Description

<style>.e_editor{font:14px/24px Roboto,Helvetica,Tahoma,Arial,'Microsoft YaHei','b8bf53';}.e_editor div,e_editor p,e_editor td,e_editor th,e_editor li{font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;}.e_editor ul{margin:-10px 0 20px;}.e_editor li{padding:5px 0;}.e_table{width:96%;border-collapse:collapse;empty-cells:show;}.e_table th,.e_table td{padding:5px;border:2px solid #eee;}.e_img{padding:10px 0;text-align:center;}.e_p{line-height:20px;padding:0 0 20px;text-indent:0em;}</style> <div class="e_editor"> <div class="e_p"> I loved learning about the microcontroller basics when I was studying. It meant I could start taking advantage of microcontrollers in my electronics projects. It kind of felt like with this knowledge, I was unstoppable. I could build ANYTHING! </div> <div class="e_p"> And it is actually true. Microcontrollers are powerful components. They let you write programs to control your electronics. Combine this knowledge with how to build your own circuit boards, and you’re gonna make amazing things. </div> <div class="e_p"> By using a microcontroller in your project you will have access to a vast amount of functionality from the tips of your (programming) fingers. </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180954039.png" width="600" height="450" /> </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> Which microcontroller to use? </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> There are many types of microcontrollers available on the market. Some are easier to use than others. </div> <div class="e_p"> There are 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers available. The simplest microcontrollers are 8-bit. They can do a lot, but they can’t handle operations that needs heavy calculations. </div> <div class="e_p"> I am not going to list all of them here. But two 8-bit microcontroller families that are easy to use for hobbyists and beginners are AVR and PIC. These are great for learning the microcontroller basics. </div> <div class="e_p"> AVR is by Atmel and is the microcontroller that I have used the most. It’s really popular among hobbyists. PIC is by Microchip. I have not used PIC, but people say it’s good. It’s also very popular among hobbyists. </div> <div class="e_p"> There are several types of both PIC and AVR microcontrollers. What sets them apart is the amount of memory, the number of IO pins and the types of peripherals they have. Peripherals are function like Pulse-Width Modulation, Analog-to-Digital conversion, Serial Peripheral Interface, I2C, etc.. </div> <div class="e_p"> If you only want a simple microcontroller to control pins on/off, you don’t have to worry about all the peripherals. Just find one that has enough IO pins and that you are comfortable programming. </div> <div class="e_p"> For example check out ATtiny2313 for a simple and cheap microcontroller for getting started. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> Microcontroller Basics: Using them in projects </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> There are two ways of using microcontrollers in a project: </div> <div class="e_p"> <ol> <li> Use a microcontroller board </li> <li> Integrate a microcontroller on your circuit board </li> </ol> </div> <div class="e_p"> This simplest way to get started is to use a microcontroller board. </div> <div class="e_p"> But it will be both cheaper, more compact and less messy if you integrate a microcontroller to your own board. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h3> Using Microcontroller Boards </h3> </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180958088.png" width="584" height="413" /> </div> <div class="e_p"> The most famous microcontroller board is Arduino. It’s a hardware and software suite designed to make it easy to get started with programming microcontrollers. Learn about Arduino programming. </div> <div class="e_p"> But you can also find other microcontroller boards. They usually have just the microcontroller chip and the necessary components to make it work. This is a great way to test a microcontroller that you haven’t used before. </div> <div class="e_p"> To get started and learn the microcontroller basics, I would definitely recommend getting an Arduino board. This is the absolute simplest way of getting started. By one together with some basic components, and start experimenting. </div> <div class="e_p"> Click here to get the Arduino Starter Kit </div> <div class="e_p"> <h3> Using Microcontroller Chips </h3> </div> <div class="e_p"> A microcontroller always has a datasheet where it’s functionality is described. In the datasheet, you will almost always find a reference schematic design for the microcontroller. </div> <div class="e_p"> This makes it pretty easy to get a microcontroller board up and running. </div> <div class="e_p"> I have also written a tutorial that teaches you how to build your own microcontroller circuit from scratch. Check out the microcontroller tutorial here. </div> <div class="e_p"> (Remember to make sure you have a way of programming your microcontroller. This is not always added in the reference diagram) </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227181001533.png" width="500" height="388" /> </div> <div class="e_p"> To expand on the microcontroller basics, learn microcontroller programming to learn how to program a microcontroller. </div> </div>