A four-chip microcomputer for undergraduate engineering courses

The BASIC interpreter version of the 80C52 is found to be a simple but powerful microcontroller that is ideal for teaching about the function and roles of microcontrollers in control applications. A complete BASIC language microcomputer may be breadboarded in the laboratory with as few as three additional integrated circuits at a very modest investment in time and dollars. The finished computer provides ready access to the control signals, the data signals, and the peripheral components that are present in much more complex systems. It is easily programmed for a variety of experiments and control tasks, and has proved to be an excellent tool for teaching and exploring ways to use microprocessor control of systems.<>