PIC PROGRAMMING

[daverave]

is it possible for a novice person to programme a pic chip to use in a pulse metal detector...what would the code look like for using in a pulse detector ??? what hardware does one need to buy and book to learn.

[Qiaozhi]

is it possible for a novice person to programme a pic chip to use in a pulse metal detector...what would the code look like for using in a pulse detector ??? what hardware does one need to buy and book to learn.

For someone just getting started, it's a bit of a minefield. You should probably begin by reading a PIC beginner's guide such as "PIC in Practice, by D W Smith".
I notice there are currently a couple of cheap secondhand copies available on the UK Amazon site which are in good and very good condition.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PIC-Practice...IC+in+practice
You can then either use a prototyping board to build the test circuits, or buy a full featured development system, such as an EasyPIC boards from Mikroelektronika.
http://www.mikroe.com/easypic/
Once you can get your head around the PIC concept, then you'll have a better idea of which direction you want to go.

Inside the METAL DETECTOR - Published September 2012 (Chapter 12) contains 5 PI designs, and 3 of these are using a PIC micro.

[F117]

is it possible for a novice person to programme a pic chip to use in a pulse metal detector...what would the code look like for using in a pulse detector ??? what hardware does one need to buy and book to learn.

PIC programming is very simple ... as long as you have read and understood completely the data sheet of the microcontroller.
You will need to set up and initialize all the resources you need onboard the PIC. Therefore you have to select your PIC very carefully to fulfill your hardware requirements.
It all depends on what you intend to do and which resources you intend to use. All PICs are "alike" in a way of programming but porting the same code from one chip to another might require some consideration on the difference in resource mapping. http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showt...ld-PI-detector

As Microchip now has PICs with built-in dual opamps:
http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts...cName=en558418

building a simple PI should be a matter of programming the PIC, attaching a single high-voltage logic-level MOSFET ( which one ???...) for coil control and that's it...
Price( < 1€)/quality: Microchip is the best IMHO...

Best regards,
- Bernard