Win a one of five Firefly 16F88 PIC Tutor PCBs. Contest ends Dec 1 / 06

[[email protected]]

Enter to win one of five Firefly 16F88 PIC Tutor PCBs. Contest ends Dec
1 / 06

The Firefly is designed as a PIC ICD2 Tutor / Trainer using the
PIC16F88

Contest details on my home page at http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

Winners will be chosen at random.

Bill

 

[Brian]

JUST the PCB?

 

[[email protected]]

Yes just the PCB. the contest is free to enter and the PCB is double
sided & silkscreened. Should be easy to find the parts. Firefly
Assembly Manual (Beta) is going online tomorrow for a sneak peak.
Schematics, BOM & Sample program for flashing the LEDs in the manual.

 

[Brian]

Enter to win one of five Firefly 16F88 PIC Tutor PCBs. Contest ends Dec
1 / 06

The Firefly is designed as a PIC ICD2 Tutor / Trainer using the
PIC16F88

Contest details on my home page at http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

Winners will be chosen at random.

Bill

NOT worth a blank PCB! Maybe for a built one, but for a cheap pcb, Isn't
worth the time, information given or possible SPAM.

 

[[email protected]]

NOT worth a blank PCB! Maybe for a built one, but for a cheap pcb, Isn't
worth the time, information given or possible SPAM.

Well that's your opinion. The answers are mostly yes or no and one
multiple choice. Takes only a couple of minutes to answer. It's for a
popular kit PCB and it beats hand wiring. It also can be built as a PIC
ZIF socket programming adapter.

 

[Brian]

NOT worth a blank PCB! Maybe for a built one, but for a cheap pcb, Isn't

Well that's your opinion. The answers are mostly yes or no and one
multiple choice. Takes only a couple of minutes to answer. It's for a
popular kit PCB and it beats hand wiring. It also can be built as a PIC
ZIF socket programming adapter.

Is an engineer's time not worth more than a $2 circuit board though? Is
the marketing data you gleen not worth it? Heck, we give away thumb
drives to contacts for less info!

Attract the right people with the right "reard" and your information
will probably be more valuable. Right now, someone who would spend the
time for a blank pcb would probably NEVER turn into a sale, making your
gathered info a bit tainted.

 

[Tim Auton]

Is an engineer's time not worth more than a $2 circuit board though?

I think the site, its products and this promotion are aimed more at the
hobby market rather than professional engineers.


Tim

 

[[email protected]]

Is an engineer's time not worth more than a $2 circuit board though? Is
the marketing data you gleen not worth it? Heck, we give away thumb
drives to contacts for less info!

Attract the right people with the right "reard" and your information
will probably be more valuable. Right now, someone who would spend the
time for a blank pcb would probably NEVER turn into a sale, making your
gathered info a bit tainted.

The target market is students, hobbyists, educators & anyone curious
about programming a microcontroller (PIC in this case) . Sure in
quantity a PCB can be very cheap to manufacture but in single quantity
they are very expensive. Thumb drives are no different, because thumb
drives are made in the millions the cost on smaller ones is on a few
dollars. When I've gone to trade shows and such; to get a screwdriver,
pen or other bobble was always fun, and it has the makers name on it
for marketing. Well I've chosen to give away a handfull of Firefly PCBs
to find out what kits might have a chance of success, and where to
improve where I can. I would like to offer kits that you can use long
after you've assembled it, unlike the vast majority of the kits offered
now. I have two more projects coming out and the feedback I've gotten
from both the contest and electro-tech forums has been fantastic.
Other kits coming soon...
1. an RS485 setback & auto changeover thermostat (think of Aprilaire
8870 or HAI)
2. a 18F2525 based automation controller with 4 relays (think of mm443
or Stargate)
I'm trying to design and offer useful, affordable PIC based kits, not
just Christmas light type kits or useless little circuits you build
once and forget about.

PS what is "reard" the guy who invented bikinis?

 

[Homer J Simpson]

PS what is "reard" the guy who invented bikinis?

Reward.

