suggest a PIC development board with the following features:

[jds-pic]

please suggest a PIC development board with (or approximately with) the following features:

- PIC with native USB, e.g. PIC 18F4550, @20MHz.
- USB port powered/DC power optional/selectable.
- 9Vdc -> 12Vdc power input.
- RS232 port.
- LEDs, 3 or 4 would be good.
- LCD, 2 x 16 or so. backlight nice, not req'd.
- pushbutton switches.
- small breakout area or expansion connector -- some way to use the board for bigger things; e.g. for adding memory (SEEPROM), or for attaching the board to sharks with lasers on their heads.
- cost < US$100, prefer < US$75
- commonly available from a vendor that will be around for some time, e.g. if i buy 10 units now, i can buy 6 more units in 6 months.

CCS, sparkfun, etc don't seem to have anything that meets most of these. btw, a modular approach is ok; e.g. an LCD that sits on an expansion header.

suggestions welcomed.

thanks much,
jim / jds-pic

[newguy]

Have a look at Mikroelectronika. http://www.mikroe.com/en/tools/ After a quick look it seems as though they may have several boards with the features you want, but not at the price you want. I've never purchased products from them, but I did have a few former students who did. They were happy with the development boards they purchased.

[drh]

Another site to check

www.olimex.com
_________________
David

[ckielstra]

Yes, Olimex was the company I was thinking of too.

This board for EUR24,95 seems to meet the specifications, except you have to add your own LCD.
A separate LCD has the advantage that it's easier to mount in a housing and you can choose the LCD to fit your application's requirements.

Also promising: http://www.olimex.com/dev/pic-lcd3310.html.
For EUR49,95 you get: 48x48 pixel display, USB, joystick, SD/MMC connector AND a 3-axis accelerometer! A perfect fit for your shark/laser project. :-)

Note: the prices are excluding VAT. EU-members will be charged an extra 20% VAT.

[jds-pic]

[newguy]

http://melabs.com/ ME Labs have a USB development board, but it's $180.

Since this is for students, is there any chance you can lay out a board yourself and distribute the thing as a kit? It would be quite inexpensive, particularly if you order 100 boards at a time. The same goes for 100 of each part for the kit.

ME Labs actually posts the schematic for each of their boards, ie here for their USB board: http://melabs.com/downloads/LABXUSCH_06.PDF. It wouldn't be hard to quickly bang up your own solution. If it was a kit the students could add to it as they saw fit as well, for instance opting for a backlit LCD instead of the non-backlit "base" model.

[jds-pic]

[mmprestine]

This might fit the bill.
Matt

Board
http://www.futurlec.com/PIC18F4550_Board.shtml

RS232 cable and LCD with cable
http://www.futurlec.com/DevBoardAccessories.shtml

total: $61.30

[jds-pic]