Sometimes the tool you need doesn’t exist yet. That’s why we have soldering irons and Beer* (*Brandejs.ca does not condone drinking liquor while welding or soldering, *snicker*).

Usher in a new tool I named the StamPIC. It’s a basic stamp, but it outputs to the pin configuration of a 16f84a PIC microcontoller. The circuit has a built in 5volt regulator ( the stamp has a regulator, but seeing as I paid $60, you can never be too careful, I’d rather my 75cent 7806 regulator get blown first) as well as a nifty on off switch! (version 2 will have a modded blue glow from underneath*)
* may be complete BS.
(Why use a regulator? Ahh the dirty little secrets of DC electronics. My 6volt adaptor actually outputs 11.3 VOLTS ! When I measure it with my voltmeter. Thus, regulating is key. This is normal. Go, ummm, standards and good labelling…)

The thing with Stamps is they’re nifty. They light up, and you can program them fast, they have built in power regulators, built in serial programming ports, etc. It’s one click, smoothness, but they’re $60 each! Not too useful unless you’re rich, or rip apart all your art pieces when done, neither option I like.

The PIC microchips are $6 each (+ $1 oscillator) but they’re annoying to program as they require a separate programming board (insert take out, check program, repeat 10 times, break leg off microchip, go buy another chip, waste time and money and so on. Not cool)

So what’s one to do? Can’t we have the best of both worlds?
>> Yes.
That’s what my circuit does!

The Basic Stamp outputs it’s signals to my special adaptor that funnels down to a cable with an 18pin IC socket on the end. It looks like a tiny PIC with a big ugly (dustin) cable coming out of it, and works in the exact same way.
The programming language is the same, so when all is tested and working, you only have to program the PIC once.

Hope that makes sense, but it’s hard to explain most of what I do now in simple terms, it’s becoming rather specialized and not all pretty pictures….
Damn art school tryin to learn me.