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The Microcontroller Idea Book

Circuits, Programs, & Applications
featuring the 8052-BASIC Microcontroller

by Jan Axelson

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Comments and Reviews

The real gold in the book is the collection of input/output circuits that show you how to connect to the outside world and have it all work properly. The writing is a model of clarity and conciseness. Once you know how these things work, you can use them cookbook-style. - Bill Machrone, PC Magazine

...an ideal introduction to low-end embedded design....Axelson takes the reader from essentially no knowledge of programming through Basic while offering lots of insight into the design of simple embedded systems....The next time I hire new CS or EE graduates, I plan to have them work through both Bebop [to the Boolean Boogie] and The Microcontroller Idea Book. A week spent soaking up these practical concepts will help ground them in reality and balance the four years of theory still ringing in their ears. - Jack Ganssle, EDN

About the Book

The Microcontroller Idea Book is a hands-on guide that presents practical designs for use in data loggers, controllers, and other small-computer applications. Microcontrollers, or single-chip computers, are ideal for projects that require computer intelligence but don't need the disk drives, keyboard, and full-screen display of a desktop computer.

Price: $31.95

Book length and format: 273 pages, 10" x 7" .

ISBN 0-9650819-0-7

What's Inside

The Microcontroller Idea Book includes:

Complete circuit schematics and parts lists - so you can easily build the circuits yourself.
Design theory - with tips on how to expand or modify the circuits shown.
Example program listings - for convenient testing of the circuits.
Construction and debugging tips - to help you get everything up and running without problems.
Vendor listings - so you can find the components and other items you need for your projects.

About the 8052-BASIC

Example circuits and programs in the book are based on the popular 8052-BASIC microcontroller, whose on-chip BASIC programming language makes it easy to write, run, and test your programs. With over 100 commands, instructions, and operators, the BASIC-52 interpreter can do much more than other single-chip BASICs. Its abilities include floating-point math, string handling, and special commands for storing programs in EPROM, EEPROM, or battery-backed RAM.

You can use any computer with a serial port as a host system for writing, uploading, running, debugging, and storing programs as you develop a project. When project development is complete, you can disconnect the host computer, and the 8052-BASIC will run your program automatically on bootup. You can also use an 8052-BASIC circuit as a development system for uploading and debugging assembled or compiled programs. As a member of the 8051 microcontroller family, the 8052-BASIC uses a standard, popular architecture.

Microcontroller Basics: What's a Microcontroller?, A Little History, New Tools, Project Steps.
Inside the 8052-BASIC: Possibilities, Limits, What You Need, The 8051 Family, Elements of the 8052 and 8052-BASIC.
Powering Up: About the Circuit, Circuit Construction, Powering Up, Basic tests, Simple Programs to Try, Exiting Programs.
Saving Programs: Nonvolatile Memory Options, Adding NVRAM or EEPROM, Using the Programming Commands, Adding Bootup Options, Erasing NV Memory, Adding more NVRAM or EEPROM, Adding EPROM, EPROM-programming Circuits, Power Supplies for Programming, Storing Programs on Disk.
Programming: Programming Basics, BASIC-52 Bugs and Things to Watch Out For, Finding Program Errors, BASIC-52 Keywords by Function, Quick Reference to BASIC-52.
Inputs and Outputs: The Memory Map, Uses for I/O Ports, Adding Ports, The 8255 Programmable Peripheral Interface.
Switches and Keypads: Simple Switches, Adding a Keypad.
Displays: Using LEDs, 7-segment Displays, Displaying Messages, Inside the Display Controller, Mounting Displays in an Enclosure.
Using Sensors to Detect and Measure: Sensor Basics, Choosing Sensors, On/off Sensors, Analog Sensors, Sensor Examples, Level Translating, Choosing a Converter.
Clocks and Calendars: BASIC-52's Real-time Clock, A Watchdog Timekeeper.
Control Circuits: Switching Power to a Load, Controlling a Switch Matrix, Op Amp with Programmable Gain, Controlling a Stepper Motor, Speed Control of a Continuous DC Motor.
Wireless Links: Infrared Links, Increasing the Distance, Radio Links.
Calling Assembly-language Routines: Assembly-language Basics, What You Need, Loading a Routine, File Formats for Assembly-language Routines, Assembling a Program, Uploading a Program, Example: Creating a Sine Wave, Avoiding Program Crashes, Interrupts, Adding Custom Commands and Instructions, A General-purpose EPROM Programmer.
Running BASIC-52 from External Memory: Reasons, Copying BASIC-52, System Requirements, Storing BASIC-52 Programs.
Related Products: Enhanced BASIC-52, BASIC compilers, Programming Environments, Pc Boards, BASIC-52 Source Code.

Appendix A. Sources, Books, BBS's, Product Vendors.
Appendix B. Programs for Loading Files.
Appendix C. Number Systems, About Number Systems, Kilobytes and Megabytes.

Have a look...

Chapters 1, 2, & 3 are now available online, in PDF (Adobe Acrobat format).

Chapter 1: Microcontroller Basics (43K)
Chapter 2: Inside the 8052-BASIC (96K)
Chapter 3: Powering Up (323K)
A list of the keywords and syntax supported by Basic-52. (PDF file, 44K)

Program Listings

The program listings from the book are available for free downloading in a zip file (22K). The 46 files are identical to the listings in the book.

List of corrections for the text.