Micro bits and pieces

Micro bits and pieces

Introduction
This section of the website details one of my hobbies, micro-controllers. They are versatile, low-cost devices with a multitude of uses. Some of my projects are listed here and ideas on developing software/hardware for the devices.

Originally this section only dealt with the Microchip PIC micro-controllers but I have now added some information on the Atmel ATMega devices, as used on the Arduino Platform.

Arduino related

Arduino bootloader
My guide to building a programmer and programming the Arudino bootloader on ATMega 168 and 328 devices. The cheap, LPT programmer detailed in the Arduino software does not work and using the smaller ATMega 168 requires a different bootloader. I went through steep learning curve to programme one of these devices correctly…

Non-Microchip PIC tools
When I started developing with microcontrollers back in the mid 1990s my initial development platform was the Commodore Amiga. I relied upon shareware/freeware tools to develop and program the devices. As my experience progressed, more tools were required, mainly to move away from the PIC16C84 or PIC16F84, so I started collecting list of alternative tools.
Some of the tools are in the sections below. I tend to use MplabX for development now with the XC8/XC16 compilers but provide these links to highlight alternative tools. They have not been significantly revised since 2009.For programming, I originally used a homebrew programmer. When I discovered the low cost PICKIT 2 programmer back in 2007, I finished using homebrew programmers and have not looked back. The additional bonus of hardware debug support has been a massive improvement to my development arsenal.
PIC Assemblers for Amiga, Apple and Linux platforms
PIC compilers for PC and Linux platform
PIC Simulators for PC and Amiga platforms
PIC programmers for the PC, Apple and Amiga platforms

Microchip PIC related
Original PIC16F84 development board
A 30/60 second timer for use with board games
Software to detect edge pulses
A simple servo tester
A simple FTDI USB to PIC16F877 interface
Software to detect frequencies

Other Micro-controller projects on this site

PIC10FXX development board
PIC12FXX development board