Introduction
Microcontrollers - "computers on a chip" as they are often termed - are among the most widespread, varied and flexible electronic control devices around. The number of applications they fulfil are is vast, and increasing daily. They can be found in household appliances of all sorts, vehicle subsystems, a huge array of electronic devices and instrumentation, and also within larger electronic products such as personal computers.
Small and inexpensive, microcontrollers offer the benefits of:
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Greater product flexibility - since features are programmed into the microcontroller, not the hardware.
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Rapid product changes - since again only the program, not the hardware, need be changed
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Increased reliability - through one device replacing many parts
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Smaller end-products
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Simplified product assembly
Why We Picked PIC®
The PIC MCU family made by the US company Microchip Technology - has been growing rapidly in popularity. The devices themselves are low cost, and for smaller companies, the investment required to start using PICs is relatively less than with other microcontroller families.
With its Reduced Instruction Set (RISC) there are less instructions to learn - again making the PIC architecture ideal for both college and university use, and for smaller companies within industry who may be using microcontrollers for the first time. PIC MCUs are also the microcontroller of choice among many of the world's largest electronics OEMs.
Until now, there has been no easy way into training and evaluation in the PIC world, and our new PIC Trainer is therefore filling a widespread demand from many of our customers.
A Complete Training Package
The Flite PIC Trainer exhibits all the advantages of our highly successful PAL Trainer, which is in daily use around the world - completeness, ease of use, and practical, real-world applicability.
The Flite PIC Trainer is more than just another "starter kit"/"development kit" - it really is a complete training package - containing everything needed to master the world of the PIC MCUs. It includes:
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Hardware - in the form of a dual-purpose programmer/experimentation board.
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Software - both programming software and Microchip Technology's MPASM cross-assembler.
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Experiments - 12 built-in, ready-to-go, pre-wired experimentation circuits
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Documentation which is clear, comprehensive, and easy to follow
The PIC Trainer even includes a PC connection cable, ready to be attached to the parallel port of your PC.
Clear, Enjoyable & Comprehensive
The 12 built-in experiments cover subjects such as interrupts, real time clock counter (RTCC), sleep mode, use of EEPROM memory, along with many other programming topics. Most importantly, they are specially designed to be enjoyable, readily-understandable, and applicable to "real-world" situations.
The package is based around the PIC16F84, which contains an EEPROM and can therefore be erased and reprogrammed as often as required, without removing it from the board. However, it is socketed for easy removability so that it can be programmed for use in other circuits if required.
Step-By-Step Learning
The package starts by introducing the new user to different types of PIC, and then 'steps' through a series of experiments and exercises covering the various features of the PIC, and their applications.
The 5 step learning process is:
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Key in example and exercise programs on the PC, following the clear manual instructions.
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Use MPASM to cross-assemble the programs.
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Link the PIC Trainer to the PC's parallel port, switch on, and slide the 'program/experiment' switch to the 'program' position.
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Use the PC-based programmer software to download the assembled program to the PIC MCU
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Slide the 'program/experiment' switch back to 'experiment'.
And that's it - apart from re-stating that the user will find right from the start that documentation, example programs, exercises and hardware have all been carefully designed to integrate with each other, and to make learning about PICs enjoyable, clear and pain free.
Specifications
