Alex Freed wrote:
"mdj" <mdj.mdj@gmail.com> wrote in message 1168492727.215181.185180@p59g2000hsd.googlegroups.com">news:1168492727.215181.185180@p59g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...But then to me, using a uC to make lights flash is ugly. It can be done simpler ways, and I prefer reaching for caps and resistors to swap on the breadboard than pulling a uC, going back to the PC and reprogramming it. If I want to change the flash rate, I'll build variability into my design.I did not *seriously* suggest using microcontrollers to blink LEDs - just pushing the point to the extreme and beyond.
And you've caused me to recall that my first pulse generators and flashing lights were RC circuits and NE-2 neons--can't get much simpler than a relaxation oscillator! ;-)
I did however use an 8 pin uC for a battery charger in one design and I'm very happy with the result.
And that's a great example of "proportionate design", since the proper charging of batteries these days has become a "computationally interesting task". ;-) -michael NadaNet networking for Apple II computers! Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/ "The wastebasket is our most important design tool--and it's seriously underused."