Newbie in more ways than one...
 

Hello everyone, I stumbled on this site while surfing the net for anything I could find on PI design and construction. After I got my jaw back offa the desk, I registered, and here I am in my very 1st forum (on my very 1st personal computer, bought a year ago). This place is mind boggling!
I'm not an electronic engineer, so I'm in way over my head, but that seems to be where I'm happiest. My goal is to build a modular waterproof PI unit, chest mount, with interchangeable coils and probes for my own use hunting for gold in the California goldbelt. Been using a Whites GMT, it's good but it ain't waterproof, and I just can't afford Minelab stuff.

Can anybody reccommend any books explaining in layman's terms what a PIC (microprocessor?) is, and how to go about programming it?

grungymike

Have a look at the Mikroelektronika website. There's a lot of free stuff there, like this book on PIC microcontrollers -> http://www.mikroe.com/en/books/picmcubook/

and of course they sell excellent development systems.