Page 17 - Making PIC Microcontroller Instruments and Controllers

4 AI{ II{TFODUCTIOI{ TO THE PIC I6FA77A MICROCOIITBOLLEB UNIT

As novices, if we want to get familiar with the concept of building insfiuments and
controllers based on PIC microprocessors, we need an easy{o-use yet sophisticated and
versalile board to play with and test our nascent ideas on- Though, ofcourse, it would
be possible to desigr and build a board that would do that, we do not have the expedse
or time at ihis juncture to do so. Therefore, I hale selected the very popular LAB-X I and
the suppofting PICBASIC PRO Compiler software as the basic platfbms ior the proj'
ects and ideaspresented inthis book.As you read this text, you will find that fhe system
provides an easy to use and versatrle platform for checking out your hardware dnd sofu
ware ideas before commitling to personal computer (PC) boards, wire, and solder.
McroEngineering Labs, Inc., the manufacturen of the LAB-XI board and the rclated
PICBASIC PRO Compiler. mainoin a very lsetul and helptul web site that will be a tr€men-
dous aid to you as you lean about your LAB-XI in particular, and the Microchip Technology
Corporation PIC microcontrollen in general. Their Web site contains a large number of
example programs, tutorials, and o&er technical infomation to help you get started using their
boards. A large number of Intenet-based Web sites also exist, which ar€ dedicaGd to the use
of PIC microconlrollers. You should booknark those pertaining to your area of interest.
This resource supplements the i.formatjon on the Internet both from the micro-
Engineedng Labs, Inc. site and from other sources. We will use the sample programs
(modified for clarilication as may be necessaly) and other infonnation on the Web in
this book. This book provides extensive diagrams that will help you in d]Jsigning your
own devices based on what you will learn. The diagrams ar€ on the support Web site
as AutoCAD files and can be expanded on for yourpafticular designs.
There are rwo basic aspects in iamiliarizing yourselfwith PIC microcontrollers-the
hardware aspect and the softwa{e aspect. The LAB Xl board is designed to Fovide you
with the hardwarc pladbm you need to conduct yorr first soitware (and hardware) exper-
iments with PIC microcontrollers. The PICBASIC PRO Compiler provided by the
manufactur€rs of the bod fd to program the 16F877A and similar microFocessors, is both
easy to use and powerful, and the code created is fast and efficient- Other compilers are
available but not covered in this book.
If you have serious budget constmints, the software of choice for use with this board is
tl1e sndler Basic Conpiler lrom micmEngineedng Labs. This compiler is avarlable for about
$100 (in 2008) and is not recorrnended by me for serious work. (A free copy of the PBP
compiler is available on the micrcEruineering Inbs Web site, which contains all ihe insguc-
tions in the full veNion ofPBP but is linited to 30lines of code. Even so. it can be used to
effectively try out the powerltl command structure of the language. The insL"uctions for the
language can be dowdloaded ftom the microEngineering Labs web site at no charge. Befor€
you mahe a decision in either d ection, be sure to try out the free version of the compiler)
On the other hand, if you have a serious interest in using PIC microconuollers, the
compiler I recoDxnend is the PICBASIC PRO Compiler because it gives you the com-
prehensive power and ease of use you need to do useful, eleryday, protbssional work
rapidly. The PRO Compiler is available for about $250 (in 2008) and all the sotlware
discussed in this workbook was written with the PICBASIC PRO Compiler in mind. A
comparative listing of the keylvords provided with each compiler is pmvided in Chapter 4
on soltwarc and editors.