> I want a PIC with two ADC inputs ( 10bits ) , 8 GPIO , a  
> timer ......     It can be as slow as molasses.   What is crucial to  
> me is that it is $5 or less: that I can pick up a cheep and trivial  
> method of programming it ( $25 ) ; that I can get a cheep development  
> IDE with Basic or C or whatever ($ 25 )  ; that it runs on 3.3 or 5  
> volts.   The bigger the physical size of the pins, the better.  DIP is  
> better than SOIC, etc.
>
> I want to quickly bang out a really creepy , dirty , data aquisition  
> device that samples two ADC inputs twice per second and talks to  
> another device via SPI  ( in, out, clk ) as the slave to a master.    
> There will be no demand on the PIC ; the SPI will be slow ( 1K bit per  
> second )  , with a total traffic of maybe 50 - 100 bits per  
> second ) .  The master will not bother the PIC for .25 seconds after  
> asking for status so there is plenty of time to complete an ADC cycle.
>
> Gus

>
> On Jul 10, 2009, at 3:21 PM, Olin Lathrop wrote:
>
> AGSCalabrese wrote:
>> I want a PIC with two ADC inputs ( 10bits ) , 8 GPIO , a
>> timer ......     It can be as slow as molasses.   What is crucial to
>> me is that it is $5 or less:
>
> That's easy.  Plenty of PICs fit that.
>
>> that I can pick up a cheep and trivial
>> method of programming it ( $25 ) ;
>
> That severly limits any commercial offerings.  My LProg actually  
> fits this,
> http://www.embedinc.com/products, but it's for the 3.3V only PICs.
>
>> that I can get a cheep development
>> IDE with Basic or C or whatever ($ 25 )
>
> MPLAB is free.  This is such a simple application I don't understand  
> why it
> has to be Basic or C, but you can use some free compiler version  
> with little
> or no optimization since you don't care about speed or code size.
>
>> that it runs on 3.3 or 5 volts.
>
> That's all PICs I believe.
>
>> The bigger the physical size of the pins, the better.  DIP is
>> better than SOIC, etc.
>
> Plenty of PICs come in DIP, including some 3.3V 18F parts.
>
>> I want to quickly bang out a really creepy , dirty , data aquisition
>> device that samples two ADC inputs twice per second and talks to
>> another device via SPI  ( in, out, clk ) as the slave to a master.
>> There will be no demand on the PIC ; the SPI will be slow ( 1K bit  
>> per
>> second )  , with a total traffic of maybe 50 - 100 bits per
>> second ) .  The master will not bother the PIC for .25 seconds after
>> asking for status so there is plenty of time to complete an ADC  
>> cycle.
>
> Your requirements are somewhat contradictory.  This is apparently a  
> one off,
> so it doesn't make sense that everything be so cheap since you're only
> buying it once.
>

> > I want a PIC with two ADC inputs ( 10bits ) , 8 GPIO , a
> > timer ......     It can be as slow as molasses.   What is crucial to
> > me is that it is $5 or less: that I can pick up a cheep and trivial
> > method of programming it ( $25 ) ; that I can get a cheep development
> > IDE with Basic or C or whatever ($ 25 )  ; that it runs on 3.3 or 5
> > volts.   The bigger the physical size of the pins, the better.  DIP is
> > better than SOIC, etc.
>
> You know, this is exactly the sort of thing that results in the
> popularity of the BASIC Stamp, Arduino, and other similar "plug and
> play" microcontroller solutions.
>
> An Arduino will cost between $10 and $40 dollars, but includes the
> "programmer" and "development environment in C" for free (complete
> with pre-done analog input functions.)  So the "total expenditure" is
> well within the $55 budget you mention.  And the "pins" are even
> bigger than a DIP.  Given only "passing familiarity" with
> microcomputer programming, you could churn out a working prototype in
> a day.
>
> I think a BASIC Stamp would run a bit more $$ (but still less than
> $55) and not have as many options for "commoditization" of subsequent
> builds, but it's also a possibility.

>>> I want a PIC with two ADC inputs ( 10bits ) , 8 GPIO , a
>>> timer ......     It can be as slow as molasses.   What is crucial to
>>> me is that it is $5 or less: that I can pick up a cheep and trivial
>>> method of programming it ( $25 ) ; that I can get a cheep  
>>> development
>>> IDE with Basic or C or whatever ($ 25 )  ; that it runs on 3.3 or 5
>>> volts.   The bigger the physical size of the pins, the better.  
>>> DIP is
>>> better than SOIC, etc.
>>
>> You know, this is exactly the sort of thing that results in the
>> popularity of the BASIC Stamp, Arduino, and other similar "plug and
>> play" microcontroller solutions.
>>
>> An Arduino will cost between $10 and $40 dollars, but includes the
>> "programmer" and "development environment in C" for free (complete
>> with pre-done analog input functions.)  So the "total expenditure" is
>> well within the $55 budget you mention.  And the "pins" are even
>> bigger than a DIP.  Given only "passing familiarity" with
>> microcomputer programming, you could churn out a working prototype in
>> a day.
>>
>> I think a BASIC Stamp would run a bit more $$ (but still less than
>> $55) and not have as many options for "commoditization" of subsequent
>> builds, but it's also a possibility.
>
>
> Or the PicAxe.  It's just the bare chip and needs a 3-wire serial  
> cable for
> programming.
>
> Runs Basic though, which might annoy the 'Real Men' (TM), but the  
> customer
> need never know, and won't unless you tell them.
>
> Tony
>