PICAXE is a neat entry-level microcontroller system that is relatively cheap to get started with. The chip is programmed with a simple serial connection and the BASIC development environment is free! PICAXE has some excellent educational applications and support, and is a great entryway into more complicated embedded systems. If you're look for a place to start with microcontrollers, PICAXE is a great way to go!

A PICAXE microcontroller is a standard Microchip PICmicro™ microcontroller that has been pre-programmed with the PICAXE bootstrap code. The bootstrap code enables the PICAXE microcontroller to be re-programmed directly via a simple serial connection. This eliminates the need for an (expensive) conventional programmer, making the whole download system a very low-cost simple serial cable!

The pre-programmed bootstrap code also contains common routines (such as how to generate a pause delay or a sound output), so that each download does not have to waste time downloading this commonly required data. This makes the download time much quicker.

Documents:
- Datasheet
- What is PICAXE?

The PICAXE-08M offers:

80 lines memory
1-4 inputs (configurable)
1-4 outputs (configurable)
2 8/10-bit Analog-to-Digital converters (ADC)
8MHz maximum operation speed (4MHz normally)
Supports
- Interrupts
- Digital temperature sensors
- Servo control
- Keyboard input
- IR transmit/receive
- Plays user-defined musical tones
- PWM Motor control
- Input Pulse counting
- Serial output & debugging via programming cable
Based on the PIC 12F683 IC