Thread: Roll your own micro-controller using Picaxe

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Heya folks,
Been ages since the how-to bug bit me, but I just finished two parts of what will be an ongoing series on starting off "from scratch" with the Picaxe micro-controller (18M2). By "from scratch" I mean right on a breadboard, from an electronics beginners perspective.

How-to info that covers complex topics are forever a work in progress, so I welcome any feedback that might help me refine (or correct) this and make it more useful to all haunters.

FYI - I know a lot of us are members of multiple sites, so accept my apologies for cross-posting. I'm just getting it out there to garner feedback and hopefully improve the info.


http://www.garageofevilnetwork.com/p...-roll-your-own

Thank you!


Steve

Page not found!

http://www.garageofevilnetwork.com/p...-roll-your-own

Let's see if this works now

Just purchased a picaxe because of this post Garage of evil, I can't wait to get started
Thanks
Phil

Tune on Feb 5th (URL and other details will be posted on the GoE Network site) as we're broadcasting live from a Drink and Think that will be covering that how-to and building on the whole "getting started" bit. You don't have to be a GoE member to tune in, free to all. It would be nice to see some of our Halloween Forum friends "there", so to speak.

Steve

Ive been a long time fan of the picaxe, in some respects its a little limited, but on the other hand, its a fantastic system to teach yourself microprocessor control, and the manual makes designing simple microprocessor circuits very easy

Ill be sure to tune in GOE, Phoenix, what do you think the limitations of the Picaxe are?
Thanks
Phil

If its your first processor programming experience then ignore the limitations.

The processor is not particularly fast, its fast enough to do servo control, but nowhere near fast enough for DMX.

There is a limited amount of programming memory, and its easy to go over this limit.

Compared to other processors its not cheap, there is a price premium on each processor which offsets the free software costs.

The port assignments are fairly limited, and you have to be careful which processor you use.

There is no Native USB, its only serial, but you can build your own serial cables quite easily, and there is a serial/usb cable available.

Phoenix,
Framed in the context of most prop uses, and the general choices out there, I think you're being rather over critical. Honestly, if you're using a micro for DMX control. you're clearly an advanced user, and you may be letting your advanced knowledge cloud the waters a bit.

In terms of facts:
the 18M2 is $5.00
It has 2048 bytes of memory
Max speed of 32 Mhz
It has 14 fully configurable pins (input or output)
It can handle 4x parallel multi-tasking
native servo support
native IR in and out
native touch sensor or analog to digital on 10 of it's pins
native pwm on 2 pins
interrupts
And a HELL of a lot more

So basically it's the equivalent of a hopped up BS2 (most folks might be familiar with Efx-Tek's Prop2 - which is BS2 based for comparison)

And it's $5 bucks.

And you program it in basic, using free editor, and a serial or USB connection (via a purchased or home built cable).

So...

I'm assuming you're a veteran PIC or perhaps Aurdino jockey, and you might look at that and say...meh...

But unless folks want to program in high level languages, or in the case Aurdino spend a lot more than $5 bucks.. I think your limitations are a bit misleading. At the very least I'd love to know what you're comparing it to, because I might want to hop on that wagon myself if it's that much better AND cheaper AND easier.


Here's the numbers on the 18m2 for anyone that wants some data
http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/docs/picaxe18m2.pdf

I think you are being a little over sensitive of my comments, especially since I pretty much agree with your sentiments about the Picaxe

The bottom line is, all the reasons you list are why I started using the Picaxe, and the reasons I list are why I stopped, if you look elsewhere in this forum you will find many places where I extol on the virtues of the Picaxe.