[sdiy] PIC help

[Neil Johnson]

Hi Scott,

Allow me to play the alternate card:

- Atmel AVR ATmega would be fine for this type of job.

- AVR-GCC is very good - if you're using Windows check out WIN-AVR.   
And Atmel's IDE AVRStudio supports WIN-AVR directly.

- For 24 analogue outputs check out Maxim MAX5168 32-channel S&H.   
Couple that with an   external 12-bit DAC.  If you are a cheapskate  
then at a pinch you can use the internal reference of the CPU for the  
DAC.  Alternatively just hook up a cheap external voltage reference.

- For analogue input you'll need some input mux'ing.  4051s are OK  
for this, if its for reading pots.

- How much EEPROM do you actually need?

- There are plenty of low-cost AVR programmer designs for free on the  
net.  These allow program download, but not debug.  For that you need  
a JTAG programmer.  There are a few designs, but they're a bit more  
involved.  WIN-AVR comes with AVRdude which can talk to most of the  
programmers.

- For LCD, if you can go with the standard 8-bit wide interface (at a  
pinch can be run 4-bit wide), leaves you with plenty of options if  
you change your mind later.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Neil
--
http://www.njohnson.co.uk