123 PIC Microcontroller Experiments for the Evil Genius by Myke Predko is a comprehensive guide designed to take hobbyists from beginner levels to creating complex, functional embedded systems using Microchip's PIC microcontrollers Core Features & Approach Progressive Learning
The most distinguishing feature of Predko’s approach is his insistence on teaching Assembly Language programming. In an era where high-level languages like C and Python dominate the landscape, beginners are often tempted to skip the low-level architecture. Predko argues—and proves throughout the 123 experiments—that you cannot truly optimize a microcontroller or debug complex timing issues without understanding the core assembly instructions.
Why this PDF belongs on your digital bookshelf: 123 PIC Microcontroller Experiments for the Evil Genius.pdf
Part VI: Complete Projects
26. Digital thermometer
27. Combination lock with keypad
28. Infrared remote control receiver
29. Reaction timer game
30. Programmable signal generator
Caution for today’s reader: The book’s original experiments target legacy PICs (16F84, 16F877) and parallel port programmers. You’d need to adapt to a modern programmer (PICkit 3/4/5) and possibly newer chips (16F18877) with similar pinouts. The core value is the pedagogy and experiment-driven structure, not the exact part numbers. 123 PIC Microcontroller Experiments for the Evil Genius
However, the book is also a product of its era. First published in the early 2000s, its specific references—the PIC16F84, parallel port programmers, the now-antique MPLAB IDE—risk relegating it to a historical curiosity for the modern reader armed with Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Yet to dismiss it on these grounds is to miss its enduring value. The PIC16F84, with its simple Harvard architecture and minimal instruction set, is a superior teaching tool than the heavily abstracted Arduino framework. The Arduino’s digitalWrite(pin, HIGH); hides the register-level operations of setting TRIS bits and PORT latches. Predko forces the learner to confront these registers directly, fostering a depth of understanding that makes any subsequent platform, including Arduino, infinitely more comprehensible.
Digital Access: It is hosted for borrowing or preview on platforms like Internet Archive and Scribd. Why this PDF belongs on your digital bookshelf:
At its core, the book demystifies the Microchip PIC microcontroller, transforming it from an inscrutable black box into a malleable substrate for imagination. Predko adopts the persona of the “Evil Genius”—not a villain, but a playful, resourceful tinkerer who learns by doing. The number 123 is not arbitrary; it signifies a deliberate, graduated pathway from the absolute beginner to the confident designer. Experiment 1 is often the quintessential “Hello World” of hardware: blinking an LED. By Experiment 123, the reader has typically constructed a functional intelligence, capable of driving liquid crystal displays, generating sound, reading sensors, and controlling motors. This structure acknowledges a critical truth: complex systems are best understood by mastering their simplest, most atomic operations first.