PIC16F877A

[newguy]

I'm sure there are places in Toronto that you can buy this sort of stuff from, but I'm not from Toronto. There is a company in Calgary that I've dealt with before, and they're pretty good: http://www.hvwtech.com

You'll need a programmer for sure, and it's not a bad idea to have one with debug functionality. The CCS ICD-U40 is a USB programmer/ICD and it's quite reasonably priced. You can get it direct from CCS or HVW carries it: http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?CatID=90&SubCatID=127&SubSubCatID=134&ProductID=27

If you want to forego ICD capability and just want a cheap programmer, then the EPIC from MELabs is a great unit: http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?CatID=90&SubCatID=127&SubSubCatID=134&ProductID=34
This unit requires a parallel port interface on your computer.

The only other thing you'll need is some sort of development board. A development board is simply a premade PCB that has a socket for a PIC microcontroller and will also have various other devices mounted on it. These devices will typically include a crystal or some other clock source, LEDs, potentiometers, a character LCD, sockets for EEPROMs, etc etc etc. These beasts are usually a pretty penny, and there's no getting around the cost unfortunately. If you go for the cheapest one you're going to have a crystal, some LEDs, and a ZIF socket and that's about it. If you want an LCD and a RS232 serial connector, you'll have to pay more.

Check the HVW site above, and also have a look at http://www.melabs.com and http://www.mikroelektronika.co.yu/

The book you're using comes with an evaluation version of the compiler so you don't have to buy that. I know a couple of people who have development systems from mikroelektronika and they're very satisfied. Just bear in mind that if you go cheap, you'll likely just end up upgrading in the end if you're serious about learning this craft.

[harrison_c]

Hi guys, thank you for giving me very valuable comments. Now, I am thinking to buy the EasyPIC4 Development Kit from Milkro. And I already had the PCW Compiler Evaluation verison attached with the book, Embedded C Programming and the Microchip PIC. Then I can start my first example from the book?? Do I need any more thing to run the first program?

Harrison