Digital Clock/Date/Thermometer with PIC16F628/PIC16F84A and DS18S20/DS18B20

Here is a small adjustable clock/date with thermometer function based on PIC16F628 or PIC16F84 microchip and DS18S20 or DS18B20 temperature sensor. The hardware part is very simple because it only uses pic microcontroller, the DS18S20/DS18B20 sensor, 4x7 segments (common anode, something like KW4-301xxx Series), four 2N3906 transistors, some resistors.

Read details here.

PIC16F84A Tutorial Board

Source: http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/mcu/001/index.html

The PIC16C84 was introduced in 1993 by Microchip and the first PIC microcontroller to feature a serial programming algorithm and EEPROM memory, both of which lend themselves to hobby use: only a simple and cheap programmer is required to program, erase and reprogram the chip. PIC16F84 is a flash version of PIC16C84.

Since then Microchip has released much advanced PIC microcontrollers but this is still very popular among hobbyists. One reason for this is that there are lots of resources available on it and some good books published on PIC16F84. If you are looking to learn PIC microcontrollers, this could be a good choice. You can make your own tutorial board and do experiments.
For details, visit this.

Make Your Own Serial PIC Programmer

If you are looking to make a PIC programmer by yourself, try this. This is a serial programmer (it may not work with USB to Serial converters) that uses two general purpose transistors and few resistors, diodes and capacitors. It is actually JDM based PIC programmer.

Source: http://extremeelectronics.co.in

For detail circuit diagram and description, visit this.

Learn PIC Programming in mikroC

If you are looking for online resources for learning PIC Programming in C, then you should probably check these two blogs:
1. http://pic16f628a.blogspot.com/
This blog starts with making your own PIC16F628A Development Board, and then teaches you basics of microcontroller interfacing by doing various experiments. The language of programming is C and the compiler used is the demo version of mikroC. The board has following features:

• Access to all I/O pins through female header pins
• 4 Push Buttons for Input
• 4 LEDs for Output
• An LCD Interface Port
• A 4-digit Seven-Segment Display Interface
• LCD Backlight Switch and Contrast Adjustment
• ICSP Programming (Very Important)

2. http://picboard.blogspot.com/
This is another blog that teaches you about PIC12683, a 8-pin microcontroller from Microchip. The writer again starts with making his own development board, and uses mikroC for doing experiments. The board has following features:

1. A Regulated +5V power supply.

2. 3 Red LED outputs which can be connected to any GPIO pins using jumper wires.

3. An ON/OFF power supply switch.

4. A Green LED as a power ON indicator.

5. An 8-pin IC socket for PIC12F683 microcontroller.

6. Two potentiometers: one for providing Vref, and other for simulating analog input to ADC.

7. An ICSP header connector.

8. Two tactile switches for input operation.

9. A TTL to RS232 level shifter using a transistor circuit.

10. A piezo buzzer.

11. A DC motor with driving circuit.

12. Access to individual pins of PIC12F683 through female header pins.