Hi Folks,


This is sort of an advert so I guess some people can stop reading here and
send your complaints directly to: newfound@ne.com.au.

After much thought, I have decided to release my (DOS) PICSTART 16B upgrade
"PHOENIX" via shareware. "Shareware" because I have not, as yet, been able
to complete the software to the standard I would like. Somehow, I don't
think I ever will unless I learn C or basic as trying to do everything in
assembler is just to..., just to..., well, dumb really....

However, I have something that is working and highly functional and there is
no point in just letting it rot on my hard disk. The important part,
programming the PICs, is just fine, only things like pulldown menus and file
search options etc. are missing.
Anyway, no-one complained about these omittions with my other programmers
(and lived!) but I would have liked my picstart software to give you
everything you already had _plus_ the heaps extra I'm offering.

Anyway, here is the plan...

I have a PICSTART 16B upgrade that allows the old bucket to program all of
these lovely PICS: (With adapters where required.)

16C52,54,54A,54B,55,56,56B,57,58A,58B
16C552,554,556
16C61,62,62A,63,64,64A,65,65A,66,67
16C620,621,622
16C641,642
16C661,662
16C71,710,711,715,72,73,73A,74,74A
16C84*
16F83,84*   (*With data _full_ data eeprom support!)
16C922,923
PIC14000 OTP and JW  (With full, automatic calibration support)
PIC12C50x  (Not tested yet, with calibration word support)

(Note for my existing programmer users. Don't think you have  been
abandoned, a WARP-3 driver for all the currently unsupported devices is
being tested now.)

I think that is about all of them. As you can see, it offers substantually
more support than the original product and new devices will be added.

On the minus side, as I said, I cannot currently offer pulldown menus and
file and directory  search options and other "nice" stuff like this and I am
very disappointed and more than slightly bashful about it.

However, if you are prepared to for go these frilly bits, you can have a
much more functional programmer.

If anyone is interested, I would love to hear from you just so I cam gauge
the level of support for this project. I propose to put the .HEX code on my
web page and allow people to program there own 17Cxx chip (any size or type
of 17Cxx is suitable but I recommend using a JW part for future upgrades.)
Intially, all the software will be freely supplied and hopefully people will
register the software for a small amount of dollars. ($20-$25US seems
reasonable to me.)

If there is interest, I may also offer a basic 17Cxx programmer design as
shareware. This will be a minimum (read "cheap") design but enough to
program the 17Cxx parts. You will need a (any) 40-pin 16Cxx part and I will
show you how you can program the "17Cxx burner firmware" into it just using
a picstart 16B. That's right, you don't need a special 16C64/74 programmer.

So even if you have only a PS 16B, you will end up with two programmers
capable of programming every PIC device between them.

Anyway, as I said, I would like to hear from interested people as it is only
the interest in this that is providing the "push" for me to put it all
together in releaseable form. Otherwise, I'll play games allday. (love
Descent II, Quake was disappointing.)

Thank-you Piclister's for this indulgence, hope some of you found it of
interest.

Interested peoples, please email me directly at:

newfound@ne.com.au


Regards,

Jim