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The cheapest flash microcontroller you can buy is actually an Arm Cortex-M0+

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Re: The cheapest flash microcontroller you can buy is actually an Arm Cortex-M0+

#11

Post by kken »

mlindner wrote: post #8

I'm not sure why people try and go for the cheapest microcontroller. These things all have unit prices in the single digit dollars or less in actual production costs. Finding a cheap microcontroller is entirely about finding a cheap reseller of whatever you're trying to get rather than finding a cheap part specifically. Only when you get to truly large volumes such that you can get volume discounts does unit price re…

I think the main appeal is to work with small devices that have well defined resources. Just consider the popularity of the ATtiny85.

However, low end 32bit devices are also available from reputed suppliers. In fact, STM just announced the STM32C* series which is also aimed at replacing 8 bit controllers.

The cost benefit may only be true for low numbers and when sourcing from distributors. I am fairly certain that the price advantage is much less when talking about actual production volumes

*https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32...

Re: The cheapest flash microcontroller you can buy is actually an Arm Cortex-M0+

#17

Post by quanto »

mlindner wrote: post #8

I'm not sure why people try and go for the cheapest microcontroller. These things all have unit prices in the single digit dollars or less in actual production costs. Finding a cheap microcontroller is entirely about finding a cheap reseller of whatever you're trying to get rather than finding a cheap part specifically. Only when you get to truly large volumes such that you can get volume discounts does unit price re…

I get what you are saying. For a typical hobbyist with a project or two, a few-cent (or even few-dollar) saving will most likely not make an economic difference.

However, there are other aspects: 1. Golf. Just like code golf, running some task in the least resources possible (price, memory space, PCB space, flops) is a fun challenge in and of itself. 2. Professional. Some of us do (or used to) have a career in hardware/firmware engineering where the cent-level cost or millimeter-level space actually matters. And it affects how we look at hardware components. 3. General fascination at how far the technology has come along.

Re: The cheapest flash microcontroller you can buy is actually an Arm Cortex-M0+

#18

Post by LoveMortuus »

mlindner wrote: post #8

I'm not sure why people try and go for the cheapest microcontroller. These things all have unit prices in the single digit dollars or less in actual production costs. Finding a cheap microcontroller is entirely about finding a cheap reseller of whatever you're trying to get rather than finding a cheap part specifically. Only when you get to truly large volumes such that you can get volume discounts does unit price re…

As a person who's financial weak, I always go with the cheapest option that I can find, especially if this is my entrance ticket into the specific space.

Yes, the cheapest option will probably have more issues then the more expensive one. But that's actually good, because if I can't deal with them, I probably would give up with a more expensive one. And this also allows me to experience what really matters to me and what I don't care about, so that if I decide to upgrade I can be much more specific on regards to what I need and what I don't need.

About a year ago I entered the space of microscopy, I was lucky enough to be able to get an old one for free from the university, one that they've deemed no longer suitable for the students (probably because it doesn't have a light), but for me it is perfect, it does everything that I need it for. As for the light, I just use an LED or phones flash.

Zero cost entry, and honestly I don't really feel the need to upgrade, I did buy an additional lense that comes with a holder for a phone so that I can view the slides on the phone's display and even record them!

My philosophy is that you should spend as little money as possible to enter a hobby.

Or in other words, don't buy tools to do a hobby. Do a hobby to buy the tools.

Re: The cheapest flash microcontroller you can buy is actually an Arm Cortex-M0+

#19

Post by xmprt »

LoveMortuus wrote: post #18
mlindner wrote: post #8

I'm not sure why people try and go for the cheapest microcontroller. These things all have unit prices in the single digit dollars or less in actual production costs. Finding a cheap microcontroller is entirely about finding a cheap reseller of whatever you're trying to get rather than finding a cheap part specifically. Only when you get to truly large volumes such that you can get volume discounts does unit price re…

As a person who's financial weak, I always go with the cheapest option that I can find, especially if this is my entrance ticket into the specific space. Yes, the cheapest option will probably have more issues then the more expensive one. But that's actually good, because if I can't deal with them, I probably would give up with a more expensive one. And this also allows me to experience what really matters to me and…

It's a good philosophy to have although I think the parent commenter was referring to microcontrollers specifically. You're better off getting a decently capable one for a little more than trying to make do with the cheapest version because the difference in cost is probably a few cents and the variance between resellers will be higher than that.
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