Wiin 1 of 3 iPads in the SchmartBoard 2010 MCU Challenge

14. July 2010 by admin.

From: http://www.schmartboard.com/index.asp?page=mcu_2010 

By designing an MCU circuit based on the 8 Bit Microchip PIC MCU, Parallax Propeller or Texas Instruments MSP430, C2000, and Stellaris Cortex M3 utilizing a SchmartBoard|ez development board.

Posted in SchmartBoard, Contest | 1 Comment »

Win a Microchip PICDEM Touch Sense 1 Development Kit

1. April 2010 by admin.

From: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2010/win_a_picdem_kit.htm

Entries are invited in the 2010 construction competition which this year is a competition with a difference.

The SA Amateur Radio Development Trust is looking for an innovative approach to a construction project that has application in Amateur Radio but based on microchip technology.

Stage one is the paper design stage. Develop a project of your choice using a microchip and submit a short write up of the project including a circuit diagram and description of operation. The closing date for stage one is 9 April 2010.

Three entries, which in the opinion of the judges are the most original coupled with their usefulness in Amateur Radio, will receive R500 to build a proto-type for entry into the second stage of the competition.

The second stage entry is a complete proto-type entry and must be suitably packaged and operating. This entry must be accompanied by all the necessary paperwork as well as an article with circuit diagram and other necessary illustrations for publishing in Radio ZS.

The winning entry in stage two will be awarded the Microchip PICDEM Touch Sense 1 Development Kit plus an ARRL handbook. The two runner-ups will each receive an ARRL Handbook. The closing date for stage 2 is 10 May 2010.

The winner will be presented with the prize at a gala lunch on 17 May 2010 at the Midrand Protea Hotel.

Get all the details on www.amateurradio.org.za.

Posted in Touch Sense, 8-bit, Contest, Development Tool | 1 Comment »

Win a Microchip nanoWatt XLP Microcontroller!

31. March 2010 by admin.

Electronics World is offering its readers the chance to win the new next generation, low-power PIC microcontroller (MCU) with  nanoWatt XLP eXtreme Low Power Technology, for sleep currents as low as 20nA from Microchip.  These three new 8- and 16-bit MCU families join three other recent 8-bit families that are all part of Microchip’s nanoWatt XLP portfolio, providing designers with a rich and compatible low-power migration path that includes on-chip peripherals for USB and mTouch sensing solutions.

The three new nanoWatt XLP MCU families being announced include the 16-bit PIC24F16KA family, which features typical sleep currents as low as 20nA; and the 8-bit PIC18F46J11 and PIC18F46J50 families, both of which feature typical sleep currents of less than 20nA. The six general-purpose members in the PIC18F46J11 family provide up to 64kbyte of Flash program memory and the peripheral set of a typical
64- or 80-pin device in only 28- or 44-pins. The PIC18F46J50 family also features six members, which in addition integrate full speed USB 2.0 to enable connectivity for embedded applications requiring remote field upgrades or the downloading of data.

The extremely low sleep currents and numerous wake-up features of Microchip’s new nanoWatt XLP MCUs should be ideal for battery operated devices, which actually spend most of their time asleep. The interest in the market for such low power processors, for use in consumer to industrial applications, is now on the rise. Numerous consumer, industrial, automotive and medical applications can benefit from the extremely low power and peripheral integration of the nanoWatt XLP MCUs.

For your chance to win a Microchip nanoWatt XLP Microcontroller, simply answer the following question to be in with a chance to win:
What is the lowest sleep current of the low-power PIC microcontroller (MCU) with nanoWatt XLP eXtreme Low Power Technology from Microchip:
(a) 20nA
(b) 70nA
(c) 50nA

Email your answer, along with your name, position, company and email address, to Svetlana.josifovska@stjohpatrick.com

The winner will be announced online and in print.

Posted in Electronics World, Low Power, 8-bit, Contest | 1 Comment »

PIC32 Ethernet Giveaway

24. March 2010 by admin.

The Embedded Muse is a newsletter sent via email by Jack Ganssle., is giivng away three PIC32 Ethernet Starter Kits – the easiest and lowest-cost method to experience 10/100 Ethernet development with the 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers. Combined with Microchip’s free TCP/IP software, your project will be running in no time. (The PIC32 also has an available CAN2.0b peripheral and USB host/device/OTG.) This Ethernet Starter Kit has the same form factor and expansion connector as other PIC32 Starter Kits. To watch a video demonstration of the PIC32 family featured in this kit, visit: www.microchip.com/get/401347994444444

To make this fun, submit a Haiku about embedded systems or firmware to mailto:marybeth@ganssle.com by the end of March. Our team of esteemed judges will pick three they deem the best, using a completely subjective analysis of “user experience”. Those lucky winners will get the PIC32 kits.

 http://www.ganssle.com/tem/tem192.htm 

Posted in The Ganssle Group, Contest, 32-bit | 1 Comment »

Win a Microchip MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 MCUs

20. January 2010 by admin.

From: http://embedded.com/222200285

The Embedded.com European Newsletter is offering its readers the chance to win the new MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 Microcontrollers, which contains all of the components, documentation, schematics, debugging and programming capabilities needed to evaluate the high-performance PIC18 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) family in low-power USB and touch-sensing applications.
The MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 Microcontrollers includes the Bosch Sensortec BMA150 digital triaxial accelerometer, which enables the PIC18 Starter Kit board to detect acceleration in 3 perpendicular axes for sensing the board’s tilt and motion. The board ships with demo code that enables it to function as a USB mouse or joystick using the accelerometer.

