Hello, I have done some searching on the forums about which Microcontroller I should buy... but I have some questions I would like to clear up first.
I am looking for something fairly cheap, and something I can modify so I can learn how it works and such. I have some electronics knowledge and quite a bit of programming knowledge.
I have narrowed it down to AVR, but a board I have seen often recommended is this
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=666That looks like its a bit... too simplified... something like this looks much more sufficient for what I want
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=360#But is it? It looks like the latter requires more work, and I would also need to buy a programmer too. I contemplated building my own like in the 50 dollar robot case, but I don't know if I want that much work (or rather I am not confident in my soldering skills).
I know this is asked a lot around here, but the amount of options and everything kinda overwhelmed me. Is it worth my time to build my own or use a development board (I am really just learning how this all works)?
Any advice appreciated, thanks!