help: Choosing a MicroController (HAM radio) and some other points

renjith · 2005-03-10T12:03:14+00:00

I am looking for a micro-controller to use for my varsity project (hamradio). I am not a great expert in micro-controllers and am not quitesure what uC's I should considering. My priorities with choosing theuC are as follows:- General: Reliable and some sort of support available for the uC would be great. Relatively affordable.- Hardware: Code Memory - 16-32K Internal RAM - >256 bytes UART - At least one Preferably SPI (in-system programmable) Preferably DIP version available Preferably low voltage (5-10V ?) Preferably >15 I/O pins The code memory is because I intend to use C and am not yet sure about the potential length of my program could come to, whereas the RAM is to store packets that may be larger than 256 bytes that can be dealt with in memory as fast as possible. At least one UART should be present, though more than one would be great. An onboard FSK 1200 baud modem chip would be super but not absolutely needed. A reasonable amount of I/O lines would be great.- Programming :in C (for free): This is a must. Maybe I'll consider other medium-level languages like Visual Basic/etc, but not assembly. I am familiar with assembly before and I'd definitely prefer C in any case, probably using assembly only in certain routines. I'm also looking for a free C compiler since varsity won't be assisting financially and I'm not exactly loaded with cash. The PIC would have been a great choice in this aspect but I won't be using the PIC and 8051 for my project (regulations).- Other: A programmer. I'm not highly familiar with uC's, and for the 8051 and PIC there are lots of programmers available. What happens when the uC is new/with not a lot of support? Does the user have to try and design one him/herself? I would like to choose a uC that has a programmer (schematic) already available.I really need to make sure that I chose a reliable microcontroller thatI would be happy with. I would like to look at all possibleuC's available...

Mar 10, 2005 20 Replies

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Fred Abse 21 years ago

Maybe it's just an abbreviation of "hammerchewer"

Then there\'s duct tape ... (Garrison Keillor)

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help: Choosing a MicroController (HAM radio) and some other points

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