The MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 Microcontrollers, 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 kit includes a development board featuring a 44-pin PIC18F46J50 MCU with nanoWatt XLP technology for extreme low power, mTouch capacitive touch sensing, Bosch Sensortec BMA150 accelerometer, 64 KB Flash program memory, and much more. This complete evaluation kit is available at http://www.microchipdirect.com, allowing engineers to evaluate the performance and peripherals of the entire PIC18 family for less than $60.

Hardware debugging and programming come integrated with the MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 microcontrollers, meaning an additional debugger or programmer is not required. The kit is completely USB-powered, so a separate power supply does not need to be purchased. Preprogrammed touch-sensing code, as well as Microchip’s free USB application stack and bootloader, eliminate the need for engineers to develop their own code. Additionally, the board includes demo application software that enables it to read from the memory card (MSD), or function as a USB mouse or joystick (HID), or simple COM port (CDC) using the free Microchip stacks. By simply scrolling through code options using capacitive-touch buttons, engineers can demonstrate the PIC18 MCUs with a MicroSD memory card, potentiometer, acceleration sensor and OLED display – functions that are essential for a wide range of low-power applications.