Question

I’ve been in s/w programming for years. Thru out the years i also had interest in h/w programming (circuits + robotics + etc).

Please advice from where i can start h/w programming. my aim is to combine both s/w & h/w to work together.

Answer 1

For a hobyists approach, or to start from absolute scratch, I’d suggest the Picaxe chip. They’re cheap ($4 up), very simple, and very easy to program. The most basic one is an 8-pin IC, uses 5V DC supply, is programmed using serial cable and the free software, and stores around 40 lines of code. (Yes, very basic, but fun. And they do get bigger, ie: 16-pin, 40-pin.)

The Picaxe gives you a basic introduction into PICs, but is a significant step above Lego Mindstorms 😛 However, it is much slower at executing commands than a standard PIC (about 1KHz vs 1Mhz, I think), but it will do some things (like serial communications and controling LCDs) for you.

For more standard PICs, this looks like like a good place to start: http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist/begin.htm

If you were after something much more advanced, say, using TCP/IP, running a HTTP host, working with USB peripherals, then this thread may be of interest:
https://serverfault.com/questions/22030/recommended-embedded-linux-device-for-light-server-and-learning