Controller Questions

[Jason Walters]

Questions for this list:

I'm sorta new to electronics.  I'm in it partially out of interest, and
partly out of necessity. (I have a gizmo that I want to build, but it is
UNWIELDY, and I need a computer to keep it in check.)  Because the
project I'm working on borrows heavily from the technologies discussed
in this group, I learn a lot by hanging out.  My only problem is that
I''m not exactly a microcontroller whiz.  I tried to ease into the area
with Basic Stamps, and I found this was a good introduction.  But I'm
quickly finding out that my hardware is lacking.  The controller does
not have enough speed or space to house all of the code, among other
limitations (stamps hate math).

So I guess my questions are:

1.  If you had to pick a controller to learn on, which one would it be?
Say, to convert a weed-eater to EFI.  Are we talking big bucks?  Do you
program these controllers in C or Assembly?  Is it a quantum leap from
the personal computer C world to the device level?
(I'm a VB programer that knows just enough C to be dangerous.  I'm often
tempted to just grab a data-acquisition board and run this project with
my PC . . . so I don't have to take this microcontroller plunge.  But
something tells me I'll find this PC solution also lacking in the end.)

2.  (After I have learned a bit more)  If you had to pick a controller
to monitor temperature and pressure, and vary an ignition and a fuel
injection firing pattern at the same time, which controller would you
use?  Do you use multiple controllers for all these tasks, or is your
code multi-threaded?  Or, are these microcontrollers so fast that the
interference with the firing sequences is negligible?

3.  Are there any other mailing-lists you monitor besides this list that
deal specifically with microcontroller topics?  Are there any mailing
lists that deal with metal working / machining / CNC stuff?

Jason Walters
jasonw at teleport.com