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Why Learn Microcontrollers and Electronics?
It’s more than just the chip
This series of articles has been about a variety of older and newer microcontroller designs. Always meant to be affordable, the selected gadgets have had a considerable range of capacity and capability. From the 8-pin Tiny 85 and the venerable 8051 to the STM32s and ESP32s, these devices have been around a long time and have become quite ubiquitous if not obvious in their presence.
And that’s one reason to learn more about them. They are in toys, computer-attached devices, weather stations, monitoring equipment and even the car you drive (unless it is an older model, indeed).
But why else dig into these things? After all, doing things with them requires knowledge, delving into documents, trial-and-error, patience, and time. I will explore some reasons in this article.
They’re Everywhere
As mentioned above, these little devices abound. When you need something “smart” to respond to varying circumstances with action and reporting, an MCU is an obvious choice. It is usually a fully-functional system on a chip, with the power to consume electrical signals and send out other signals. If not a brain, it at least acts like a neuron. The larger 32-bit products have memory and speed comparable to a circa 2000 desktop…
