Hello,

I program PLC's with ladder logic frequently, but I have never programmed a microcontroller. From what I can tell they are basically the same thing
(I/O control).
I am thinking about building a game camera. Basically it is a small dvr that will operate on a motion sensor. The trick is that I will have to program in a day/night sensor, and a flash. I am not really sure how to go about this as it will be my first attempt at building a circuit board of any type. Is this to tough of a project to start out with? Is my thinking correct about the plc and microcontroller comparison? Where should I start when it comes to the microcontroller?

Thanks for the help

 

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I have the bits, bytes, words, and registers covered, but I have never written in C. Can you tell me to fine some good "how to" resources on this subject. Also how do I hook the chip up to my pc to program it. A PLC is hooked up with a usb cable.

 

BASIC would probably be a little easier. C can be a little tricky when it comes to strings.

There are probably millions of sources on the internet for lessons in C and BASIC.

I like this website good for PICs but I am not sure how deep they get into programming.

 

Here is a good website for the Arduino. www.arduino.cc I also recommend you check Youtube to see a few typical examples of what Arduino can do. Arduino Duemilanove or Arduino Uno (both the same for all practical purposes) sounds like a good start-up approach since it will let you focus on learning the programming aspect of microcontrollers before you have to learn the hardware design aspect. You will not need to buy a programmer with the Arduino since it uses a boot-loader. The software programming Integrated Development Environment or IDE is free from the website mentioned above.

The Arduino board is based on the ATMEL AVR 8-bit microcontroller series.

hgmjr

 

Here is a Youtube video example of a camera triggered by breaking a laser light beam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3lgVZBmGA4

Of course there will be some sensor electronic design and the camera trigger electromechanical interface but you will not have to learn the details of the microcontroller before you can do anything useful. That is the beauty of Arduino.

You can purchase an arduino for about $30 US. Additional hardware including sensors, battery, semiconductors, etc will be an additional $20 US. So for around $50 you can be up and running in a couple of weeks.


hgmjr