tdg8934 said:Thanks for the synapsis on the ATOM. I'm gladd to see there is someone that has use Parallax products and can appreciate the speed. I do think that if I got the ATOM that I would want the best package so that I dont have to keep buying more and more accessories later. This is one reason I somewhat was engaged in the EasyPIC4 board by MikroElektronika and their MikroBASIC for PIC. Reasonably good price combo and the board has lots of gadgets, lcds, etc.. which is a big plus.
Does the ATOM offer any boards like this or other micro-controllers that can be programmed in BASIC?
tdg8934 said:Im a little confused in what you are saying. First you talk about the ATOM and then later you state if you had to do it all over you would get the EasyPIC. Isn't the EasyPIC4 for PICs and not ATOM's? Maybe I just am not following this. If I did get the EasyPIC4, I would probably want to get the MiKroBASIC for PIC bundle with the EasyPIC4 to save $50 ($250 total). Or are you saying that I should only get Swordfish (free version) and not the MikroBASIC for PIC - Is there a pay version of Swordfish? I want to make sure that I don't limit myself either. I do have a Parallax SX/B programming background and the ATOM sounds more like a slower Basic Stamp 2. I think I would need something faster with lots of I/O for my LED projects. Correct me if I am wrong - as I just haven't read into everything completely yet.
Tim,
For getting started with PIC’s we recommend the EasyPIC4 and mikroBasic. mikroBasic compiles for almost every PIC in the 10F, 12F, 16F, and 18F series. The EasyPIC4 board also provides sockets for most of these so you can easily program the PIC in circuit. The board also provides most of your needs to test the fundamental parts of your PIC project.
Swordfish is a very superior product but is for PIC18 only. I any case, you can download mikroBasic and Swordfish for free and use the full compiler without cost. The limitation will be on the size of the program you can compile, which in either case programs a large number of serious projects.
If you purchase the EasyPIC4 board you do not have to purchase the registered version of the compiler right away. You still qualify for the discount if you choose to purchase later. Remember that the EasyPIC4’s onboard programmer will work with any compiler.
We apologize if our webpages were not updated with the latest versions of the compiler. The links should be up to date. Here is the Downloads page for the current versions of the compilers:
https://www.mikroe.com/en/download/
Regards,
Warren Schroeder
CircuitED
Thank you Warren for your quick reply.
I thought that the BIGPIC4 might be better because it appears to come with more “stuff” on the board – less to buy later. I was thinking getting this along with a couple of PIC 16F877A (like the EasyPIC4 comes with) or maybe a PIC 16F876A also (as I understand this is popular too). I want to be able to recreate people’s designs and circuits as I see them in magazines like Nuts and Volts and / or create more LED matrix circuits like I had with the Parallax SX-28 / SX-48 using SX/B (Basic).
You said that I still qualify for the discount if I choose to purchase this later. How long do I have?
It sounds like that with the EasyPIC4 (w/ PIC 16F877A) I would not be able to use Swordfish because it only supports the 18F PICs not the included 16F877A. But the BIGPIC4 comes with a special board with an 18F8520 which IS supported by Swordfish (being an 18F PIC). However, the 18F8520 is not really usable on a solder-less breadboard so what other chips should I consider with the BIGPIC4. I hope I’m understanding this right. Does this make sense?
Let me know…
Thanks again,
Tim
Hi Tim,
The BigPIC4 is specifically designed for high pin count SMD PIC’s and therefore limits you in what type of projects you would pursue. Presently, we only sell 2 pre-mounted microcontrollers for this board, the 18F8520 and 18F8722. The EasyPIC4 can easily manage a 100 different types of DIP PIC’s and is better suited for anyone getting started. Most projects would ever require a high density PIC such as the BigPIC4 manages.
There is no limitation of time to qualify for the discounted compilers.
Regards,
Warren Schroeder
CircuitED
tdg8934 said:I did order the following from Circuit Ed:
1. EasyPic 4 Development Kit (includes LCDs and 16F877A, cables, etc.)
2. PIC 18F452 I/P 40-pin DIP MCU
3. EasyProto Accessory Board.
$194 total including $11 priority shipping (2-3 day).
I did not order Swordfish or MikroBasic for PIC as I will order one of them at a later date but use the free versions for now until I get to learn the language a bit.
Here is the page with BM's development kits, running $140, $150 and $170, depending on the number of module pins.
**broken link removed**
Avoid the Pro version of the Atom, you want the Basic version.
tdg8934 said:I did order the following from Circuit Ed:
1. EasyPic 4 Development Kit (includes LCDs and 16F877A, cables, etc.)
2. PIC 18F452 I/P 40-pin DIP MCU
3. EasyProto Accessory Board.
$194 total including $11 priority shipping (2-3 day).
I did not order Swordfish or MikroBasic for PIC as I will order one of them at a later date but use the free versions for now until I get to learn the language a bit.
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