 

[Brian]

The target market is students, hobbyists, educators & anyone curious
about programming a microcontroller (PIC in this case) . Sure in
quantity a PCB can be very cheap to manufacture but in single quantity
they are very expensive. Thumb drives are no different, because thumb
drives are made in the millions the cost on smaller ones is on a few
dollars. When I've gone to trade shows and such; to get a screwdriver,
pen or other bobble was always fun, and it has the makers name on it
for marketing. Well I've chosen to give away a handfull of Firefly PCBs
to find out what kits might have a chance of success, and where to
improve where I can. I would like to offer kits that you can use long
after you've assembled it, unlike the vast majority of the kits offered
now. I have two more projects coming out and the feedback I've gotten
from both the contest and electro-tech forums has been fantastic.
Other kits coming soon...
1. an RS485 setback & auto changeover thermostat (think of Aprilaire
8870 or HAI)
2. a 18F2525 based automation controller with 4 relays (think of mm443
or Stargate)
I'm trying to design and offer useful, affordable PIC based kits, not
just Christmas light type kits or useless little circuits you build
once and forget about.

PS what is "reard" the guy who invented bikinis?

The "brilliant" can always spot a typo. Wow.

Look, peddle your junk, fine. But unless you are going to REALLY offer
us something for our time and info, quit SPAMMING the newsgroup with
it.

For the regular SED guys, if you will come to my site and tell me all
your trade secrets so I can use them to earn lots of money, I will send
you a FREE envelope of air you can use to create your own environment.

 

[[email protected]]

Well to each their own, you could have entered the contest three times
over with much less typing and time than you've already spent with your
replies.

As for "SPAM", I've not sent millions of ads to peoples mailboxes.
Matter of fact only a couple of postings on the usenet. The information
I've gathered is very helpful and I'm not a big company but simply a
small one and I'll use the information collected to design the next
kit. There are thousands of electronic kits out there and very very few
are any good. Long gone are the Heathkits of yesteryear. I'm trying to
design and sell at very affordable prices kits that are modern, well
designed and documented, affordable and useful. Not silly blinking
lights (although the first program for Firefly is silly blinking
lights) but kits you might actually learn something from.
What would you consider a prize worthy of 5 minutes of a persons time?
To layout and design a PCB takes considerable care and effort even for
a simple one. The cost of circuit design can be very high and a
although it can cost $3 for a small board (in quantity) they can sell
for many times that.

I've been using the Usenet for years, way back when dialup was the norm
and BBS ruled the day. I can still smell a Troll...

PS nice site, www.w3gate.com spend a lot of time deciding on the blue
background.

 

[Brian]

Well to each their own, you could have entered the contest three times
over with much less typing and time than you've already spent with your
replies.

As for "SPAM", I've not sent millions of ads to peoples mailboxes.
Matter of fact only a couple of postings on the usenet. The information
I've gathered is very helpful and I'm not a big company but simply a
small one and I'll use the information collected to design the next
kit. There are thousands of electronic kits out there and very very few
are any good. Long gone are the Heathkits of yesteryear. I'm trying to
design and sell at very affordable prices kits that are modern, well
designed and documented, affordable and useful. Not silly blinking
lights (although the first program for Firefly is silly blinking
lights) but kits you might actually learn something from.
What would you consider a prize worthy of 5 minutes of a persons time?
To layout and design a PCB takes considerable care and effort even for
a simple one. The cost of circuit design can be very high and a
although it can cost $3 for a small board (in quantity) they can sell
for many times that.

I've been using the Usenet for years, way back when dialup was the norm
and BBS ruled the day. I can still smell a Troll...

PS nice site, www.w3gate.com spend a lot of time deciding on the blue
background.

Why on Earth would I want one of your kits? They are more worethless
than most.

That Troll odor you smell is arising from you, bud. Look at your stupid
comment at the end, like a child, can't help yourself. I'd tell you
what the REAL site does, but based on the low complexity of your
"kits", you would not understand internet automation anyway.

Now go, peddle your oh so useful wares, but try not to SPAM sed as it
is not a site for selling stuff. Learn SEO techniques, natural and P2P,
and maybe you will find the kids that would buy that stuff.

 

[[email protected]]

You mean theres more than off shore assembly and chickens behind the
blue site?