Acceleration on all three axes is used to compute the board tilt, which is then converted to movement of the mouse cursor on the X and Y axes. The accelerometer allows the cursor to move slowly when the board is tilted a small amount, and quickly when there is a steeper tilt.

For your chance to win a Microchip MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18, visit the competition website and enter your details in the online entry form.

Posted in 8-bit, Embedded Systems Design, PIC, Sweepstakes, Development Tool, Contest, MPLAB | 1 Comment »

Retweet! Win a F1 Evaluation Module

12. January 2010 by admin.

 NewarkDesigner 

  

Today’s “perfect 10 in 2010″ is sponsored by @MicrochipTech. Win a F1 Evaluation Module http://bit.ly/8q0safat http://bit.ly/8yXGGe

Posted in Newark, Twitter, 8-bit, Contest, Development Tool | 1 Comment »

Another cool Halloween Contest

28. October 2009 by admin.

Show us your Halloween Project Contest from Hacked Gadgets.

Halloween is a great time to whip out the soldering iron to make some cool and frightening projects. We have featured tons of cool DIY Halloween projects over the years like the Halloween prop shown above, they are all inspirational! This season we want to see your creations.

Enter Contest Here

To enter you will need to post your project in the Hacked Gadgets Forum, if you don’t have an account you will need a password during the sign-up process, it’s joinhgforum. We needed to implement this to prevent the smart spammers that seem to be everywhere.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

• Make a Halloween project that has some electronic components, it doesn’t need to be anything complex, for example some red LED eyes on a ghost would be enough.
• Post at least one picture of the project in this thread on the Hacked Gadgets Forum. Additional pictures and a link to some video would be welcome though.
• List the materials that were used and a short description of the project build. The description don’t need to be very detailed but more detail than the bare minimum is appreciated.
• You can enter as many times as you want, place each new project in a seperate forum entry. You can only receive one of the loupe magnifiers though even if multiple projects are in the first 10 entries.
• All projects need to be your own work. The Halloween project doesn’t need to be something that was made this year, you are welcome to post a project that you have built in the past.
• Enter before November 11th, 2009.

The winner of the contest will get a cell phone jammer, this device should disable most cell phones in your direct area. If you win this device and it is illegal in your country please only use it for research. The winner will be selected by a vote based on all the valid entries. The first 10 entries will get a loupe magnifier which is great for building or repairing circuit boards.

 

Posted in Hacked Gadgets, Contest | 1 Comment »

24-hr Microchip Technology giveaway zeta - GO!

21. October 2009 by admin.

from http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/10/24-hr_microchip_technology_giveaway_3.html

• Interview with MakerBot owner Andrew Plumb
• Main
• Skiing robot caught in steady decline

24-hr Microchip Technology giveaway zeta - GO!

Closing at noon PDT today, we will be accepting comments, below, describing the Halloween-y use (or uses) to which you would put the prize bundle consisting of one Microchip Technology PIC10F Cap Touch Demo Board and one MCP1650 Multiple White LED Demo Board.

For this giveaway, the prompt is: “How would you use the prize bundle in a Halloween costume?”

The winner will be announced this afternoon at the bottom of the comment thread. Be sure to include a valid e-mail address.

Posted in Make Magazine, Contest | 1 Comment »

First Microchip Technology Halloween promo giveaway

5. October 2009 by admin.

As part of  this year’s MAKE Halloween contest, Microchip  will be providing us with a number of product samples to give away throughout October. First up for grabs is a PIC32 Starter Kit, shown above, with a retail value of $50, together with a PIC32 I/O Expansion Board, shown below, which sells for $72. To enter, leave a comment describing what cool Halloween-themed project you’d make with it. The winner will be announced next Friday, October 9.

Posted in Sweepstakes, Make Magazine, Contest, 32-bit, Microchip, Development Tool | 2 Comments »

Win Prizes from Microchip and Make Magazine

25. September 2009 by admin.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009, sponsored by Microchip Technology!

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner. Use a microcontroller to make anything from themed lawn decorations to creative costumes - the possibilities are endless. The Make: Halloween Contest will run for 8 weeks, and the Prizewinners will be announced on Friday, November 6th. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. PDT November 3, 2009. Each entry will be judged based on the following criteria: creativity of idea, use of Halloween theme, technical implementation using a microcontroller, execution and craftsmanship, and quality of documentation. Please see Official Rules for more information on the Winner selection.

To submit a project, you can either submit photos to the Make: Halloween Contest Flickr pool or upload a video and add it to the Make: Halloween Contest YouTube group. Please include a short description when you post images/videos. In addition to this, you must fill out our contest entry form.

Posted in Make Magazine, Contest, Microchip | 1 Comment »