Opinions Requested

[vne147]

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and new to PIC microcontrollers. I have a good deal of programming experience and some experience with electronics from previous projects. I would now like to begin learning PICs and I've been looking at the EasyPIC 4 from MikroElektronika (link below). I would like to know what everyone thinks about this kit. Capabilities, functionalty, ease of use, etc. I'm not so concerned with price because I won't be paying for it. I also like that everything is integrated into the PCB because I'm currently stuck in a small apartment with no designated workspace and very few tools. Plus most of the peripherals I want to experiment with are on the board already (with the exception of a speaker or buzzer). Anyway, thanks in advance and any comments/input is much appreciated.

https://www.mikroe.com/en/tools/easypic4/

 

[evandude]

Well, I guess if you're not paying for it, it's not so bad... but otherwise I would consider it a pretty big waste of money - a development board that only supports smaller PICs and has significantly less hardware can still have all the important stuff you need for learning the ropes, and by the time you actually need to start getting into higher pin-count devices like the 40-pin PICs, you should be confident enough to simply breadboard your application.

but then, I've never been a big fan of premade 'development boards' myself, so take my opinion with a grain of salt

 

[vne147]

Thanks for the input Evandude. I've never really been a fan of pre-made anything either. Unfortunatley my hands are tied right now as I don't have a place to build anything. I'm not 100% decided on this board yet...still looking around and doing my homework. Does anyone else have any suggestions or comments? Thanks again.

 

[vne147]

45 views and only one reply? Does anyone else have any advice or an opinion?

 

[Ayne]

Just watch
First Draft. :- PIC training board -: <<< thread started by me.
What u think
i am also beginer like u and i design a PIC16F877A training board for me.

 

[adge_uk]

Hi vne147,

maybe this isn't much help, but I was in the same position as you seem to be in about 2 years ago. I had to teach PICs to an electronics class in the near future and needed some eqipment to get them to use. A colleague later asked for some advice in doing the same, so I set up a website to help. It's **broken link removed**if you want to visit it.

 

[Mike - K8LH]

I designed and purchased 3 prototype boards for $59 from ExpressPCB when getting started several years ago, which worked out quite well.

 

[vne147]

Thanks Mike, Ayne, and adge_uk. I had never heard about Express PCB before. I'll definately look into that as an alternative to making my own PCBs for the time being. I briefly checked out your site adge_uk, I think it will be quite helpful. Keep the feedback coming everyone. Thanks.

 

[BeeBop]

Wow Mike,
Nice board! I like how you tucked the caps under the max232.
Robert

 

[dknguyen]

I guess if you use sockets you can stick stuff underneath the ICs. I tend to prefer to stick a ground plane beneat them though...but then no sockets. Not much of a choice though if you use SMD. I always thought it was bad practice to route stuff underneath an IC so I've never tried it. Does anything wrong ever happen because of that?

What is that metal plate for around the power inputs of the PIC?

 

[Sceadwian]

Those pin strips are really nice for that. If you actually need a ground plane for an analog design under it you can always mount a foil sheet under it. They're also breakaway so you can make dip basings for any size using a single generic cheap part you buy in bulk. Mike, where'd you get those from? I don't feel like hunting through my Digikey catalog to find what they are, don't need em now but it's such a 'smart part' for hobby usage I might throw some on my next order to beat the shipping limit.

 

[Mike - K8LH]

Those pin strips are really nice for that. If you actually need a ground plane for an analog design under it you can always mount a foil sheet under it. They're also breakaway so you can make dip basings for any size using a single generic cheap part you buy in bulk. Mike, where'd you get those from? I don't feel like hunting through my Digikey catalog to find what they are, don't need em now but it's such a 'smart part' for hobby usage I might throw some on my next order to beat the shipping limit.

If you're talking about the single-inline machined pin sockets, you can get them almost anywhere. I've purchased 20 pin single-inline units from Mouser and I also still have a bunch of 10 pin units from a bag of 100 purchased from Jameco long ago (part # 102200).
**broken link removed**
I used them in that prototype design for the combination 28/40 pin PIC socket.

 

[Mike - K8LH]

I guess if you use sockets you can stick stuff underneath the ICs. I tend to prefer to stick a ground plane beneat them though...but then no sockets. Not much of a choice though if you use SMD. I always thought it was bad practice to route stuff underneath an IC so I've never tried it. Does anything wrong ever happen because of that?

What is that metal plate for around the power inputs of the PIC?

Are you talking about the ground plane for the crystal or resonator on the left hand side of the PIC socket(s)?

 

[dknguyen]

Oh is that what that is? I didnt see a crystal. I didn't know you could use ground planes for crystals. I kept the area around there clear for me because it's digital and I didnt want parasitics. Maybe Im wrong.

 

[Hero999]

Who's paying for this?

Are you getting the money from work or a government funded college course?

 

[vne147]

Who's paying for this?

Are you getting the money from work or a government funded college course?

Hero999,

I'm not sure if your question was for me but I'll answer anyway. My employer will be paying for the board and for me to learn PICs for a project at work. So what do you think? Also what does everyone think about the Mikro C compiler? Please share your opinions. Thanks.


Link to devepment board:

https://www.mikroe.com/en/tools/easypic4/