Category Archives: PIC

chipKIT: Open source PIC USB and Ethernet drivers?

According to Microchip Digilent is currently working on a USB, Ethernet, and CAN shield for the chipKIT. This is a really interesting project because it means drivers for PIC USB and Ethernet peripherals will be released. To jive with the Arduino community those drivers will need to be open source. We’ve had nothing but problems […]

chipKIT PIC32 compiler Q&A

You had a lot of unanswered questions about the chipKIT compiler. Here’s some answers from Jason Kajita, a compiler developer. Jason wants to us to emphasize that this is the current plan and subject to change. Thanks for the lengthy answers! Is there any new open source code in the chipKIT compiler – files that […]

chipKIT conference call: Yes, it’s all open source

Microchip, makers of PIC mircocontrollers, must feel left out of the hobby buzz surrounding the Arduino. Unable to buy Atmel outright, they did the next most sensible thing and released a duo of open source Arduino-compatible boards. Microchip got the guys at Fair Use Building and Research to add PIC support to the Arduino IDE. […]

Open source chipKIT compiler works with other PIC32s

Markus used the new open source PIC32 chipkit compiler with non-chipkit hardware and programmed the firmware with a picKIT3: Since I had a board with a PIC32MX795F512H I built some time ago lying around, I tried if I could get some “Arduino”-code running on it. It works. The linker scripts that ship with mpide assume […]

First 32bit Arduino avalable soon

Digilent is soon to be launching two Arduino compatible platforms, the Uno32(pictured above)and the Max32. based on microchip‘s pic32mx micro controllers. Following the Arduino philosophy of easy to use software and hardware, and not to mention the support structure already in place. they are both compatibly with existing shields.

Microchip PIC24 development kit for Android

Here is Microchip’s response to the Arduino based hardware for use with Google’s ADK. Microchip has announced the release of the Microchip PIC24F Accessory Development Start Kit for Android™. This is a standalone board used for evaluating and developing electronic accessories for Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and tablets. Microchip’s PIC24F Accessory Development Starter […]

chipKIT Uno32™ Arduino-compatible prototyping platform

Digilent, Inc. announces the pending release of the chipKIT™ Uno32™. The Uno32 is an Arduino-compatible platform combining Arduino compatibility with the performance of the Microchip PIC32 microcontroller. The Uno32 is the same form factor as the Arduino Uno board and is compatible with Arduino shields. It features a USB serial port interface for connection to […]

Biofuel reactor control board

Armandas has posted his masters project The design is based around a PIC18F66K22 microcontroller. The board has a switching power supply supporting an input voltages of up to 34V, five thermocouple channels, HD44780 LCD interface, a battery backed RTC and a microSD card slot. The control unit interfaces with an electrical system (designed by my […]

App note: developing embedded graphics applications with PIC® MCUs with integrated graphics controller

Microchip has a new application note for developers designing their first MCU graphics related application. It describes the definitions and terms relating to graphics applications, and discusses the theory, necessary decision factors, hardware considerations, available microcontrollers and development tools. This is a fairly comprehensive doc, starting out with the basics and moving quickly to complex […]

Amicus18 prototype board

Amicus18 is a multifunction development system inspired by the popular Arduino board. Its based on the Microchip PIC® 18F25K20 running at 16 MHz supplemented by a FT232RL USB-to-serial chip and a LMV358. Full documentation is available, as well as a free Proton BASIC Compiler, which is based on Crownhill’s Proton BASIC Compiler. The bootloader source […]

VirtualBreadboard 4.3.3

VirtualBreadboard 4.3.3 is a Windows GUI program that lets you simulate and develop embedded applications that use microcontrollers. It essentially lets you assemble virtual components on screen and auto generate code. Currently some Microchip PIC16 and 18 devices are supported, as well as Arduino. In addition a wide variety of simulated components such as LCD’s, […]

App Note: Versatility of CTMU

This Microchip application note explores the many uses for the Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU). CTMU is a flexible analog module that provides accurate differential time measurement between pulse sources, as well as asynchronous pulse generation. Together with other on-chip analog modules, the CTMU can be used to precisely measure time, measure capacitance, measure relative […]