
I am looking to start a robotics project with my son and the MSR-H01 seems to tick all the right boxes.
I have a fairly strong background in programming but haven't coded for over 15 years (Z80 was the chip of choice in my time).
I am looking to buy a development board to dust off the cobwebs and skill up ahead of the robotics project, and have narrowed the choice down to a few boards, but would appreciate some advice from those that know a whole lot more than me right now...
The main question is the criticality of going with the same MCU family as the p.Brain (dsPIC33)?
There are good Dev boards for the PIC18, as well as some for the dsPIC30, etc, but if ultimately I am going to be working with the p.Brain am I crazy buying a high end Dev board that isn't dsPIC33 based?
I know the dsPIC33 has special functions that help with mathematical calculations, etc that could influence the way you code for things such as leg gait calculations, etc - so will learning on a PIC18 for example be a disadvantage when it comes to finally coding the dsPIC33 on the p.Brain (I.e. would you need to re-learn different coding when you moved to the p.Brain)?
Boards I am looking at are (NOTE: I am not looking for a budget board, but something that will provide the best learning experience, usability, and functionality):
http://www.mikroe.com/eng/products/view/430/lv-24-33-v6-development-system/ (PIC24 & dsPIC33 dip 100)
http://www.mikroe.com/eng/products/view/494/easy24-33-v6-development-system/ (PIC24 & dsPIC33 dip 28)
http://www.mikroe.com/eng/products/view/757/easypic-v7-development-system/ (Only up to PIC18 but a great board layout and features)
The new V7 EasyPIC board is my favorite given the great layout, logical grouping of status LED's and push buttons for each port, and general range of peripheral components to play with - but as indicated it only supports up to PIC18.
The other boards support dsPIC33 in different pin formats so both should be equally suitable for learning dsPIC33 coding.
None of these boards are available in Australia, and as my knowledge on MCU programming is a little ancient these days

Any and all recommendations, comments, and feedback would be greatly appreciated on the above...
Cheers,
Frilby

P.S. If I have posted this query in the wrong section, my apologies (and please amend if necessary).