PIC16f628 vs PIC16f877 – Which is best for beginners?

Short answer: PIC16F628

Unlike popular consensus on the internet, the PIC16F628 is a way better chip to learn with than the PIC16f877. It needs to be said that the 628 will have less bugs, less runtime issues and more bang for your buck than the 877. It’s what Brunel University in London teach all their Engineering and Design students with. The 877 is for people who don’t know what they’re doing. God help their unsuspecting students who are being taught to use this tosh!

So do yourself a favour, buy the PIC16f628, get a programmer like the Microchip ICD3, or even the PICKIT2 or 3, and go to a great learning resource on how to program the 628 at winpicprog.

Another thing you’ll need to program the PIC16f628 is a 0.1uF capacitor and a 470 ohm resistor.

Then you’ll need a 5 Volt voltage regulator to power all your circuits once the chip is in situ. Get all your electronics hobby gear like breadboards, caps, resistors, led’s, jumper wires, Hitachi HD44780 LCD controller, micro switches, 7 segment displays, solder, connector strips and all the other paraphernalia needed to make awesome projects and products from…. You guessed it…. AliExpress!

I can’t stress enough how much money I spent at the retailer Maplins in the UK when I was learning about electronics. It’s so much cheaper now on the internet that having electronics as a hobby is so much more available to anybody who shows an interest.

So happy soldering!