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Registered Member #1643
Joined: Mon Aug 18 2008, 06:10PM
Location:
Posts: 1039
Bjørn wrote ...
A PIC is a dedicated simple microcontroller and it is pretty good at it. The main advantage is that it is simple and you can spend most of your time figuring out how to use it well.
Hey now! Lets not forget AVR (at least the rectangle shaped ones) are easy to do also! Once you connect your 5 programming pins to it, and if you use the correct software, you just scroll through a list of Atmel chips, select the exact model, and program :)
I find it extremely easy, yet i'll admit i never had a PIC, I always started with AVR ATTINY2313 for SpokePOV (Adafruits 30+ led board that creates light-blur POV pictures and text on your bike wheels at night. Fun.
Registered Member #1965
Joined: Sun Feb 08 2009, 02:14PM
Location: Herefordshire UK
Posts: 3
If youre new to microcontrollers and just want to get something working fase, Id go for the Arduino or variant. They are very east to program and dont take long to get started.
Registered Member #1739
Joined: Fri Oct 03 2008, 10:05AM
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 261
Well, an Arduino board would be an overkill here. I'd go with a single AVR alone if it comes down to AVR usage - probably on a header board in order to conserve time as those have everything you really need (eg ICSP and JTAG pins, both XTALs and some bypass caps) - and nothing you do not ;).
Registered Member #1643
Joined: Mon Aug 18 2008, 06:10PM
Location:
Posts: 1039
guitardude012 wrote ...
I vote for the atmega8/168. Although I'm normally a proponent for the arduino family, they aren't really the right tool for the job here.
I guess whatever is cheapest. I'm a fan of ATMEGA644 because its 64kb of space, its fast, and can be programed with Adafruits USBtiny, and AVR studio 4. Arduino has its own VERY easy programming language which might help, but I find AVR good. If your code is under 2KB, I'd use Bascom with an AVR, because bascom language is just as easy as arduino, the demo just limits you to 2kb.
Registered Member #2025
Joined: Fri Mar 13 2009, 05:39PM
Location:
Posts: 16
I say for pic.
You can get free samples from microchip, and make the programmer yourself but if its to complicated you can get the pickit 2 which has some nifty additional features such as the logic tool.
If ASM is not your forte then you can get the picbasic pro compiler/assembler from mikro electronica.
It's free if you don't need more then 2k words and you can see how it looks in assembly within the program, so you can also learn assembly in the process!
Not much to say on arduino as I have not worked with them that much, but basic stamp is VERY expensive for what you get. It is good for absolute beginners but not so well for more advanced applications.
Registered Member #2317
Joined: Thu Aug 27 2009, 01:45AM
Location:
Posts: 27
I'm also interested in applying a microcontroller to my project, which is a railgun. I'm evaluating the different methods of switching power, which is a bank of at least 10 capacitors.
One option is to create a conductive piston that contacts a conductive block, being powered by high-pressure compressed air or explosives. The capacitors would be connected together, in parallel, or in some form of a Pulse Forming Network, thusly allowing me to switch all of them from one switching mechanism with one signal.
Another option is to parallel up as many SCRs as necessary with the capacitors connected the same as above. Again, allowing me to switch all of the capacitors with one signal.
The last option, which involves the microcontroller, would have an SCR on each capacitor with each SCR being controlled by the microcontroller. This would allow me to create practically any pulse that I want. I would need the microprocessor to be able to send out at least 10 signals within a period ranging from 10 to 500 microseconds. I'm not sure if any of these aforementioned microcontrollers could fulfill these requirements.
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microcontroller for a coilgun
