New electronic based products are released daily. At the heart of these electronic devices is typically a microcontroller. Over the years many improvements in the tools needed to develop microcontroller based designs have been released. One of the more popular development modules is the Arduino that is so easy to program, artists, designers, hobbyists and even basement engineers have created very interesting projects using this development path. The design is open sourced so many variations of the Arduino exist.
Microchip® Technology Inc. and Digilent® Inc. with software help from the FUBAR Hackerspace worked together and created a Microchip PIC® based Arduino compatible module called the chipKIT. chipKIT comes in two versions; the smaller chipKIT UNO32 and the larger chipKIT MAX32. These modules are based on the Microchip PIC32 microcontroller and offer many more features than the typical Arduino module. Despite these added features, the chipKIT platform is designed to work with the same simplified programming language used by Arduino and also uses the same type of bootloader programming through a USB connection. The chipkit makes it easy for anyone from beginner to experienced professional to develop interesting projects and products.
In this book Chuck Hellebuyck, who has authored many entry level technical books, shows you how to get started with the chipKIT UNO32 using some very simple example sketches (sketch is a software program in the Arduino world) that demonstrate how to use digital inputs, digital outputs, analog inputs and analog outputs. These are the fundamental building blocks every electronic project needs. With the examples in this book you’ll have the building blocks to get your electronic project, gadget or product up and running quickly and easily.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 – What is chipKIT
Chapter 2 – Flash an External LED
Chapter 3 – Train Crossing
Chapter 4 – LED Traffic Light
Chapter 5 – Scroll LEDs
Chapter 6 – Sensing a Switch
Chapter 7 – Read a Potentiometer
Chapter 8 – Sensing Light
Chapter 9 – Creating Sound
Chapter 10 – Dimming an LED with PWM
Chapter 11 – Serial Communication
Conclusion
Appendix A – Parts List for Projects
Appendix B – UNO32 Pin Map
Index