The Most Popular Microcontroller

What you need to know about The Most Popular Microcontroller.

Is the 16F84 too old for your electronic projects?

If you do not know what is a 16F84 is that you've never heard of the chip (R) - an enterprise, a powerful stand-alone microcontrollers. A microcontroller is simply a very small but, unlike default systems, anything inside the device. There are no external devices, such as RAM, EPROM, I / O device.

If you are a simple way for your own projects microcontroller then adjusts the bill because:

* Very small (some have 8 pins, and even less 5).
* Have internal devices.
* Are based on internal memory REPROGRAMMABLE
* Have in Timer.
* Have internal RAM.

In short, they are ideal for managing your projects - all you have to do it all.

This is one of the dramatic benefits make discreet towards conceptions, because if you have an error in a discreet design, you can debug and re-thread. With a microcontroller can only program the establishment in the circuit (with the code of simulation to discover the errors first).

Even better, the fact that you can project forward, as the internal devices operate quickly enough, for example, could be a frequency of 50MHz no external components (except the display).

Languages

It is indeed in many languages, but it is the most popular code machine. The reason for its popularity, the fact that Microchip (R), all the tools needed to develop a machine for the program code, so you find many examples of code in assembly language on the Internet.

Personally, I do not like machines coding in assembly language (even if I use it, if necessary, eg for speed), because there is an enormous amount of time compared to a high level language. Indeed, I would say it takes 10 times longer with assembler. Similarly, the assembler language is a very unstructured, which means that it is very difficult to maintain, ie, if you use a module, then the entire code Whereas, with a high degree of protection of language, the code protected areas register the error.

Microchip has several hundreds of different devices (now much improved on the 16F84), but the basic operation of each based on the initial planning, and even if you do 16F84 original (OK, it was a 16C84) You have a very good idea, as all devices.

This is the great power of the chip (R)-devices, ie you learn something with a device and you add to your knowledge of the whole - for example, programming a 12F675, 16F84 , 16F88 or 16F877, you should know that just because the ICSP interface is all. This means your learning curve is greatly reduced.

Of course, there are some devices, professional developers of driving the pin as an LCD display, but you have only default devices (good examples in the 12F675, 16F88, 16F628 and 16F877).

Peripherals

Indeed, there are approximately 15 internal standard for modern devices (-16F) in considering that the device has only a 16F84.

That is why I think the 16F84 is well underway, but it is now time to say goodbye. Other reasons are that a quarter of the size of a Memory-16F88 and now costs about 5 times more.

Note: 16F88 and 16F628 heavily on loan 16F84 with the same pinout, so you do not have problems if you already have a 16F84.

Abstract

The 16F84 is probably too old for the serious in design, because there are more recent (backward)-devices, which allows you much more capable of projects.