 

[[email protected]]

Almost forgot, what kits do you consider worthy?

 

[[email protected]]

Hmm, low complexity. If you knew anything about modern microcontrollers
they pretty much pack everything you could ask for inside the silicon.
Once what was a jumble of glue logic and such is now self contained.

From RAM, FLASH, EEPROM, output drivers, A/D converters, USARTS,

Oscillators are now all contained in a tiny chip that sells for only a
few dollars. That easy to build Firefly & PIC16F88 has more processing
power than those old home computers from the 70s. When combined with
the ICD2 (Inchworm) you could do thousands of projects on the board,
and countless more with the expansion connectors.

Here's a simple program that runs on Firefly and PIC16F88, to a
beginner it might appear complex, but with a debugger it's easy to
understand.

;Blinky VR1 requires the use of VR1 (DIP switch VR1 = ON)
LIST p=16F88
INCLUDE "p16f88.inc"
ERRORLEVEL 0, -302

__CONFIG _CONFIG1, 0x2F30
__CONFIG _CONFIG2, 0x3FFC

movlf macro x,y ;MACRO movlf <literal>,
<register>
movlw x ;W = literal
banksel y ;make sure it's in the right
bank
movwf y ;register = W
endm

cblock 0x20 ;start of general purpose
registers
Delay_Count ;delay loop counter
endc

org 0x000 ;this is where the program
starts running
Init movlf 0x07, CMCON ;turn comparators off (make it
like a 16F84)
movlf b'00000010', ANSEL ;select RA1/AN1 as analog
input
movlf b'11001101', ADCON0 ;AD enabled, RC clock, AN1
selected (VR1) & begin conversion


Red1 movlf b'01000000', PORTA ;LED1 RED
movlf b'10111110', TRISA
call Delay

Red2 movlf b'10000000', PORTA ;LED2 RED
movlf b'00111111', TRISA
call Delay

Red3 movlf b'00000001', PORTA ;LED3 RED
movlf b'01111110', TRISA
call Delay

Green3 movlf b'10000000', PORTA ;LED3 GREEN
movlf b'01111110', TRISA
call Delay

Green2 movlf b'01000000', PORTA ;LED2 GREEN
movlf b'00111111', TRISA
call Delay

Green1 movlf b'00000001', PORTA ;LED1 GREEN
movlf b'10111110', TRISA
call Delay

goto Red1 ;repeat forever

Delay
bcf STATUS, RP0 ;bank 0
movf ADRESH, W ;W = VR1 value 0x00-0xFF
bsf ADCON0, GO ;start next conversion
movwf Delay_Count ;Delay_Count = W
btfsc STATUS, Z ;if ADRESH = 0 (Z flag is set)
return ;then return (no need to delay)

Loop
nop ;32KHz Clock (default internal
OSC speed) decfsz
Delay_Count, f
decfsz Delay_Count, f ;
goto Loop
return

END

 

[Brian]

You mean theres more than off shore assembly and chickens behind the
blue site?

Add this to your ignorant use of top posting, it is obvious you don't
have a clue! No wonder your site is invisible to the search engines!

Yeah, I am sure TO YOU the PIC is the ultimate of electronics. It will
be at the peak of your intellectual reach forever. However, for most
applications we design here, it just doesn't have the horsepower. Plus,
there shortcomings lead many designers to use 8-bit offerings from
other companies.

Know that your stuff is in Toyland, don't be ashamed of it. Lots of
people use them, but if you better understand your audience, you'll
peddle more of that junk.

 

[[email protected]]

Add this to your ignorant use of top posting, it is obvious you don't
have a clue! No wonder your site is invisible to the search engines!

Yeah, I am sure TO YOU the PIC is the ultimate of electronics. It will
be at the peak of your intellectual reach forever. However, for most
applications we design here, it just doesn't have the horsepower. Plus,
there shortcomings lead many designers to use 8-bit offerings from
other companies.

Know that your stuff is in Toyland, don't be ashamed of it. Lots of
people use them, but if you better understand your audience, you'll
peddle more of that junk.

Ok sorry about the top posting, fixed.

