Apple II for intro to microprocessors

From: Joel Weder <jweder_at_telusplanet.com>
Date: Sun Jul 15 14:21:46 2001

While I do agree that the Apple II would be a good machine to study the
basics of programming and simple microcomputing, my personal preference for
learning about microprocessors is the Motorola 68HC11 EVBU. It's a very
inexpensive and compact board featuring the MC68HC11 processor chip.

The HC11 has numerous ports allowing serial and parallel I/O, analog inputs,
pulse counting, with an RS-232 interface for programming and internal EEPROM
for small programs. It's got a decent monitor program (Buffalo) which allows
programming at the assembler level, direct access to every function on the
chip, and there's a wire-wrap area to add more RAM, an EPROM, motor controls
or what have you....

I picked up an EVBU some years ago to use as the heart of a small robot, but
put it away when life got too hectic. I've recently got it going again and
now have an external 32k RAM, a piezo buzzer, and two relays to drive the
robot's motors. I'll be adding optical sensors wired to the analog inputs
and eventually even an LCD display and/or a keypad.

The 68HC11 EVBU is cheap (if you can still find it), has good documentation,
and is a great platform to learn a LOT about microprocessors. The only
downside is that it's likely a bit of a steep learning curve for anybody
who's really new to the hardware side of things.

Joel A. Weder
jweder_at_telusplanet.net
403-556-4020
Received on Sun Jul 15 2001 - 14:21:46 BST