While testing out the PIC16F88 replacement for the PIC16F84 on the INSA microcontroller teaching board I ran into issues with two things not working as per the standard sources of examples (e.g. Microchip's Developer Wiki): Interrupt Service Routines Bit setting, clearing via structures These examples appear to have been written for versions of XC8 prior […]
I'll be teaching the IP 411 "Embedded Systems for Engineering Applications” class at HS Karlsruhe in October as part of my sabbatical activities. It will take place over four days: Fri 12 October 2018, 2 pm – 5.30 pm Sat 13 October 2018, 9 am – 5.30 pm Fri 19 October 2018, 2 pm – 5.30 […]
As my deadline for producing teaching material for the PIC16 boards at INSA Strasbourg approaches, I'm running into real world debugging issues. Now, it's important to point out that I'm trying to make sure that my teaching material is debugging-focused and provides an opportunity for self-directed learning. The first attempts at running a program on […]
After a few months twiddling PIC16 bits in simulation I need to get three, three-hour lab sessions written up for the PIC16F84. The school has provided me with two versions of their PIC16F84A boards, one designed for Mechatronics students and one for EE students. The board designs date to the dawn of the Arduino era […]
While planning a book on programming microcontrollers I've been trying to settle on a small group of microcontrollers that could be used for examples. Every couple of years I do this to myself. Below are a few examples, including the ubiquitous Arduino UNO with an 8-bit chip, as well as the FRDM-KL25Z and Adafruit Metro […]
Introduction Here we're going to "kick the tires" on examining a simple example program, using three 8-bit microcontrollers: the classic PIC16F84A, it's updated cousin found on the Microchip Curiosity Board, the PIC16F1619, and the ATMEGA328P made famous by the Arduino UNO. We'll be using a "debugging first" approach to programming that is intended to enable students […]
How bad and outdated is Assembler? For many of us, Assembler is the Latin of programming languages. Below, I talk about my changing perspective on this. In preparation for the embedded systems course I'll be helping to teach at the INSA in Strasbourg I'm reviewing my PIC-based teaching material, mostly based on the PIC32. This […]
As of MPLAB X 5 (v 5.05 and XC8 v2 compiler tested) you can develop projects for 8 bit MCUs like the PIC16, PIC18 and 8 bit AVR ATMEGAs. You can even reprogram your Arduino UNO board using the new Microchip PICKit 4! Here I'm going to have a look at using at the Assembler […]
“Home Security and Automation” Project Description [What the project is to achieve, a half to one page. Please describe the educational component of the project.] Home security projects are relatively common for engineering and computer science students. They typically focus on a superficial and limited technical implementation. The objective of this project is to learn […]
I want to spend my sabbatical year re-thinking my perspective on C++ and Assembler and how to teach engineering and computer science material using those two languages. To keep myself focused I'll need a target application, ideally with hardware. In fact, two applications would be ideal: Controlling chip heat Alarm system The first application would […]