>
> I am new to the list and I was wondering if anyone has dealt with ITU
> Technologies.  I saw their ad in this months Circuit Cellar Ink, but would
> like to know your personal experience with them.

I bought a PIC programmer about 3 months ago (even had to pay the Customs
tax since it was an import into the UK! :-(  ). Constructing the beastie
was no problem - worked first time. I even liked how they wrote out the
colour codes for the resistors - saves me trying to remember the (rude)
rhyme for "Black, Brown, Red, ... "

Once the soldering iron had gone cold, it was on to the software stage.
The 3.5" floppy that came with my programmer had a sample program, but
it was written in ASPIC assembler (if I remember correct), hence I installed
that assembler on my PC only to find that MPASM is (supposedly) "favoured"
by most developers, hence I removed ASPIC and installed MPASM.
My PC at home is an 'out-the-ark' 40M hard-disk job, with a 5.25" disk
drive, hence I had to copy the files here at work across, and since most of
the 40M is occupied with games, I did not have the free space to install
ASPIC and MPASM simultaneously.

Programming the PIC proved to be interesting: it would have been nice if
there had been a hex file on the floppy to do the 'flash a LED' program,
but all there was was source, in the wrong format. Result: copy the source
and hack it until MPASM would swallow it.

At last, I got a hex file. Down loading to the PIC is also confusing.
Firstly there's a PICERASE command for this 16C84: what does it erase?
Then there's a PICCNF (or so) command to set the fuses, including the
four ID locations, and a PICPRGEE command to set the code space and a
PICDATA command to set the data EEPROM space.
As I understand it, the PICERASE is a bulk-erase command: wipes everything.
Assuming this program is written in 'C', wouldn't it be nice if there
was a final printf which said something like:
        "All areas (code area, data area and config fuses) ERASED"

The PICPRGEE command could also state that it has only programmed the
14-bit wide program area and has not interfered with the other areas (I guess
I could have assumed that, on reflection, but at the time you assume the
worst, and a wee message being output would just allay those fears).

So I spent the first day tinkering with the flashing-lED program and the
wee piezo-buzzer tune and programming with the sequence:

                PICERASE
                PICPRGEE
                PICCNFG

when all I needed to do was to re-use PICPRGEE. Not very efficient :-(

Beyond that, I am really happy with the kit and the code. Chris Sakkas has
been very helpful, such that I am in his debt (if you are reading, Chris,
hope you are better... someone said you were not well... just hope it
wasn't my questions that made you ill ... :-)

So now that I'm happy with the 16C84, I need to move on to a bigger
chip, with more I/O lines. Already I have tinkered with a wee home-brew
alarm system design and with a 30K mpasm source file it all translates
into 600 bytes from the 1024 on the 16C84. Efficiency!

Anyone want to recommend my next PIC purchase (chip, that is). I guess
I will have to buy an EEPROM eraser too.

Hope this is of use

Mungo