[sdiy] Microchip DSP kit $60 > AVR32

[Bruce Duncan]

For SDIY you can't beat the simplicity of the dsPIC.
There is a ton of info and code examples for the entire PIC line. A 
lot of which can be adapted to the dsPIC instruction set.
User forums are huge with many experts and knowledgeable people 
helping with questions.
Although they can be a bit rude if it appears you aren't trying hard 
enough to solve the problem yourself.

Onboard features like 12bit A2D, EEPROM storage, SPI, and internal OSC with PLL
make them very inexpensive to use. Free IDE and super cheap 
programmers are also a great plus.
Easy availability of dsPIC in thru hole packages is a great for 
breadboarding etc and there are even 18 pin
versions great for making a simple sine wave VCO with 88kHz sample 
rate for $3 bucks

Between Tom Whiltshire, Eric Brombaugh and myself we have done some 
truly amazing modules, IMHO with
the dsPIC. I don't think any of them could have been done as easily 
or cost effectively using other processors.
Certainly it would have taken more peripherals to do it without the dsPIC

Bruce