Help in making a choice.
I'm a hobbyist and have been programming for about 3 years using the pickit 1 starter kit
using Pic Basic Pro and the only chips I have programed or the 12f629/75 and 16f630 /76
and have really enjoyed my home made projects. but I feel I've missed out on some of the learning curve.
along with I'm working on a project. were I would need to move of to the PIC16F84A or maybe the PIC16F628,
and from what I have read need to use Assembly because of the tight timing needed (lanC protocol)
So For My new adventure I would Like to build my oun programmer and learn assembly
and looking @ options on the internet there is more option than I need.

being a hobbyist and staying with a small list of chips I don't need all the bells and whistles
just the basics
no need for ICSP - In Circuit Serial Programmer. for the stuff I do.
but good online tech support COULD be a big help
I was looking @ the simple JDM and then read that you can have trouble when using the intosc

"However, an issue has arisen lately with some of the new PIC's, eg PIC12F675, 12F629, and some others with an internal
oscillator."
like in the the chips I use now have. so I now not sure about that one.
and I sometime use a laptop and I read this some were


"Important note: If you are using a laptop then don't use a pic programmer
that is powered from the serial port itself as there may not be enough
power/voltage available from it."

The programming software IC-Prog seams to be the top choice from what I read any comments on that?
learning to program in assembly is going to hard enough I don't need to compound the problem with program problems
so any and all advice is welcome
thank
homemade

 

I would suggest a PICkit 2. It supports wide range of devices, just in case you need them in the future. It is pretty small and powered from USB port. I've been using one for more than a year now and have never encountered any problem.

JDM programmers, or any programmer powered from serial port, are not worth buying, IMHO. Sooner or later, they would only give you problems.

16F84 is an obsolete part, I would suggest using 16F628 or 16F88 instead. If you want to program in C (free C18 compiler from Microchip) 18F1320 would be more suitable.

 

FYI, I had some initial problems with the 12F629, but had more to do with the compiler. But I use the internal oscillator on it just fine now.

I bought a clone PICKit2 and works fantastic and it was cheaper and does the same job. I've used in on 12F629, 16F88, and the 18F2553.

Michael

 

thanks I was just hoping to build a simple one my self (thats what I like to do) my pickit 1 would still be my main programmer (for the chips that it will handle) the homemade would be just for the Ididit part and the chips that
the pickit will not
thanks to the both of you for your advice

 

If you want to build one yourself, a JDM like programmer with an external power supply instead of RS-232 powered would be better. Many problems with JDMs are attributed to the RS-232 power supply.

The internal oscillator problem is not limited to the JDMs, there are other more expensive programmers also experiencing this problem. I had one a long time ago, and the solution was pretty simple, although annoying as "£$^*. Refer to this thread http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=4712

 

thanks again
like maybe a PARALLEL PORT programmer I think most of those use a external
power supply ?

 

Either parallel, or just modify the JDM to use an external power supply.