Low-Cost Kit Provides Complete Development Environment for Educators, Students and Engineers Who Are New to PIC
Microcontrollers
CHANDLER, Ariz., March 16, 2009 [NASDAQ: MCHP] — Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the PICDEM
Lab Development Kit (part # DM163035), a comprehensive, entry-level development platform for all of Microchip’s 8-bit Flash PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) with 20 or fewer pins. Geared toward educators, students and those who are new to microcontrollers, the PICDEM Lab Development Kit comes complete with a development board containing five popular 8-bit PIC MCUs; a bag of discrete components; a PICkit 2 Debugger/Programmer; and a CD containing a User’s Guide, labs and application examples. The kit provides everything needed to quickly and easily develop applications using Microchip’s 8-bit PIC MCUs.
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A solderless prototyping area on the PICDEM Lab development board allows users to explore a number of application examples described in the “hands-on” labs from the PICDEM Lab User’s Guide that comes with the kit. The easy-to-follow labs provide an intuitive introduction to common peripherals and then move into a variety of application examples to reinforce core concepts. Even users with little or no knowledge of how to integrate microcontrollers into analog circuits can do so with ease. Additionally, expansion headers provide complete access/connectivity to all MCU pins and mounted components on the PICDEM Lab development board, enabling designers to evaluate the various 8-bit MCUs and choose the right one for their application.
“The PICDEM Lab Development Kit is a great addition to Microchip’s 8-bit tool suite, offering an off-the-shelf evaluation kit for many of Microchip’s low pin count 8-bit MCUs,” said Derek Carlson, vice president of Microchip’s Development Tools group. “The kit provides an affordable solution for new customers who wish to learn how our advanced peripherals can help simplify their designs, as well as an excellent resource for educators who design microcontroller-based engineering courses.”
Code examples for each lab in the PICDEM Lab Development Kit are available in the high-level C programming language, using the free HI-TECH C Compiler in the main user’s guide, which is available as a free download from http://www.microchip.com/HI-TECH. Alternatively, a free version of Matrix Multimedia’s Flowcode V3 Visual Programming Environment (VPE) is expected to be available in late March at http://www.microchip.com/picdemlab. The Flowcode V3 VPE provides a flowchart-based method for developing embedded applications.
Kit Contents, Pricing & Availability
The PICDEM Lab Development Kit (part # DM163035) is available today for $124.99, at http://www.microchipdirect.com. It comes complete with the following:
• PICDEM Lab Development Board, with samples of five 8-bit PIC MCUs
o PIC16F690-I/P (20-pin PDIP package)
o PIC16F88-I/P (18-pin PDIP package)
o PIC16F616-I/P (14-pin PDIP package)
o PIC12F615-I/P (8-pin PDIP package)
o PIC10F206-I/P (8-pin PDIP package)
• Component Kit
• PICkit 2 Debugger/Programmer
• CD containing comprehensive user’s guide, labs and application examples.
• Free HI-TECH C compiler available at http://www.microchip.com/HI-TECH.
• Flowcode V3 – free version environment available at http://www.microchip.com/picdemlab.
For further information, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit Microchip’s Web site at http://www.microchip.com/picdemlab.
Microchip’s Academic Partner Program
Educators and students interested in partnering with Microchip Technology to increase their knowledge base and gain access to discounted resources for learning about embedded applications can join Microchip’s Academic Partner Program (http://www.microchip.com/academic). Microchip Academic Partners receive access to free local training and curriculum for educators, via Microchip’s worldwide Regional Training Centers (RTCs), as well as discounts on development tools and software for both students and educators. For more information, please visit http://www.microchip.com/academic.
Microchip Customer Support
Microchip is committed to supporting its customers by helping design engineers develop products faster and more efficiently. Customers can access four main service areas at http://www.microchip.com. The Support area provides a fast way to get questions answered; the Sample area offers evaluation samples of any Microchip device; microchipDIRECT provides 24-hour pricing, ordering, inventory and credit for convenient purchasing of all Microchip devices and development tools; finally, the Training area educates customers through webinars, sign-ups for local seminar and workshop courses, and information about the annual MASTERs events held throughout the world.
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Ariz., Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.
Note: The Microchip name and logo, and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. PICDEM, and PICkit are trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.
**Photo available through editorial contact, or Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/microchiptechnology/3346997266/sizes/l/
**
Video available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x8ZNJqkybo
Tags / Keywords: PICDEM, Microchip, 8-bit, PIC, MCU, microcontroller, PICkit, low pin count, embedded, Flash, academic, educator, student
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