Matrix user forums

Hello everyone,

Am teaching in a further eduation college and would like to introduce microcontrollers into the curriculum.

A few years ago I used a PIC16F84 along with Microchips IDE...
Am quite a newbie in this area and would appreciate if someone (or more than one could answer these simple questions to get me on my way

Bear in mind the target audience will be 16-19 year olds, studying National and Higher National Diplomas

1. What type of chip should I be using
2. What type of software should I be using
3. Is flowcode recommended?
4. I know of an institute using Lego kits with a language called Nearly C, as they found standard C too difficult a language for the students. Would anyone recommend this

Okay, I might be a little bit biased , but I would recommend Flowcode and our Development boards and E-blocks (see our web site for details).

There is a demo of Flowcode on our web site that will allow you to see if Flowcode is right for your students (I personally think it would be a perfect program for an introductory course).
http://www.matrixmultimedia.com/softwar ... e_Lite.zip


As to the chips and stuff:

The 16F84A is fine but lacks things link Analogue inputs and some of the features of other devices e.g. Low Voltage Programming. However it is a nice basic device and easy to get to grips with.
Our boards come with the 16F88, which you might want to look at as well.

Note: Use 'A' versions if one is available e.g. the 16F84A not the 16F84 as they cope better with the lower power levels output by modern PC's.

Flowcode is a great introductory program which can be followed up with C and Assembly, either as programming languages, or as overviews to show the other major programming methods to students.
Flowcode produces C and Assembly code that can be looked at (and even modified for use elsewhere).
We also produce C and ASM courseware as well.

If you need further details you can contact our sales team for help and advice: sales@matrixmultimedia.co.uk

Cheers Ian, PM'd you