Part 3 of multi part question.

[ozone]

Q3. How much memory do I need for the instructions?

I know that only a small amount of memory is needed, but I really have no clue what the above type of programming would require. Is there any kind of rule of thumb? I figured, I would just get the version of whatever microcontroller I’m interested in, with the most space, because the price difference is pretty minimal. These things are really cheap, which is awesome.

Q4. What development board do I get?

I would need a programmer. Since I plan to do a lot more automotive microcontroller stuff after this, I thought it would be good to get a development kit that could do many different AVR’s. I read online that if you buy the STK500 you will never need another one. I don’t know how true this is, but I noticed that there is a 600 out there and that may have been an old post. The cost seems pretty good either way, but maybe someone can render an opinion.

[stevech]

first figure out what your application will need, in order of magnitude, in RAM, and program storage. many micros store code in flash and have separate address space for RAM (Harvard Architecture). This guides what class of micro to choose.

It’s essential to start SIMPLE in micros. Even as simple as a C program to blink an LED then talk on a serial port to a PC.