I've seen site for chicken breeding and circuit design, do you
specialize in anything in particular? Do you have any reviews of your
electronic designs? What microcontroller if any do you prefer when
designing, as the Microchip stuff (they sell millions of em) are only
good for toys I suppose Eight bit micros are still the most popular
by a large margin, typical appliances don't need 32bit CPUs and small
microcontrollers sell for pennies. Your keyboard and mouse contain 8
bit micros, and likely your remote, VCR, TV and thousands of other
devices. My kits are aimed at hobbyists, students and experimenters.
Even you assuming you actually know what a microcontroller is had to
start somewhere. Be it Intel, Motorola, Atmel, Microchip... You
probably started with an 8 bit CPU.

I suppose Serama Chickens are good eats but had a hard time finding
decent recipes.

 

[Brian]

Ok sorry about the top posting, fixed.

I've seen site for chicken breeding and circuit design, do you
specialize in anything in particular? Do you have any reviews of your
electronic designs? What microcontroller if any do you prefer when
designing, as the Microchip stuff (they sell millions of em) are only
good for toys I suppose Eight bit micros are still the most popular
by a large margin, typical appliances don't need 32bit CPUs and small
microcontrollers sell for pennies. Your keyboard and mouse contain 8
bit micros, and likely your remote, VCR, TV and thousands of other
devices. My kits are aimed at hobbyists, students and experimenters.
Even you assuming you actually know what a microcontroller is had to
start somewhere. Be it Intel, Motorola, Atmel, Microchip... You
probably started with an 8 bit CPU.

I suppose Serama Chickens are good eats but had a hard time finding
decent recipes.

Here is the MOST valuable piece of advice you will ever receive: hire a
marketing guy. You have ZERO clue that you are on the low end of
electronics, or ashamed to realize it. Because of this, you will
totally miss your market segment unless you hand things off to someone
who can honestly assess your junk for what it is. Old, low-end
technology.
Why not try something A MILLION people have not already offered? Your
kits are no more or less baseline or useful than a million others.

But you miss the point - SPAMMING isn't an accepted market method,
even on SED. Maybe if you offered something REAL for someone's time it
would be tolerated. Dunno. But you are just an angry little man trying
to look like a hot shot now with really pathetic attempts to insult me.
Haven't been attacked so viciously for 30 plus years, over on the
monkey bars.

 

[[email protected]]

Here is the MOST valuable piece of advice you will ever receive: hire a
marketing guy. You have ZERO clue that you are on the low end of
electronics, or ashamed to realize it. Because of this, you will
totally miss your market segment unless you hand things off to someone
who can honestly assess your junk for what it is. Old, low-end
technology.
Why not try something A MILLION people have not already offered? Your
kits are no more or less baseline or useful than a million others.

But you miss the point - SPAMMING isn't an accepted market method,
even on SED. Maybe if you offered something REAL for someone's time it
would be tolerated. Dunno. But you are just an angry little man trying
to look like a hot shot now with really pathetic attempts to insult me.
Haven't been attacked so viciously for 30 plus years, over on the
monkey bars.

Seriously what have you designed? You avoided the question, you claim
your company designs electronic something or others. So what have you
designed? And how have I insulted you? You called my kits
I design and build educational kits and a programmer / debugger.
Toyland as you put it, well they are for beginners not amazing techno
gurus like yourself who's designs remain top secret and I'm sure are
beyond my simple understanding of such ohh electronical thingamabobs.

I've looked at your old post, you're just boo hooing about somebody
responding to your "ad" for your company way back.

You've been name slinging on the usenet for ages, "Truck Stop Whore"
ring a bell? Grow up petty man, your skin should be a little thicker if
you've been around for 30yrs. Still wearing your "Crash Helmet"?

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Seriously what have you designed? You avoided the question, you claim
your company designs electronic something or others. So what have you
designed? And how have I insulted you? You called my kits
I design and build educational kits and a programmer / debugger.
Toyland as you put it, well they are for beginners not amazing techno
gurus like yourself who's designs remain top secret and I'm sure are
beyond my simple understanding of such ohh electronical thingamabobs.

If you want to know what he does for a living go to his website and
find out.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida