The development of a PIC microcontrollerbased and low-cost system for time measurements is presented in this work. This periodmeter allows applications in many physics experiments, replacing stop watches, for instance, which cause imprecision due to human reaction time. The measurement of a pendulum's period was chosen as an application example. A high degree of agreement was achieved between the experimental data and the theoretical model that shows how the period is changed according to the length of the pendulum. Also, the main goal has been reached: the presentation of a basic and flexible proposal that allows many adaptations in physics classes, by replacing the Hall sensor used in this experiment by another type or by changing the programming language. This is appropriate for high school level, undergraduate level courses, or for the scientific initiation programs.
periodmeter; PIC; pendulum; Hall sensor
