[1] PicStic 5

     The PicStic 5 is a low cost industrial-oriented controller designed around the PIC16F876. The PicStic 5 incorporates digital inputs, digital outputs, analog inputs, analog outputs, extended data memory, and serial communication all in a single 0.8-cubic-inch encapsulated module.

     The PicStic 5 utilizes a pair of communication line drivers to allow several types of serial communication. RS-232A, RS-422, and RS-485 protocols are available with the PicStic 5. With an 8MHz-system clock, the PicStic 5 has the ability to communicate serially at baud rates up to 250Kbps. This becomes beneficial when time is a factor. SPI and I2C communications are also available. These buses are made accessible through pins 23-25. During I2C communication the SCL frequency can be set at 100KHz, 400KHz, or 1MHz. During SPI communications, bits can be clocked out at rates up to 2MHz. In SPI and I2C modes received data is double buffered allowing a second byte of data to be received before the first byte is processed.

     Accompanying the 4-channels of 10-bit analog-to-digital converters supplied by the PIC16F876 processor, the PicStic 5 also offers 2-channels of 12-bit analog-to-digital conversion. The two 12-bit channels can be sampled at approximately 10K samples/sec. The four 10-bit ADC channels can be sampled at approximately 20K samples/sec.  There are 2-channels of 12-bit digital-to-analog conversion included in the PicStic 5. These analog outputs have a range from 0-4.095V. Both channels are loaded simultaneously.

     The PicStic 5 has 16 bi-directional bit-programmable, high-current I/O lines capable of sinking/sourcing 25mA.