This hands-on book covers a series of exciting and fun projects with PIC microcontrollers. For example a silent alarm, a people sensor, a radar, a night buzzer, a VU meter, a RGB fader, a serial network, a poetry box and a sound super-compression. You can build more than 50 projects for your own use. The clear explanations, schematics, and pictures of each project on a breadboard make this a fun activity. You can also use this book as a study guide. The technical background information in each project explains why the project is set up the way it is, including the use of datasheets. This way you'll learn a lot about the project and the microcontroller being used, and you can expand the project to suit your own needs.making it ideal for use in schools and colleges. This book can also be used as a reference guide. The explanation of the JAL programming language and all of the expansion libraries used is unique and found nowhere else. Using the index, you can easily locate projects that serve as examples for the main commands. But even after you've built all the projects it will still be a valuable reference guide to keep next to your PC. Four microcontrollers are discussed, the 12f675, 16f628, 16f876A, and 16f877, as well as how to migrate programs from one microcontroller to another. All software used in this book can be downloaded for free, including all of the source code, a program editor, and the JAL open source programming language. This powerful and yet easy to learn language is used by hobbyists and professionals worldwide. A hardware kit is also available for purchase separately that contains all the parts to get you started, including a few microcontrollers. There is even a free support website with additional information, FAQ, and links: www.elektor.com/picbert.