Time for new uP

[The Old Crow]

On Thu, 21 Sep 2000, Tim Ressel wrote:

> Don't get me worng, PIC has its place. I have not used them (yet), but the
> thought of an 8 pin uP for those small projects is delightful.

  The 8-pin PIC is one of the Great Discoveries in embedded applications
as far as I'm concerned.  The process controller manufacturer I work for
has replaced the 555 ICs in things like PAF (phase-angle firing) boards
with 12C508s because I demonstrated that the timing pulses are ten times
as precise and repeatable, not to mention the timer can be configured to
do 90% of the stuff other now-obsolete circuits on the board did such as
cold-start firing angle restriction, soft-start timing, etc.  Now all
crammed into one PIC.

  Perhaps even more used at our shop is my 'PICdog', a watchdog reset
controller/arbitrator that has vastly improved the reliability of control
circuits (a Z8-based PID controller, for example) that are used out in the
field--literally, out in the middle of a field where a gas well or whatnot
is located and is subject to frequent lightning strikes, etc. PICdog is a
12C508.

  8-pin microcontrollers rule. ;)

Crow

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