30. December 2011 by pilot.

The guys at MikroElektronika have done it again!

Here is another brilliant new development board for the PIC32: the Mini-32

This board makes a PIC32MX5 fit in the exact form factor of a standard PIC16 or PIC18 40-pin DIP with full pin-out compatibility (with approximately 80 PIC models), but it operates at about 10 to 40 times the speed.

Of course you get 64K (+12K) of FLash memory and 16K of RAM too. A CAN interface complements a number of serial ports and the USB port is already there for you to bootload new code into it without having to use any additional hw development tool.

At USD 25 a piece, it looks ideal for breadboard-ing and quick (classroom) experimentation.

Posted in PIC32, Tools | No Comments »

2. December 2011 by pilot.

I just received a link from Cosimo Zizza pointing to his new “home brewed” Integrated Development Environmentfor the PIC32, called “Idd”.

In the author intentions, it is designed specifically to assist in the development of assembly programs for the PIC32. The application is in beta, but already showing some promising signs, for example see (in the picture above) the instruction set/macro insertion with a single mouse click…

The web site at the moment offers only a couple of working examples “Hello (embedded) Word” style, blinking LEDs, and such, and a beta of the Editor/IDE that runs on Microsoft Framework is available for download.

I particularly appreciated the Docs page, where Cosimo has been diligently listing and linking the top documents that you will need to master PIC32 assembly.

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21. March 2011 by pilot.

It’s about time for an update on the latest and greatest demo boards for the PIC24 and PIC32.

MikroElektronika has been busy in the last year cranking out new demo boards almost every quarter. While I was happily playing with their very first MultiMedia Board the PIC32MX4 based MMB,

they introduced a PIC32MX7 version (adding Ethernet connectivity)

and shortly after that a “microMMB” version with the MX4 processor:

so small that it barely gives you room for four screws around the display to fix it to a panel.

These boards are great to experiment with the Microchip Application Library (MAL) and in particular with  all things graphics, touch, audio and USB. But they are also ready for being mounted in your embedded control application and to became it’s user interface if not the brain.

I wrote a lot of code for them and I intend to share it and document it gradually in the coming weeks to show you how to get the basic functionality (user interfaces) but also to show you things that many believe would only be possible with much more expensive and complex systems.

You can get a glimpse of it on the new page of the Exploring PIC32  web site dedicated to the Multimedia boards and the Multimedia demo projects.  I am so fond of them, that I have decided to   help MikroElektronika re-sell them and to provide documentation and support on this blog and on my two companion web sites.

Posted in MikroE MMB, PIC32, Tools, PIC24 | 1 Comment »

17. January 2011 by pilot.

First of all Happy New Year!It’s been a while since the last posting, a lot of things have happened but my enthusiasm for all things 16 and 32-bit in embedded control is greater than ever.Here is quick link to yet another PIC32 little demo board: the CUI32 from the Overtone Labs.It will run StickOS (the PIC32 port) and, following Marku’s blog, you will be able to transform it into a small USB sound card …Have fun exploring!

Posted in PIC32, Tools | 1 Comment »

29. January 2010 by pilot.

Software v2.0 for PIC32 Starter Kits has been released, and can be downloaded at (link)

This software replaces all 1.x versions of Starter Kit Software, and is inclusive for all 3 PIC32 Starter Kits.

Posted in PIC32, Tools | 1 Comment »

18. November 2009 by pilot.

It’s out! They did it!

The new PIC32 multimedia board  from MikroElektronika has been officially announced today!     http://www.mikroe.com/en/tools/pic32mx4-multimedia-board/

MikroE is world reknown for its well designed, documented and fully featured demo boards and development tools for all Microchip microcontroller families. But if you liked their Big Boards…  you are going to love this “small” one.

For less than $150 you get a board that can truly put the PIC32MX460F512 chip to work, allowing you to exercise all its peripherals, including:

• Drive a TFT QVGA  (320×240) display with a fast 16-bit parallel interface
• Read Touch screen input or Joystick inputs
• Play and record sound interfacing to WM8731 16-bit audio codec (including headphone amplified stereo outputs)
• Access files on SD/MMC cards
• Access files on USB memory sticks (USB Host)
• Connect to a PC (USB device) using HID, CDC or MSD classes
• Connect to a Mouse, Keyboard or printer (USB Host)
• Connect with a IEEE802.15.4 (MiWi/Zigbee) wireless network
• Access additional 1Mbyte of serial flash memory
• Access 1Kbit of serial EEPROM
• Exercise the Real Time Clock and Calendar with a 32kHz external crystal
• Interface to an MCP9700 temperature sensor
• RS232 port selectable (UART1/2)
• Interface to a 3 axes accelerometer (ADXL345)
• Use an ICD2/3, Real ICE or even a simple PICKit2/3 to program and debug
• Further expand the board using standard 100mils spaced side connectors

Also you can take full advantage of the entire set of Microchip Application libraries to create complex applications fast! In fact the board is designed to be compatible with the following Microchip (free of charge) libraries:

•  Advanced Graphics Libraries
• USB Framework (Host/Device)
• MDD File System (FAT16 and FAT32)
• MiWi / Zigbee
• 32-bit Audio library
• Peripheral library (I2C, SPI, UART, RTCC, PWM…)

I want one!… CORRECTION.., I need one!… CORRECTION I need a bunch of them!

Posted in MikroE MMB, Graphics, PIC32, Tools | 2 Comments »

15. July 2009 by pilot.

And the PIC32 demo boards saga cannot be complete until we mention the Olimex PIC-P32MX

This board is interesting and unique for a couple of good reasons:

• It offers a traditional serial port instead of the USB interface
• It ’s the most convenient for a quick wire wrap job
• Offers both ICD and JTAG connectors
• It’s most probably the cheapest of them all at Euro 19.95!

Posted in PIC32, Tools | 1 Comment »

28. June 2009 by pilot.

The guys at mikroElektronika are very well known in the embedded and educational world for their large but inexpensive and well laid out boards for all PIC products. So I had been waiting quite anxiously for their first PIC32 specific board, and here it is!

The LV32MX Development Board

Read the rest of this entry »

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15. June 2009 by pilot.

There is a new third party tool available for the PIC32 … it’s a stick!

I love sticks because they are easy to handle, expand, connect. They fit on good old breadboards and wire wrap (perforated) boards.

The guys at eFlightWorks have done a good job of fitting a PIC32MX440F256 in a 56 pin DIL package, exposing the USB port and providing all the basic necessities.

The promise is to port a simple BASIC interpreter and OS (known as StickOS) to the PIC32 so that code development, programming and debugging will be possible without need to use any external (in circuit) debugger/programmer …

I am waiting anxiously for the first release to give it a try…  I will let you know…

Posted in PIC32, Tools | No Comments »

5. May 2009 by pilot.

I finally got my hands around “the book” on Real Time Operating Systems.

Read it all in a couple of days… I loved the clarity and completeness.

Highly, highly recommended! Definitely added to my “favorites” bookshelf !

Posted in Books, PIC32, Tools | No Comments »