Beginner needs help choosing microcontroller platform & software

MrMJPEG · 2005-12-06T12:02:59+00:00

I'd appreciate any advice you could send my way. I want to avoid theprobability of me getting bored or frustrated and leaving hundreds ofdollars of equipment collecting dust on my workbench.There are two ways I can run out of steam:1) It becomes too difficult. I can learn almost anything, but if I'mfollowing a guide that skips over something vital (like what they heckis a booloader?) I'll decide the frustration isn't worth it. I'd likesomething (a book, a guide) that walks me through the entire process.2) If it becomes apparent the platform/programming language I've chosenis too limited to accomplish what I want (ultimate goal is a multi-axismotion control camera capable of learning moves and replaying themexactly, maybe even outputing the data to a CF card to be used in3D-animation software for match-moves)Since I have more time than money, and not much of either, I need to gocheap. That pretty much rules out the Basic Stamp, which excels in #1.Proton Basic seems like a good alternative, but it isn't cheap either.It seems to be the best way to avoid burn-out while avoiding thelimited capability and high cost you get with the Stamp, Ooopic, Atom,BAsicX, etc. If Proton Basic offered a kit like BAsic STamp offerswith books, a programmer, and all the hardware you need to run throughsome experiments I'd jump at it in a second, if it was pricedreasonably.AVR and BASCOM'S free version looks promising, but I don't see anythingthat walks me through the whole process beginning to end.GCC-AVR is probably the perfect combination to accomplish #2 (unless itis lacking built-in functions like stepper-motor control, LCD driving,etc.). It is free, but lacks an IDE. I'm also not all that familiarwith C, but it sure beats Assembly!The AVR seems to be the better platform, too, technically and Atmeloffers some real nice, and cheap, programmers and development boards.Mindstorms doesn't seem to be supported by Lego much anymore, so I'llavoid that.Thanks for your help!

Dec 06, 2005 44 Replies

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MrMJPEG 20 years ago

The "pod" wasn't on my list, but it is now. However, what sort of beginner documentation is there? Is the manual suitable? Are there sample projects? Kits? I'm not seeing much like that on

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, although I've only skimmed the obvious locations. A "Beginners start here" button would be nice that walks you through what it is and what is available to get you started.

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Randy M. Dumse 20 years ago

Go to

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Click the "Downloads" button on the top of the home page.

Click the 'Pod(TM) Download page

at the top of the Downloads page.

Second like on the 'Pod(TM) Download page is IsoPod(TM) Presentation in HTML or PPT. It will give you an overview.

Then read manuals and appnotes at will.

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blueeyedpop 20 years ago

The manual gives relitively good instructions on getting going from the ground up.

Forth is a good approach in that it helps teach you how to factor a problem.

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Is a good place to start too. It is the online version of Leo Brodie's book "starting FORTH."

New Micros has a well attended forum as well.

here is some fun stuff:

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my centipede, now living at the advanced robotics research institute in Texas.

Images through an optical mouse and ancillary lensing system.

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My LynxMotion hexapod

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Moco lives inside this crane...

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Not an IsoPod, but FORTH

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Brian Dean 20 years ago

Thanks Gordon. That's

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. You'll also find it's sister board the MAVRIC-IB there also - similar design with more on-board support for common additions (real time clock, extra RAM, more EEPROM). The MAVRIC-IIB is the smaller leaner sibling, and I believe the most popular.

For a small sample of what you can do with it see the sample code section here:

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Also, take a look at how one DARPA Grand Challenge team used it:

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Insight Racing finished 12th overall with over 26 miles autonomous.

One of the great things about the AVRs is the free development environment GCC. Unlike many processors, the AVR instruction set was designed from the beginning to support high level languages like C so it is easy for the compiler to produce high quality code. And GCC is an exceptional C compiler that rivals many commercial products in terms of code quality and size, but is available freely and open source as it has been through out is several decade long history. The environment is built on Unix so if you use Unix/Linux/MacOS X, etc, you will be right at home. For folks using Windows, a pre-built package is available with all the GCC goodies called WinAVR.

Of course, other languages are availabe like BASIC if you like that as well as FORTH if you like that. Also, several economical commercial C compilers are available if that is more suited to your needs over GCC. The AVRs are very popular and the on-line community is active and helpful. There are lots of options so you have a variety of capable processors and third-party boards to choose from. What you learn from using one AVR processor is directly transferable to all the others.

-Brian

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