Summary of PIC microcontroller Beginner’s guide: Basic connection circuit
The PIC microcontroller is a low-cost single-chip computer by Microchip used to add intelligence to electronic designs; PIC16F877A is a popular 40-pin device programmed with Mikro C for embedded C development. The article outlines PIC advantages, PIC16F877A features, its five I/O ports, and mentions a basic connection diagram and LED blink example using Mikro C.
Parts used in the PIC16F877A Project:
- PIC16F877A microcontroller (40-pin)
- LED
- Resistor for LED (current limiting)
- Power supply (2.5 to 6 V)
- Crystal oscillator (up to 20 MHz) or internal oscillator
- Capacitors for oscillator and power decoupling
- Programmer/debugger compatible with Mikro C
- PCB or breadboard for connections
- Wiring/jumpers
What is a pic microcontroller? The PIC microcontroller is a low cost ‘computers on a chip’ manufactured by Microchip. They allow electronic designers and hobbyists impart intelligence and logic to a single chip for special purpose applications and products. The PIC microcontroller programming is done using the popular software ‘Mikro C’. This powerful yet easy to program into a 40-pin package is upwards compatible with the PIC16C5X, PIC12CXXX and PIC16C7X devices.
How to program microcontroller? Which is the program for microcontroller? These are the commonly asked questions by microcontroller beginners. Here we are going to explore the world of microcontroller, microcontroller programming and embedded systems with PIC16F877A. It is has five ports- port A, port B, port C, port D and port E.
An embedded system design is easy with the help of embedded C programming. Let’s start studying about microcontroller and embedded C programming for microcontroller PIC using Mikro C Pro. This article deals with the basic connection diagram and a LED blinking program of PIC microcontroller.
Why PIC is used/ Why PIC is Popular?
- High speed
- High performance RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) CPU
- Instruction Set simplicity
- Integration of operation features
- Programmable timer options
- Interrupt control
- EPROM/OTP/ROM options
- Inbuilt modules
- Low power consumption
- Wide operation voltage range: 2.5 to 6 volt
- Programmable code protection mode
- Power saving sleep mode
PIC16F877A Features
- High performance CPU
- Only 35 instructions
- All are single cycle instruction excluding for program branches.
- Operating speed is DC to 20 MHz.
- 8Kx14 word of flash memory
- 368×8 bytes of data memory
- 256×8 bytes of EEPROM data memory
- Interrupt compatibility
- Power on reset
- Power up timer and oscillator start up timer
- Watch dog timer with its own chip RC oscillator for reliable operation
- Programmable code protection power saving SLEEP mode
- Low power, high speed CMOS FLASH/EEPROM technology
For more detail: PIC microcontroller Beginner’s guide: Basic connection circuit
- What is a PIC microcontroller?
The article states a PIC microcontroller is a low cost computer on a chip manufactured by Microchip that imparts intelligence and logic for special purpose applications. - How is PIC microcontroller programming done?
Programming is done using the popular software Mikro C as mentioned in the article. - Which PIC device is discussed in the article?
The article discusses the PIC16F877A microcontroller. - How many ports does PIC16F877A have?
The article says PIC16F877A has five ports: port A, port B, port C, port D and port E. - Why is PIC popular?
The article lists reasons: high speed, high performance RISC CPU, simple instruction set, integrated features, programmable timers, interrupt control, inbuilt modules, low power consumption, wide voltage range, code protection, and sleep mode. - What are key features of PIC16F877A?
Key features include 35 instructions (mostly single-cycle), up to 20 MHz speed, 8Kx14 flash memory, 368×8 data memory, 256×8 EEPROM, various timers, watchdog timer, and low power CMOS FLASH/EEPROM technology. - What voltage range does PIC operate in?
The article states a wide operation voltage range of 2.5 to 6 volt. - Can embedded C be used for PIC development?
Yes; the article recommends embedded C programming using Mikro C Pro for PIC development. - Does the article include an example program?
The article mentions a basic connection diagram and an LED blinking program for PIC microcontroller.
