A question about different microcontrollers ....

[expelleior]

I wanted to move from picaxe to another just for variety. I purchased a parralax Propeller chip because it sounded very interesting, having 8 processors in the single chip which can be started or not!
Also had to learn the Spin language which was not hard. The chip is less than $8 US but by the time I get it from the aussie distributor its $20 or so. Starting and stopping the 8 processors or 1 or two is very easy and comes in handy when you want to have different processes running at the same time.

I'm keen on trying out AVR chips, in particular the Atmega 8535, because I can get a great development board and programmer very very cheap for it.

The thing is this Atmega8535(L) sells locally for $30. That seems to make the Propellor a prettyspecial bargain. Is anyone able to shed light on why this AVR chip is seeming so very pricey?

 

[ChrisC]

The thing is this Atmega8535(L) sells locally for $30. That seems to make the Propellor a prettyspecial bargain. Is anyone able to shed light on why this AVR chip is seeming so very pricey?[/color]

On the Farnell Australia site, the mega8535L is priced at between $7.34 and $9.04 for individual devices depending on the package type.

 

[expelleior]

On the Farnell Australia site, the mega8535L is priced at between $7.34 and $9.04 for individual devices depending on the package type.

Thanks for that link. I double checked the price of the chip in the Jaycar manual,Jaycar is the best electronics store in australia, and the chip is listed at $39.95. I will be going there tomorrow to buy a serial LCD so I'll be asking them what the hell is going on...maybe its a typo, if not I will order from the store you posted so thanks.

Added after 8 minutes:

The only thing now I need to choose a Basic editor. Either BASCOM or microelektronica. Bascom is free whereas the Microelektronica editor is $150, maybe you get what you pay for but i think i'll give Bascom a go

 

[ChrisC]

I double checked the price of the chip in the Jaycar manual,Jaycar is the best electronics store in australia, and the chip is listed at $39.95. I will be going there tomorrow to buy a serial LCD so I'll be asking them what the hell is going on...maybe its a typo

Just had a look on their website, and all the AVRs they've got listed are expensive, so I doubt it's a typo... It looks a bit like Jaycar are the Australian equivalent to Maplin here in the UK - a nationally recognised high-street name that doesn't feel the need to compete on price with other suppliers who just have a presence online and/or in a small trade counter outlet tucked away on an industrial estate somewhere.