[sdiy] PICs, dsPICs, PLDs etc. vs. taped PCB layouts and Z80s

[Robin Whittle]

Having said all that about the difficulty of learning electronics, I
think that despite the surface mount trend, it is now much easier to do
lots of valuable, constructive things with electronics and software.

Designing your own PCBs is now vastly easier than with tape and other
sticky things.

Programmable logic devices can to astounding things too - but I have
found the programming of them to be a real brain burner for anything
complex.  The worst problem, at least with the Lattice devices I was
using, was that if you wanted to use lots of internal logic, you
couldn't get all the input output functions on the pins you wanted them
on.

Also the ability to create small, elegant, embedded systems with PICs
and the like is now so much better and easier than with designing your
own PCB, having it made, installing a Z80, RAM, SIO, EPROM etc. and then
trying to debug the code via EPROMs, an EPROM emulator, an oscilloscope
and maybe some hand-built attempt at a debugging tool.

I have been writing some stuff for the dsPIC and think highly of it so
far.

  http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=75

  (Another instance of crapification.  Why can't they have a simple
   URL?)

20 MIPs, including in a 40 Pin or smaller DIP package, with some really
fancy 16 bit DSP, and all the usual stuff of FLASH program memory,
EEPROM, serial ports, timers, PWMs, ADC etc.  I figure it could be used
to make a crude polysynth or a powerful monosynth, with little more than
a crystal, a few caps and an audio DAC connected to its Data Converter
Interface.  I describe how to connect such a DAC - the surface mount
Burr-Brown, now TI, PCM1770:

 http://forum.microchip.com/tm.asp?m=96214&mpage=1&key=&anchor#96214

  - Robin  http://www.firstpr.com.au/rwi/dfish/