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The most useful microcontroller?

atysland

You use several different (micro)controllers on your show; AVR/Arduino, PIC, Propellar, whatnot.

Could you maybe say something about what you view as the strong and weak point for the different controllers?

  • 0

    I love msp430 for common problems.  TI partners provide compilers, C++ compilers.  They have many part variants which means one doesn't have to over-buy in production.  They have good analog section like A/D w/mux and PWM.  There are many code examples which one can alter to one's application.  Entry-level hardware is cheap.  You have to know electronics and coding fairly well to make use of it, but that isn't my problem.

  • 0

    Mostly, arduino is a useful microcontroller. It covers many versions ARM, AVR, Fio for wireless applications, uno for beginners, mega (for DIY 3d printing) and many add-on shields that stack up (like a burgerimage) and open source hardware that is easy to build. Pic has more IO but the problem is that it needs to be 3.3V(for the IO) which you may want to consider. Don't know much about MSP 430(may be usefull though).

     

               MY advice:

                                Use a raspberry pi. Useful cheap and it can run Linux and has a special add on shield that turns it into an arduino(  almost)

                                 See the following links:

                                -http://pingbin.com/2012/12/30-cool-ideas-raspberry-pi-project/

                                -Cooking Hacks - Documentation - Raspberry Pi to Arduino shields connection bridge 

              Thanks.

  • 0

    The strongest and weakest point of any MCU actually coincide, it's simply how familiar you are with it.

     

    That aside, you will always judge weak and strong points based on the application at hand. For some projects you might care more about processing power (AVR > PIC usually) for some you might care about ADC resolution, or you may need a particular mix of peripheral features (PIC > AVR in this regard). Sometimes your needs will be so simple that you'll only care about price while other times the volume will be small and the requirements will be so generic that it just doesn't matter.

     

    In any case, the best MCU is the one you're most familiar with, which is why it's a good idea to get familiar with a family of chips that offer a lot of versatility and upgrade options.