4 replies to this topic

[josiah14]

I want to get into embedded programming. I did some stuff with the Motorolla HCS12 microcontrollers in college (using CodeWarrior), but that was long ago and I forget it. What's a good way to 'start over' with embedded programming? I've heard good things about ARM, but maybe there's a better way to start learning. Low budget solutions would be preferrable, of course.

As far as suggestions, I'm looking for support sites (chat, forums, online articles/tutorials), literature, and of course the hardware and language to use, + any additional input.

[dargueta]

This highly depends on what you want to accomplish. What sort of projects do you want to do?

[josiah14]

Well, I suppose in the beginning, I'd be keeping it simple just building basic things like calculators and such. Eventually, though, I think I'd like to move toward robotics and AI. I have a background in Computer Engineering, so I've got the books on logic design, transistor analysis, and signal processing to get me back up to speed on the hardware jazz for when I need to design some small circuits for voltage regulation and magnetic interference cancelling (such as is necessary when servo motors are used). That's down the road, though, as to do that stuff will probably put me in need of an oscilloscope, power supply, soldering tools and the like.

The other direction id possibly be interested in taking is in smart phone hacking. I've seen a lot of job openings in my area centered around hacking smart phones for alternate uses. I think it looks to be an up-and-coming field.

In the beginning, I guess I'll be looking for a good support community so I can ask lots of questions and not have to wait too long for an answer. I'll probably also want at least a microcontroller that can plug into my PC's serial port or something so I can assemble the code and see immediate results. Something that can be programmed through a free IDE and assembler would be optimal.

I would go with Motorolla, but I don't see much support out there for learning on their products.

[Robotnik]

For embedded programming I recommend nerdkits.com. I recently got their kit, and I been having a great experience with it. They have a helpful pdf guide to get you started, tons of video tutorials and you can email them any questions and they answer them. I think it may be a little more expensive than buying the parts in the kit separately, but the amount of help you get with it makes it worth it, in my opinion.

[josiah14]

dargueta said:

This highly depends on what you want to accomplish. What sort of projects do you want to do?

Right now, I need to revisit the basics. I'll probably want a microcontroller that I can plug into my PC's serial port and program using a free IDE and assembler to begin. I guess the stuff I start with would be simple, like writing a basic arithmetic calculator in asm. However, it would make the most sense to learn an assembly language similar to what I'll want to use later (I remember MIPS having a really different feel from the HCS12 language).

The direction I want to go in could go 1 of 2 ways, as I see it. I could go in the direction I was going in college, which would be towards robotics (I have the books on Transistor Analysis, Logic Design, and Signal Processing to relearn what I need for the hardware stuff). Obviously, that would require me to buy some things (soldering supplies, oscilloscope, power supply, ...).

The other direction I could go in is smart phone hacking. There are a lot of jobs in my area that involve hacking smartphones for alternative applications, so this could be lucrative for me down the road.