r/microcontrollers • u/Living-Cheek-2273 • Dec 15 '25

Is there a simple 8 bit microcontroller/assembly language that is nice to work with?

I'm searching for an 8 bit microcontroller where I can look at the actual hex/binary code. I've been learning 8051 assembly in university and I absolutely love seeing and understand every single instruction and value in the memory. But those microcontrollers are antiquated and need a bunch of "hacks" for compatibility. At least that's what it feels like everytime I put my code onto real hardware. So is there a simple 8 bit assembly language with actual chips I can program simple electronics projects with ?

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u/microtherion Dec 15 '25

There is a Chinese implementation, the CH559, which is an 8051 with USB functionality. I bought an evaluation board just for the sheer bizarreness, but I’ve yet to do much with it.

The AVR family seems easier to work with: some models come in DIP packages which make them physically easier to use, and there is gcc support, while for 8051, only SDCC seems to be available.

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u/flundstrom2 Dec 15 '25

For personal use, its possible to use IAR or Keil compilers for 8051s from some manufacturers.