usb for $30 micro controller?

[neopj3]

I'm designing a small robot built useing the $30 mircocontroller tut.  My lap top doesn't have a D9 on it and they're big and bulky anyways.  Has any body used a usb jack on this set-up yet?  thanks.  I'm trying to go ultra low profile. 

[aqua_scummm]

Microcontrollers don't really use USB.  You can get USB to serial adapters pretty easily, and if you know your way around electronics, there are ICs to convert it for you (arduino boards use this for their USB connection)

[Trumpkin]

if you use the cheap programmer the serial to usb adapter will not work (found it out the hard way)

[neopj3]

dang!  well I figured something like that. thanks for the heads up.  is that controller pretty desent?  is it better to get the BS2 from digikey for 12.75?

[ed1380]

I'd get teh $34 arduino board from www.sparkfun.com

it has a usb B connection for programming

[Rebelgium]

agreed, the arduino is an alround good board.

Be sure to tell us about your project 

[neopj3]

Will do.  Turns out I found a sygnal 8051 micro controller I got for Christmas a few years back.  It's really to big for what I want to do. But it's really powerfull.  My first goal was to make something to run around my desk at work (about the size of a large altoid box) but now that I found this.............  I got the idea from the MIT cube robot a few years ago.  it was pretty cool, using an o-ring for the drive train, and very tiny.  I'll keep ya'll posted. I'll look into the arduino though, I liked the wall avoiding robot tut.  see ya

[blueroomelectronics]

Microcontrollers don't really use USB.  You can get USB to serial adapters pretty easily, and if you know your way around electronics, there are ICs to convert it for you (arduino boards use this for their USB connection)

Some Microchip PICs have built in USB like the PIC18F2550 or 18F4550, lots of code samples too.