Arduino User looking to move to PIC

[nctnico]

Is the ARM even available in a Hobby Friendly format?

I have no problem soldering a 0.5mm TQFP on a board I etched myself. Soldering QFN on a fabricated PCB is also not difficult at all. So yes, a lot of ARM devices are available in hobby friendly formats. Sometimes I rework BGA as well with a simple heat gun intended for stripping paint. Fear is what is keeping people from achieving great things.

[jerry507]

Is the ARM even available in a Hobby Friendly format?

I have no problem soldering a 0.5mm TQFP on a board I etched myself. Soldering QFN on a fabricated PCB is also not difficult at all. So yes, a lot of ARM devices are available in hobby friendly formats. Sometimes I rework BGA as well with a simple heat gun intended for stripping paint. Fear is what is keeping people from achieving great things.

Hopefully one day my brass balls will hang as low as yours.

[Rufus]

Okay, I am going to get this:

http://canada.newark.com/microchip/pic24fv32ka301-i-p/ic-16bit-mcu-pic24f-32-mhz-20-dip/dp/13T4808?in_merch=Popular%20Products
http://canada.newark.com/microchip/dv164121/development-tools-pickit-2-debug/dp/16M6058

I'll be using the MPLABX IDE for C development.

The PICKit 2 is obsolete (sadly). The PIC24FV32KA is a new chip and is not supported by the PICKit 2.
You will need to look a the PICKit 3. The PICKit 2 was loved, the PICKit 3 less so although I have never used one to know what the problems are.

[xquercus]

The PICKit 2 is obsolete (sadly). The PIC24FV32KA is a new chip and is not supported by the PICKit 2.
You will need to look a the PICKit 3. The PICKit 2 was loved, the PICKit 3 less so although I have never used one to know what the problems are.

Good catch if the FV32KA isn't on the supported devices list.  Hopefully the OP can adjust his order to a PK3.

I had some trouble with my PK3 under MPLAB 8.  It would not properly update the firmware.  The solution was to simply unplug and reinsert the device (part way through the upgrade) and the firmware updated.  That was actually the Microchip provided solution.  I don't know if it would be a continuing problem with MPLAB 8 as I've been using it with MPLAB X for the past month.  There haven't been any issues which come mind.  Pretty rock solid as a programmer/debugger.  I haven't used it for anything other than as a programmer/debugger (no programmer on the go experience) but it's worked well in those two roles.

[charliehorse55]

The PICKit 2 is obsolete (sadly). The PIC24FV32KA is a new chip and is not supported by the PICKit 2.
You will need to look a the PICKit 3. The PICKit 2 was loved, the PICKit 3 less so although I have never used one to know what the problems are.

I hadn't ordered yet, thanks for the heads up. Microchip claimed the PK2 was compatible with all 16, 18 and 20 pin microcontrollers.

[LuckyJaker]

I am usign PK3 with PIC32MX custom board and MPLABX and had no problems so far !

[jerry507]

The pickit 2 supports everything up to the point when the pickit3 came out, or thereabouts. There is no "continuing support" for the device. The 3 is the same price as the 2 was IIRC, and it's read. That's my favorite color. Anyway, I've had no issues with it either in MPLABX.

[caroper]

The pickit 2 supports everything up to the point when the pickit3 came out, or thereabouts. There is no "continuing support" for the device.

Actually the PICKit2 is still supported and already supports several of the PIC32 Devices. The latest update is PICkit 2 v2.61 and the latest Firmware is PICkit 2 Firmware V2.32.  However, the latest Chips are only supported in the Standalone PICKit application, not via MPLab, and there is no guarantee that it will support the new devices in the future.

To be honest, despite its faults, I do recommend the PICKit3 if you are working with any devices released in the past couple of years, just because they have so much more memory and the PICKit3 can program them much faster than the PICKit2. (If you really want speed get the ICD3, I love that tool, but it is a bit expensive for the casual user).

Cheers
Chris

[calin]

If yoou were used to arduino here is a project that looks interesting - http://www.pinguino.cc/

Looks pretty interesting .. I never worked with PIC's but the project looks like a tempting intro to PIC's 

[charliehorse55]

I'm bumping an old thread here, but I still haven't ordered anything. A few things got away from me, work was crazy.

Anyways, I'm looking at getting the PicKit 3 along with a basic dev board and two different PIC micros to play around with. I'd just like to confirm that everything here is compatible, and that it's all I need to get started with PIC development.

PicKit3 Debugger - http://canada.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=25R8311

40 pin DIP Development Dev Board: http://canada.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=25R4927

40 Pin DIP 8 Bit PIC 18F - http://canada.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=05K2028

28 Pin DIP 16 bit PIC 24J - http://canada.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=07P9729

Also, I would to make sure that it is possible to implement USB communications (device only) without any external chips on both of the microcontrollers that I linked.

[David_AVD]

I assume you're making a RGB DC dimmer with DMX input?  Was the 12-bit requirement for gamma correction or are you planning to use pairs of DMX slots as 16-bit channels?