Advice about minimal PIC chip - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ballen
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 09:32:10 am
content: I'm putting together a small device that logs some data and then broadcasts it using bluetooth. The goal is to keep it as inexpensive and simple as possible. I don't have PIC chip experience but think that might be a good solution. However there are such a variety of PICs that I'm not sure where to start. Could someone please suggest a particular PIC model that has:- 12 bit or more ADC, at least 2 channels, a few samples/sec is enough- Clock that can make an external signal at a few hundred kHz- UART to interface to a bluetooth chip- Widely used/available/inexpensive- Fewer pins is better than more.Low power consumption/sleep modes are not important. A precision voltage reference and easy interface to an internal or external temperature sensor would also be nice.PS: if there is another platform that is better suited (STM ?) that would also be OK.Programmable in C would be nice but this is simple enough that I can do it in machine instructions if needed.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 09:49:28 am
content: Quote from: ballen on August 21, 2021, 09:32:10 amTry Microchip's parametric selection toolhttps://www.microchip.com/en-us/parametric-search.html/980Clock and UART will be available on pretty much everything, the 12 bit ADC will narrow things down quite a lotPIC18F04/05/14/15 looks a good start

author: ballen
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 10:13:08 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on August 21, 2021, 09:49:28 amThat's an incredibly useful tool, thank you!It identifies PIC16F1824 as an inexpensive device with the necessary functionality.Sorry, thanks imo for the correction, Mike was right, PIC18F05Q40 shows up as the lowest-cost part with the needed functions.Is there a way to "read" the part numbers?? At the moment it seems like gibberish.What about AVR/Cortex versus PIC ? The selection tool indicates that there are 32-bit Cortex core chips that have what I need and cost $1USD in quantity, for example the ATSAMD11D14.

author: iMo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 10:41:16 am
content: 16F1824 has got 10bit ADCs..

author: NorthGuy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 12:57:46 pm
content: Quote from: imo on August 21, 2021, 10:41:16 amIf you drop the 12-bit ADC requirement (because that's not the number of bits that counts by the ADC error specifications), PIC16F15213 is $0.35 @100 qty. That's about half the price of PIC18F04Q40.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2021, 06:17:33 am
content: Quote from: ballen on August 21, 2021, 10:13:08 amPIC18F05Q40, How to read the part numberPIC18 - Family of chipsF - Flash eeprom program memory05 - defines program memory size / pin count in the familyQ40 - PIC18 family. refer to the PIC18 Q40 series datasheet ->https://www.microchip.com/content/dam/mchp/documents/MCU08/ProductDocuments/DataSheets/PIC18F04-05-14-15-Q40-1420-Pin-Low-Power-High-Performance-Microcontroller-With-XLP-Technology-Data-Sheet-40002236B.pdfyou can also find how to read the partnumber in the Product Identification System in the datasheet (though it's not really explained in this specific datasheet)About other brands: Use whatever product that fit the requirements, always better to use something you are familliar with

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2021, 09:02:46 am
content: Quote from: JPortici on August 22, 2021, 06:17:33 am..and, at the moment, something you can actually get hold of...!