LogoChip 2.0 Documentation and Software

 

 

This version of the LogoChip (v. 2.0) is based on a Microchip PIC18F2320 microcontroller that has LogoChip firmware installed. All LogoChip hardware, including unprogrammed PIC18F2320 microcontrollers, can be purchased from Digi-Key Corp. To install the LogoChip firmware on a Microchip PIC18F2320 microcontroller there are currently three options:

1) If you or a friend already have one LogoChip, it is easy to "clone" it, that is to copy the firmware onto an unprogrammed microcontroller, by following the instructions given in the appendix of the Getting Started with LogoChips document, which you can download below.

2) Contact Robbie Berg (rberg@wellesley.edu) who is happy to download the LogoChip firmware onto any PIC18F2320 microcontroller mailed to him at Wellesley College Department of Physics, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. (Just be sure to include a stamped self-addressed envelope.)

3) If you have access to a "PIC programmer" that is capable of programming a PIC18F2320 microcontroller, you can use it to install the hex file that contains the LogoChip firmware.

All LogoChip software (both the firmware and the desktop environment) is provided free and may be used for non-commercial purposes only.

Downloads:

Getting Started with LogoChips (v.2.0) - provides an overview of the LogoChip environment and step-by-step instructions for getting started.

 

LogoChip Language Reference (v.2.0) - includes a complete listing and brief description of all LogoChip Logo primitives.

 

The LogoChip is programmed in a Java-based desktop environment that runs on both Windows and Mac OS X machines, including Intel Macs. (See the Getting Started with LogoChips document for details on making sure your computer has the correct Java runtime environment installed.) Click here to download the LogoChip Desktop Software.

 

Mac OS X Users must also download and install an additional Java Communications Driver. Click here to download a zip file containing the Java Communications Drivers for Mac OS X. Unzip the file and follow the instructions in the "readme.txt" file.

 

Physics 219, an introductory electronics course taught by Robbie Berg at Wellesley College, incorporates many LogoChip projects. The Physics 219 Lab Notes, when used in conjuction with the Student Manual for The Art of Electronics, by Thomas Hayes and Paul Horowitz (Cambridge University Press), may serve as a useful guide for more advanced users.