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Cheaper alternatives to Basic Stamps

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Brett Clark

Thu Feb 15 2007, 05:57PM

Registered Member #482 Joined: Thu Jul 06 2006, 07:13PM
Location:
Posts: 8

Long time lurker, I post pretty infrequently, but I've got a quick question.

I've been given a BS2 for the microcontroller portion of my Intro to Industrial Automation class, been doing alot of pretty fun stuff with it and have come up with lots of projects/applications for around my apartment but at ~$50 a stamp, they're fininacial impractical.

It's my understanding so far that a stamp is just a PIC microcontroller coupled with some eeprom, a voltage regulator and some circuitry to interface it with the serial port.

Are there cheaper micro's that are programmed in a higher level language (BASIC, C, Java) that I can supply with my own eeproms and regulator circuits?

Has anyone had experience with these? What were your opinions? Ease of use, flexibility, that kind of stuff.

I could google just to find what micro's may meet these conditions but I guess I'm more interested in gaining some opinions from folks with personal experience.

Thanks

Avalanche

Thu Feb 15 2007, 06:41PM

Registered Member #103 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:16PM
Location: Derby, UK
Posts: 845

You can't go wrong with a PICKit 1 programmer, and a PIC16F684. It's about the norm if you want to get away from using stamps. I regularly use that setup to get things up and running.

You can create an I2C port on them quite easily, to interface to some external EEPROM if you need it, and if you use the (free) hi-tech C compiler, it comes with enough demo code to form the basis for pretty much anything you are ever going to do with that chip.

J. Aaron Holmes

Thu Feb 15 2007, 08:19PM

Registered Member #477 Joined: Tue Jun 20 2006, 11:51PM
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 546

Avalanche wrote ...

You can't go wrong with a PICKit 1 programmer.

Agreed. Go get one now! I soldered a ZIF socket onto mine, and it's been my only PIC programmer for years.

I think you'll find, too, that the need for a high-level language on PICs is somewhat less than on other MCU's. I originally used PIC-C Lite, the free version of Hi-Tech's C compiler (the non-free version is EXTREMELY non-free, if you get my meaning), which comes with the PICkit. It only supports certain PICs, though. I bought some 16F630's recently for an LCD driver project, and since they weren't on the PIC-C Lite list, I decided it was time to just bite the bullet and do it all in assembly. To my surprise (and delight), it was incredibly easy. The instruction set is so small and orthogonal, you'll have it memorized by accident after an hour or two. No exaggerating. That said, if the PIC you're using is supported by PIC-C Lite, I think it's a great way to go.

Regards,
Aaron, N7OE

...

Thu Feb 15 2007, 11:35PM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

If you like programming in basic, then I would suggest mikrobasic (from mikroelectronica). the non-free version is limited to 2k of program, but that is plenty for most applications. Although I will warn you, it can be a little picky at times.

Or, really you should just ite tbe bullet and get the student version of microchips C compiler.

As to having an external eeprom, there is no point. Really, the bs2 is sorta on my bad list right now, as the process or reading/writing from the eeprom is sooo slow compared to what a pic can do... And it adds unnecessary costs. It might have been a good idea like 10 (actually more) years ago when they were introduced, but thee days you are better off using the internal flash memory in a modern pic. You can even get pics these days that have an internal oscillator, just needs power! It doesn't get much better than a 8 pin chip with 6 i/o lines

And those are all have like integrated a/d on them too!

Bjørn

Fri Feb 16 2007, 01:00AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

If you need something that is about 100 times faster and capable of running serious applications then you can try this http://www.futurlec.com/ET-ARM_Stamp.shtml

It is not a lot cheaper but if you need the power it is extremely good value for money.

thom

Fri Feb 16 2007, 02:18AM

Registered Member #239 Joined: Thu Feb 23 2006, 03:15AM
Location: canada
Posts: 23

Here is the schematic: http://www.weethet.nl/english/basicstamp2_schema.php

Its a pic16C57C (16 I/O, 2k prog, 72B ram), 24LC16 (24kbit I2C eeprom), and some other stuff. Pic costs $3-4, and the eeprom is 50c or so. Quite the markup.

I would recommend Atmega88 (23 I/O, 8k prog, 1k ram) ~$3.80, or another AVR.

The C compiler and IDE for it are free (no restrictions) and heavily supported.

Bjørn

Fri Feb 16 2007, 03:13AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

If anyone wants to download the files needed to develop for the ET-ARM Stamp they can send me a PM.

The Keil C compiler/assembler has a full simulator if someone wants to try it without hardware. It is also possible to use the GNU C compiler but I am not able to answer any questions about that.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Fri Feb 16 2007, 03:57AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

I use KEIL for the 8051 and its a pretty good compilier. They'll send you a CD too if you need it.

...

Fri Feb 16 2007, 04:02AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

thom wrote ...

Here is the schematic: http://www.weethet.nl/english/basicstamp2_schema.php

Its a pic16C57C (16 I/O, 2k prog, 72B ram), 24LC16 (24kbit I2C eeprom), and some other stuff. Pic costs $3-4, and the eeprom is 50c or so. Quite the markup.

I would recommend Atmega88 (23 I/O, 8k prog, 1k ram) ~$3.80, or another AVR.

The C compiler and IDE for it are free (no restrictions) and heavily supported.

I should point out that the code that runs in the pic16C57C is secret, and the only way to get it is to buy a pre burned pic from Parallax. So if you go the diy route, you will not be able to use the parallax compiler.

Brett Clark

Fri Feb 16 2007, 04:23AM

Registered Member #482 Joined: Thu Jul 06 2006, 07:13PM
Location:
Posts: 8

Thanks for the info guys, the PIC16's look pretty good, quite affordable.

That ARM is a beast, nothing I'm doing now would even be worthy of it.

Going to switch my front door over to RFID, now only if I could get my hands on some sub-dermal tags...

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