Which Microcontroller you suggest me for my needs?

elissaios13 can you post a link to where your getting these

3-4 uC with bootloader

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If they have a bootloader all you need is a (1 )real serial port and a max232 or (2) a USB to serial adapter and the software to load the firmware or code .

If the uC's that i will buy have not a bootloader,could i download the bootloarder code from internet and put it in the uC's?I will need more hardware to do that?

I havent found the site from where i will buy.Now i am thinking about what i will buy and then i will order from the internet.

I found a kit on internet with name NERDKIT which have very good reviews on amazon and 10%discout to students and it will cost 70 euros for me.It has great support and good tutorial as the reviewers say and i thinking about it.
The link is here https://www.nerdkits.com/kits/.
I dont know if anyone knows about it.


(there are so many tutorials on the internet for pic's and avrs and many information,which a lot of them are not writen step by step or in detail, which make you confused rather that clarify what happens if you are a beginner without experience.)

Thanks for so many answers.

elissaios13 said:

could i download the bootloarder code from internet and put it in the uC's?I will need more hardware to do that?[/url].

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You will need a programmer to put the bootloader in the microcontroller. I think you should buy a programmer.

elissaios13 said:

I found a kit on internet with name NERDKIT which have very good reviews on amazon and 10%discout to students and it will cost 70 euros for me.It has great support and good tutorial as the reviewers say and i thinking about it.
The link is here http://www.nerdkits.com/kits/.

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Not very impressive kit.. and quite expensive.

I would recommend you buy couple of controllers, solderless breadboard and some other components from DigiKey or similar place. AVRISP -programmer costs only 35 USD and it is an Atmel product. You can use this tool to download your programs or a bootloader in (any) AVR microcontroller. You will get all you need under 70 dollars and you will get better tools (the AVRISP).

The AVRISP does not support in circuit debugging though. If you wan't debugging support you need AVR JTAGICE mkII or JTAGICE3, but those are more expensive: 100 USD and 400 USD respectively. Then there is the AVR DRAGON programmer debugger for 50 USD. I have not used it so I don't know how good it is.. at least it is cheap debugger.

AVRISP:
http://www.atmel.com/tools/AVRISPMKII.aspx
http://www.digikey.com/product-sear...mers-emulators-and-debuggers/2621880?k=avrisp

DRAGON:
http://www.atmel.com/tools/AVRDRAGON.aspx

Sparkfun is one good place to order stuff:
www.sparkfun.com/

To communicate with the microcontroller with your PC, I would recommend a USB to TTL-UART converter. Liket these ones:
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/cable-assemblies/smart-cables/1574108?k=TTL-232R-5V

The USB to TTL-UART converter can be used also to download code to a microcontroller with a bootloader.

EDIT: sorry I keep editing.. just adding some products to the list that are essential for hobbyist developer.

All that is is a chip with the Arduino bootloader on it you could make your own for less then $20.00

For the cost or 2 or 3 chips with the bootloader flashed you can probably but the same chips w/o the bootloader and a programmer.

I got the USBTINY ISP and 3 ATMEGA168's for £17 delivered off ebay... Cheap as chips (pun intended ) to get started!

RichTheDude said:

I got the USBTINY ISP and 3 ATMEGA168's for £17 delivered off ebay... Cheap as chips (pun intended ) to get started!

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Looks like a decent programmer. I still would have chosen the 27 eur (£24) AVRISP from atmel. You are saving in the wrong place now.

With that USBTINY ISP you may have problems using it with the AVR Studio IDE.. and on top of that it does not support all AVRs: "Works with any AVR ISP chip with 64K of flash (or less) - does not work with Atmega1281/1280/2561/2560"

Depends what the gentlemen wants - he still has to make his own mind up...

I tend to buy cheap in a new line of micros, then purchase better tools down the line if I have success and like the toolset. I cut my losses if I do not enjoy the experience (Cypress PSOC for example).

I did the same with MSP430/PIC's & Xilinx/Lattice FPGA gear too (all of which I have had success with). I am contemplating a JTAGICE mkII for AVR's now - but I can not quite justify it at the moment (the code in my current commercial platform is stable and has been running for months already, so until I develop another AVR based project there is no reason to upgrade my tools...).

RichTheDude said:

Depends what the gentlemen wants - he still has to make his own mind up...

I tend to buy cheap in a new line of micros, then purchase better tools down the line if I have success and like the toolset. I cut my losses if I do not enjoy the experience (Cypress PSOC for example).

I did the same with MSP430/PIC's & Xilinx/Lattice FPGA gear too (all of which I have had success with). I am contemplating a JTAGICE mkII for AVR's now - but I can not quite justify it at the moment (the code in my current commercial platform is stable and has been running for months already, so until I develop another AVR based project there is no reason to upgrade my tools...).

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Oh.. sorry. I thought that the post #66 was from the OP.. I don't know why . I don't think he should buy the USBTINY ISP because he is a beginner and is (probably) going use windows and Atmel Studio 6. Maybe that programmer was good choice few years ago, but it is getting obsolete now.