Microchip is pushing the Plus now as a replacement for both the 16B1 and
the 16C as it's supposed to support all the different PIC flavors.  Of
course you have to replace or reprogram the 17C44 in the programming
adapter every time they come out with a new chip! :-{

Also you have to use MPLAB to talk to the adapter, and that requires
Windows.  It has problems with Windows 95, causes sporadic errors that can
require you to kill off MPLAB or hard reboot your PC. I use a Dell 166MHz
Pentium with 48Meg of ram, a 2.1Gig HD on a LAN.  Some other programs I
use also have problems with W95, so if you stick with W 3.1 you should be
ok.

I find MPLAB to be a little clumsy to use, but I'm an old phart who's been
messing around with microcontrollers since 1977 and have used a wide
variety of assemblers, editors and programming adapters and gotten set in
my ways.  I like to use my favorite editor to write code and use the
manufacturer's cross assembler (if available) to get hex code and a simple
programming adaptor to dump my program into the target chip.

You'll have to use Microchip's MPASM (or its Windows variation) to
assemble your code on either adaptor, but it works quite well so no
worries.  MPLAB will automatically use the windows version.

The 16B1 uses MPSIM to simulate your program and has some nice features
like settable trace address ranges, break points on program location
and/or variable (register) values or changes.  On my 166MHz Pentium the
simulator takes from 1000 to 10000 times longer to execute my code than
the actual chip would but thats normal.  VGA adapter speed seems to be the
critical parameter.  You can speed things up by tracing only those things
you need to watch, the fewer, the faster.  I haven't tried MPLAB's
simulator, so no comment.

The Plus programming adapter is a better design than the 16B1.  It has a
nicely designed plastic case instead of an unprotected PCB like the 16B1.

Final comments: If you're new to programming MCUs and don't plan on
programming any other chip brands, the Plus and MPLAB IDE is a fair start,
but a little dear at $200.  Forget the 16B1, it's history unless you can
find a used one or someones old inventory.  I'm very interested in Jim
Robertson's products, what I've seen on his web pages and the beta Phoenix
driver for the 16B look very good.  His hardware and software is available
from ITU (don't recall the web address) in the States.

73
_____________________________________________
Lynn Richardson           | lrich@qni.com    \
Progress Instrument, Inc. | wa0znl.ampr.org  |
807 NW Commerce Drive     |  [44.46.176.3]   |
Lee's Summit, MO 64086    |                  |
(816)524-4442 F:246-4556  |                  /
---------------------------------------------

On Thu, 19 Dec 1996, B. Davies wrote:

> In some threads recently I have read about microchip  no longer supporting
> certain programmers.   I tried today to order a picstart 16B1 programmer from
> Digikey,  they say part # is discontinued and refers to picstart plus, they
> then enter that # and it refers to the 16B1.    I am new to this pic thing
> and was looking forward to getting started now I am confused.  Is Digikey
> getting messed up or is there something more sinister afoot?   Seriously
> though I browsed microchips homepage 2 nights ago and down loaded a brochure
> for the 16B1.
> Does anyone out there know  what is happening?   Or do you know who I can
> contact?
>
> Thanks   Brian
>