New 8-bit PIC microcontrollers feature advanced analog and digital integration

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There is a good news for PIC fans. Microchip Technology, Inc. has recently announced the expansion of its 8-bit enhanced Mid-range core microcontroller (MCU) family to include advanced analog and digital integration, such as 12-bit A/D converter, 8-bit DAC, Op-Amps with Rail-to-Rail input/output, and high-performance Rail-to-Rail comparators. CHANDLER, Ariz., March 26, 2012 [NASDAQ:  MCHP] — Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced from DESIGN West in San Jose  the expansion of its 8-bit PIC16F(LF)178X enhanced Mid-range core microcontroller (MCU) family to include advanced analog and integrated communication peripherals, such as on-chip 12-bit Analog-to-Digital

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Making a digital capacitance meter using microcontroller

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Capacitors are one of the most common passive electrical components that are extensively used in all kinds of electronic circuits. In this project, we will discuss a technique of building a digital capacitance meter using a PIC microcontroller. This project can measure capacitance values from 1 nF to 99 ?F, with a resolution of 1 nF. The technique is based on measuring the time elapsed when a capacitor is charged to a known voltage through a series resistor. The microcontroller used in this project is PIC16F628A.

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TENMA 72-8155 digital LCR meter

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An LCR meter is an extremely useful device for measuring three basic impedance elements, namely, Inductance (L), Capacitance (C), and Resistance (R). Recently, I got a TENMA 72-8155 digital LCR meter from Newark for review. I was very excited to receive it as I didn’t have a dedicated LCR meter in my home lab. Here’s my quick review of this product.

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Reviewing the iCA05 Graphic LCD development kit from iCircuit Technologies

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The Graphical LCD (GLCD) displays provide more flexibility in presenting data, as compared to standard character-based LCDs. Owing to a significant drop in price lately, GLCDs have become more popular these days in the hackers’ and DIY worlds. If you are planning on doing an embedded microcontroller project including a graphical LCD display, you might be interested in this PIC-based GLCD development kit from iCircuit Technologies. This decently priced development kit will help you to get started quickly with your project. Here’s a brief review of the kit.

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Digilent announces the 8th annual US regional design contest

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Digilent has just announced the 8th annual US regional Digilent Design Contest, to be held on May 6-7, 2012 in conjunction with the IEEE EIT conference in Indianapolis. Digilent Design Contests are engineering contests open to all students enrolled in any educational institution in that region. Students are challenged to create an original project using Digilent boards, whether FPGA boards featuring state-of-the-art Xilinx FPGAs, microcontroller boards featuring Microchip microcontrollers, or chipKIT boards based on the Arduino development environment. Contest enrollment begins on January 25th. Project presentations and judging will take place on May 6th, with the winners to be announced

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