can you pls put a proper circuit diagram ?? its difficult for me to understand :((

Hello, the same question with more details:

I need to find a general purpose divide by 64(or higher) prescaler or frequency divider that is capable of 1Ghz min input frequency. Till now I have not successfully found a non-discontinued product, so I need your suggestion of where and what to buy.

Hope my request will not be a disturbance to you.

Thanks!

Hello, don't forget my previous post!

All the best!

Good afternoon.

Just to ask, how many ATtiny MCU do you have?

One out-of-topic question: where can I get a prescaler or frequency divider IC that can accept about 1Ghz of input fq? I find it that the prescalers are hard to find today, while I want to make a frequency meter.

Hope you can suggest me where and what to buy.

Thanks.

Bert,

It isn't so different, programming is programming IMO. The hardware is much more restrictive, memory is tight and the kinds of problems you are solving are far more bit-oriented or otherwise low-level.

The "hello world" of microcontroller programming is blinking a LED, try that first. Blinking it with precision requires getting to know the timer features of the device you are using. Driving a simple display or having something respond to a debounced button press are the next things to try. Then serial IO, using the A/D and/or D/A features of the device, maybe some I2C interfacing like external memory chips or sensors, RTCs, etc.

Its fun. Frequently frustrating but somewhat addictive. Helps to have a particular project in mind. I find it hard to just start hacking with a MCU, I need to know what I am looking to achieve.

A simple line chasing or two-wheel collision detecting robot is a common project which can be done with the smallest 8 pin devices. Extra IO pins make driving the H-bridges for the motors easier and let you expand the sensors. You can build it all around a small "breadboard on wheels" for endless experimental possibilities. You can use hacked servos for the wheel driving motors or small gearbox and motor assemblies like Jaycar sell. Some use friction drive direct from the motor shafts to large rubber wheels.

Regards,

Alan

In other words, I only have experiences in computer programming but not hardware programming!

Yeah....thanks for the reply. But I think I need some help to start my first PIC programming....I had never used a MCU before...

So, for PIC 8bit devices, there are 35 instruction set right? The software architecture is very familiar to me but I can't understand the "machine codes",as my most advanced and serious programming work only reached file access, by using C++.

By the way, I need some kick-start for my "hardware programming",and do you have any recommendation for me to read for? Websites? Or even you as my teacher?

Bert,

G'day again mate. Yeah still alive here, but busy doing other things and a little uninspired to work on the website. Have lots to write up though - should get around to it soon...

I prefer the Atmel devices. There is a lot of info and examples out there for both Atmel and Microchip devices. Either work nicely and there is a huge range of both. Picking one camp of the other isn't a huge deal, the principles of one work with the other, its just a MCU after all, the datasheets tell you all about their electronic properties and software features.

I have no particular reason for picking the Atmel range really. I found the toolchain easier to set up on Linux. I like writing for them in C and found the development studio for the PIC a bit of a pain as it requires Windows.

Some people prefer using raw assembler and others one of the various commercial BASIC dialects. I find BASIC too ugly for serious work - although the commercial ones are quite nice in hiding the complexity of many things, like serial IO. The avrlibc does much the same for C, but has a steeper learning curve. The raw assembly for either device is quite nice, but compilers are so good now days subjecting yourself to assembler programming should be reserved only for when you really need it IMO. I find the productivity of the "pretty assembler"-like C language much preferable to the "Meccano set chainsaw"-like assembler.

In general the hardware part of the project is pretty easy compared to the software... I think that's a general statement about the nature of Physics vrs Mathematics - but perhaps I am biased, I'm a programmer by trade. Still I seem to throw together the hardware in an hour and spend the next two days tinkering with the code.

Regards,

Alan

Hello. There's been so long since the last email I sent to you. Hope you are still fine!

I am new to programmable microcontrollers, so I need a suggestion from you: Which is the best and the easiest to use ? PIC or ATMEL ?

Seems like you liked AtTiny very much, and I would like to know some info before I start building circuits with programmable microcontrollers.

Thanks