m:m4jEnLYJYNEMYqOTDJJebcw

Arduino pro mini with Atmega 328 @5v

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-Min...d2d9db307942668243d88e3066bcd7&frcectupt=true

 

[Bluejets]

Main Arduino forum, although full of very experienced people, they will guide you and advise but will not write programs for you. Sometimes they can be a little abrupt so one has to have a bit of a thick skin in that respect.

Video tutorials are all over, some good, many rubbish.
This is one of the good ones.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Ob-HnnmhlgSv5Vs_i32TQ/videos

 

[Martaine2005]

Excellent info thank you. Just what I needed.
I wasn’t being lazy asking here. I did view lots of videos and read quite a bit. It’s just better to get feedback from people who have experience. I bought a few pro minis and megas. Also a starter kit with lots of modules to get me going. And yes, there are gazillions of add-ons. Julian Ilett built an arduino with TH components. I might breadboard it tomorrow.
I will try both PicKit and arduino, but Arduino does seem quite a bit easier.

Martin

 

[bertus]

Hello,

The arduino's use a kind of scripting language, like sketch or use C to program them.
The PIC's use C or assembly to program them.
I must say that the PIC's come in many variants and have a lot of hardware aboard if needed.
There are even dsPIC's that can be used for audio processing.

Bertus

 

[Bluejets]

Excellent info thank you. Just what I needed.
I wasn’t being lazy asking here. I did view lots of videos and read quite a bit. It’s just better to get feedback from people who have experience. I bought a few pro minis and megas. Also a starter kit with lots of modules to get me going. And yes, there are gazillions of add-ons. Julian Ilett built an arduino with TH components. I might breadboard it tomorrow.
I will try both PicKit and arduino, but Arduino does seem quite a bit easier.

Martin

No worries.
Glad to help. You may notice that some of the pro's on the Arduino forum can be a bit short both on info and manners but if you follow their guidelines they can provide much needed guidance.
Have seen a lot of Julian Iilett stuff, just that Ralph Bacon tends to concentrate mainly on Arduino and add on gear for the same.

There is also a series of step by step online youtube tutorials from Jeremy Blum as well, 16 in total I believe.
Started here...

One of my designs......The Arduino ProMini in this has been programmed and tested and yet to be finally soldered into place.

 

[Martaine2005]

Thanks @Bluejets, I have been watching Jeremy Blum from your recommendations in other threads. There are also plenty of websites with free sketches and on youtube too. I have downloaded lots from youtube and plan to use them. Then tinker with timings, brightness, switching etc by simply altering values in the sketches and see what happens. That should give me plenty of new year play and an understanding of what’s going on.
Thanks too @bertus I am slowly trawling through micro-examples. Although so far Arduino software loads on Win7 and 10 no
Problem while mplab gives errors straight away. I will investigate the errors ‘one day’. I don’t like to solve problems in order to use software. Clearly I just need an older revision of mplab or newer PicKits. I will continue with Arduino and see how I get on.

Martin

 

[Bluejets]

Although so far Arduino software loads on Win7 and 10 no

Are you saying Arduino ide will not work on windows 10..??
If so, first I've heard of it.

Did you get the software from here...???
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

 

[Martaine2005]

No no, I said “the Arduino software loads no problem on Win7 and 10”. While Mplab gives errors.

Martin

 

[Nanren888]

Just a side note for the future.
Arduino sketches are almost C. If you get up to speed on arduino using the environment, it's fast, plentiful examples, but remember that is is a somewhat simplified C language, not having traditional header files and such. For you to gain protability as a C programmer, you;ll need to use proper C at some point.
The arduino IDE environment will also get you access to the ESP series devices that tend to have Wifi and Bluetooth included in a small package, when you want small and connected.
There are also a few software arduino simulators about.
If you outgrow the arduino programming environment the arduino and clone boards are still a a cheap source of programmable controller hardware, even if you use other methods for programming.
.
Sorry, no personal experience of PICs, so can't comment, except that I do know others at work who have used them often tend to call the "pricks" rather than "pics" when it comes to programming some aspects.

 

[roughshawd]

pico scopes are generally really good scopes!

 

[hevans1944]

The Arduino is by far the easiest approach to embedding a computer in a project. Get familiar with Arduino first before moving on to PIC microprocessors. I like PICs because their programming is very intimately integrated with the hardware on the PIC, said hardware including many built-in peripherals that you might otherwise need a special-purpose "shield" to obtain similar functionality with Arduino. OTOH, its hard to beat a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) touch-screen color LCD display shield readily available for Arduino, or a stepper motor driver shield, or a Bluetooth shield... lots of shields available for Arduino.

The downside to PIC programming is every PIC is a little bit different from every other PIC. You need to be very familiar with the data sheet for the particular PIC you want to use. Microchip also likes to stuff "ten pounds of hardware into a one pound chip," using the same package pins for multiple purposes, although not all at the same time of course. You must be aware of what the chip can and cannot do and what your program must do to make it jump thorough the hoops you need it to jump through. Learning how to program even the simplest PIC can be a challenge but also a lot of fun with the proper tools. I would recommend starting with assembly language programming before advancing to C language programming.

My favorite thing about PICs is their price: dirt cheap. Cheap enough so you can sprinkle them around on your circuit board to add programmed functionality where you need it without running traces all over the board. If you want to give it a try, start with a simple PIC and use the PICKit3 module to download the program into FLASH program memory on the PIC. You can disconnect the PICKit3 module to run the program after you have it debugged. One other thing, purchase your first PICs in dual in-line packages (DIPs) that will plug directly into a solderless breadboard. Not all PICs are available in DIP packages, so choose wisely, Grasshopper!

At the other end of the small embedded computer spectrum is the Raspberry Pi, a Linux computer on a single board with an impressive array of peripheral functionality at an inexpensive price. You can program the R-Pi with just about any language supported by Linux. Like Arduino, there is a huge Raspberry Pi user community you can turn to for support. If you are interested in exploring the Internet of Things (IoT), the Raspberry Pi is a nice entry-level platform to start with.