Which microcontroller is right for me?

[ppatchmods]

so i have this rash and sometimes........wrong forum...sorry

i am just getting into the programming arena. i decided to take on the task of programming a microcontroller for tap tempo in an analog delay circuit. is there a right or wrong MC to try? i know absolutely nothing about it so i will be studying for a while. any wisdom on the subject (tutorials, reading, equipement ideas) would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks

[cloudscapes]

for non DSP stuff you'll be fine with either AVRs or PICs. plenty of support, options, compilers..

know any language? C? basic? ASM? there are C and Basic compilers for both PIC and AVR

[ppatchmods]

i know as close to "nothing" as there is..... i was thinking about the amtel avr it should have all the options i need. i want to have a tempo led and a ratio pot. thanks for the help it will be a long-ish road 

[Bard Morons]

The amount of information on the Arduino, as well as the plethora of shields (connectable modules), would likely make it ideal if you're totally new to the game.  I do not own one, nor do I really plan on it... I can't bring myself to join the party, but it does appear to be an incredible resource!  I'd suggest taking a look at some of the information on what people have done with it.  There is code floating around for doing almost anything!  Look up what libraries are in programming and then check out the libraries available for it.  I think due to the vast amounts of information on beginning with an Arduino, you'd be able to read up and start into things pretty easily.  The PIC microcontrollers are pretty cool though... much simpler to program using the C compiler than in ASM (in my opinion).

[slotbot]

+1 for arduino if you dont know how to program already. Also the language arduino uses is based very much on C syntax, so its a great stepping stone to programming in C for real later on. (if that turns out to be your thing).

[ppatchmods]

will the arduino work with the atmel ATtiny84? i think i'm gonna go with that one.

[slotbot]

the arduino already includes an microconroller.  you just buy the module and thats it.

[ppatchmods]

does the microcontroller detach so you can add it to your circuit? i want to write a program that i can use over and over to program MC's

[Bard Morons]

The Arduino IS the microcontroller.  Read up a little on it.  The main module has some extras, but you can buy an Arduino Pro that looks a lot like many of the other microcontrollers.  The shields and all that jazz just make integration easy.  It is a fully functional microcontroller on its own.  It reminds me of a BASIC Stamp I had a few years ago... similar mindsets.  They have some more hardware and options than other microcontrollers have.  That makes programming them quite a bit simpler.  So, to answer your questions, yes, it is a microcontroller.  If you want it to "fit" in some circuit, you'll need to check out sizing specs.  The smallest I know of is the Arduino Pro (it's a little wider than DIP packages you're likely familiar with).

[ppatchmods]

the ease of use sounds good but not what i'm looking for as far as size. i want to take an MC like the ATtiny84 and program it to fit in my delay circuit just to run tap tempo on an analog delay. i use the ptap for my rebote circuits and just want to have the same type of setup for an analog delay. i'll keep reading up on stuff. probably will just buy a programmer and a programming for dummies type book to get started. thanks

[slotbot]

if you are going with atmel you should check out this forum: http://www.avrfreaks.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=index

[theundeadelvis]

There are a lot of options for Arduino. Check some out here: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?c=103

I'm thinking of giving it a try. There's also plenty of demos and tutorials on Youtube.

[ExpAnonColin]

the ease of use sounds good but not what i'm looking for as far as size. i want to take an MC like the ATtiny84 and program it to fit in my delay circuit just to run tap tempo on an analog delay. i use the ptap for my rebote circuits and just want to have the same type of setup for an analog delay. i'll keep reading up on stuff. probably will just buy a programmer and a programming for dummies type book to get started. thanks

You are welcome to try jumping straight into standalone AVR microcontroller programming, but the learning time will be about 100x as long, especially if you have 0 programming and MCU experience.  The Arduino (arguably) is not meant to be placed in circuits as much as it is to be a great platform for learning about microcontrollers and prototyping ideas.

-Colin